Relative Age Effect on U14 Track and Field Athletes

The purpose of the present study was to identify the existence of Relative Age Effect (RAE) on Turkish U14 athletes in 2016 U14 Turkish Indoor T&F Championship. The sample included 748 U14 athletes (455 girls, 293 boys) who were participated to championship in six events. Data was collected by the official web page of Turkish Athletic Federation (TAF). The birth dates of all athletes were divided into Quarters (Q) and Halves (H). Q1 (January, February, March), Q2 (April, May, June), Q3 (July, August, September), Q4 (October, November, December) and H1 (from January to June), H2 (from July to December). Additionally, athletes who were participated finals were divided into Quarters. To analyze the birth distribution of the athletes by Quarter and Halve we used Chi-square test. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 24 series of chi-square tests. Statistical significance level was set at 0,05. Results has shown statistical differences in the distribution for the girls and boys population who born in the first Quarter (Q1) and first Halve (H1) of the year. Moreover, it was observed that male and female athletes who were born in the first quarter (Q1) had a higher participation rate to the finals. Findings of this study has shown an exact influence of RAE on U14 Track and Field athletes. Coaches, parents and federations should consider RAE in the selection phase of the athletes