INFLUENCE OF BIRTH YEAR OF ARRIVAL

AT ELITE HANDBALL MALE IN JUNIOR AND U 18s

scar GUTIERREZ AGUILAR1, Julia CONTRERAS MARIN1, Miguel SAAVERDA
GARCIA2, Juan Jos FERNANDEZ ROMERO2, Alexandre ACSINTE 3, Miguel
HERNANDEZ, Iago VAZQUEZ GARRIDO4.
1

University (Elche, Spain), 2University A Corua (A Corua, Spain); 3University Bacau

(Romania); 4University Alfonso X (Madrid, Spain).

ABSTRACT
The handball world championships, organized by the International Handball Federation (IHF),
for Juniors and U18s category, establishes the groups of contesters, on the adscription of
athletes born during two consecutive years in the same category, starting with those born in
even-numbered year, and must stay two consecutive years in the same category. The sample is
composed by 686 handball players, which have played the World Championship of their
category on 2009. The recorded variables were the birth year. The differences between the
proportion of players born in even-numbered year than the ones which were born in odd year,
was calculated by the binomial test, contrasting the proportion of 50%. In Junior and U 18s
category they have been found much more players born in even-numbered years than in odd
years, which very big significant differences.
Keywords: Handball, relative age effect, talent detection.
INTRODUCTION
The firsts studies that exist about RAE, were done by Grondin Deshaies & Nault (1984),
referring to the Canadian ice hockey and volleyball, even though most of all the researches are
referred to soccer (Ashworth & Heyndels, 2007; Helsen, Starkes & Van Winckel, 1998; Helsen,
Van Winckel & Williams, 2005; Jullien, Turpin & Carling, 2008; Musch & Hay, 1999; Serovic,
2005; Verhulst, 2000). All of these researches about soccer determinate if there is an influence of
the birth date, due to the sport effort of the players in formation stages. It has been also analyzed
RAE in another sports, that is how it is possible to find researches on baseball (Thompson,
Barnsley & Stebelsky, 1991; 1992), hockey (Adonna & Yates, 2010), swimming (Baxter-Jones,
1995), tennis (Edgar & O'Donoghue, 1995) and rugby (Abernethy & Farrow, 2005).
The most used explanation to justify RAE, is the maturation process of sport people, on the who,
the ones born near to the cutoff date have higher performance levels, compared to the youngest
ones (Barnsley & Thompson, 1988; Malina, 1994; Malina, Bouchard & Bar-Or, 2004). The
proposed solutions are often linked with the variation of the cutoff date, which means that RAE
is modified, but it is not (Helsen, Starkes & Van Winckel, 2000; Musch & Hay, 1999; Simmons
& Paull, 2001). Other solutions involve an enormous administrative complexity, like the one
exposed by Barnsley and Thompson (1988), which said that the contester selections should be
set on a pre-establish distribution, or trough the control of the average age of the hole team
Helsen et al. (1998; 2000). On handball there are just a few researches that analyze RAE;
Schorer et al. (2010) analyzed the existent relations between motivation, relative age and the
population. No differences were found in order to motivation. Although RAE was present in the
hole sample, they did not found any distribution differences between the selected players and the
ones not selected. They also did not found any relation between motivation, age and the size of
the population.

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Baker, Bsch, Wilhelm and Pabst work in 2009, with a sample of young German handball
players established the existence of RAE. However they have proved that there were not any
differences in height, weight or the technical skills between the players slightly older than the
ones relatively younger, so that the RAE can not be attributed to these causes.
Schorer, Schorer, Cobley, Bsch, Brutigam & Baker, (2009b) made an investigation which
contains three different researches. The target of the first one was to determinate the influence of
the level in competition and the genre in RAE. For this they used a sample of 1513 boys (13-16
years) and 1734 girls (12-15 years). On this research they established that RAE decreases as the
levels grow and that in boys is less strong that in girls.
Second research analyzed the participation on the elite group, the nationality of the player and
their permanence in the adult stage. They used a sample of 2291 players of the German first
league and 4824 of the second league, among seasons 1998/99 and 2005/06. It seems that in
foreign players exists higher RAE, this is explain by authors due to the stronger selection
processes that players suffer to get into these leagues.
The third research took as objective relating the playing position and laterality with RAE in 1298
players of the first German league among seasons 2004/05 and 2007/08. Backcourt players
suffer an important RAE. These players have to fulfill some anthropometric requisites, like being
very tall and with big body size. Players which play in these positions are the ones in charge of
long ball throws and there is a higher representation of players born on the firsts two trimesters
of the year. Leftbacks are the ones who fulfill this statement, because in rightbacks, there are
more born on the intermediate trimesters of the year. On the goalkeeping position, there are more
number of players born on the first and last trimesters of the year, although on the pivot position
there are more representation on the last two trimesters, and on central defenders on the middle
trimesters.
The International Handball Federation (IHF) criterion used for the admission of contesters in
junior world championships is based on the adscription of players born during two consecutive
years in the same category, starting with those born in even-numbered year. During two seasons,
same group of people stays in same category moving afterwards, this two year period has
finished, all together to next category. With this method, players born in even years will be
always the eldest of the generation, whereas those born in odd years will be the youngest of the
group.
The point of this research is determinate if the birth date affects the possibilities of players, to get
into the participation of Junior and U 18s international handball competitions.
METHOD
Samples and variables
The sample is composed of 686 handball players that have played the last Junior and U 18s
World Cup in masculine category. These World Cups were played among 2009 and 2010. The
registered variable was the birth date.
Data was taken from the web of the International Handball Federation (http://www.ihf.info/).
Data analysis
RAE analysis is normally done by taking the born trimester of the player as reference. In the
present research, and due to the selection system of contesters on the World Cup Championships
ruled by the International handball Federation, the reference was taken looking if the player was
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born in even-numbered or odd year, because the ones born in even-numbered year will be the
oldest ones of the group during two years, even in Junior or in U 18s category. The differences
between the proportion of players born in even-numbered year than the ones which were born in
odd year, was calculated by the binomial test, contrasting the proportion of 50%. On a similar
way that Lesma Perez-Gonzles and Salinero (2011), RAE Coefficient is known as the division
between the number of players born on the supposed advantage period, and the ones born on the
supposed disadvantage period. This is correct, like in the present case, always if these time
periods are the equal. On this research the RAE Coefficient represent the number of players born
in even-numbered year (supposed advantage period) per each player born in odd year (supposed
disadvantage period).
RESULTS
Differences per category
In Junior and U 18s category RAE coefficient was calculated in 1, 70 and 3, 19, (respectively),
with very significant differences in both cases. On the Junior masculine side it has been proved
that per each player born in odd year, there are 1, 7 players born in even-numbered year. On the
U18s side, the tendency is more remarkable, as, per each player born in odd year, there are 3, 19
players born in even-numbered year.
Table 1.- RAE per category.

Jnior
Masculine
U18s
Masculino

Frecuency

Odd

242

63

Even

142

37

Total

384

100

Odd

230

76

Even

72

24

Total

302

100

R.A.E.
Coefficient.1

Significatin*

242/142=
1,70

0,000**

230/72=
3,19

0,000**

* Binomial Test.
**Estadisticly significative.
1
RAE Coefficient is known as the division between the number of players born on the supposed advantage
period, and the ones born on the supposed disadvantage period. This is correct, like in the present case, always if
these time periods are the equal. On this research the RAE Coefficient represent the number of players born in
even-numbered year (supposed advantage period) per each player born in odd year (supposed disadvantage
period).

DISCUSSION
The existent researches about RAE try to determinate the effect of clustering people taking as
reference the age of these ones. Generally the analysis is made by taking as reference the
trimester where the person was born, starting on the hypothesis that the players born on the two
fist trimesters of the year have more advantages over the younger ones, due to a higher level of
maturation. However in the case of the international handball, players are grouped in categories
(Junior and U 18s) beginning on the ones born in even-numbered years, so these will be the
oldest ones of the group. On the same group the ones born in even-numbered year and the ones
who do it on the next year, will remain during two seasons together on the same category, going
trough the next category all the group together when that time period has finished.

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There are several researches that have proved, on a same way that this research has done, the
existence of RAE on the sport, during the formation categories. (Barnsley, Thompson, &
Legault, 1992; Bumler, 2000; Baxter-Jones et al., 1995, Gutirrez et al., 2010; Helsen et al.,
1998; Helsen et al., 2000; Vaeyens, Philippaerts & Malina, 2005).
The fact that the criterion adopted by IHF, of clustering players on year blocks, reinforces even
more the effect of RAE and gets closer to the researches that explain RAE by the maturation
procedures (Fenzel, 1992; Helsen et al., 2000; Malina et al., 2004; Malina, 1994, 1999;
Philippaerts et al., 2006; Reilly, 2000; Simmons y Paull, 2001). Thereby Junior and U 18s
national team coaches tend to select players born in the first year of selection (even numbered
years), in order to having a more developed maturation system, a better anthropometric, physic
and cognitive development could mean an advantage over the players born in odd year.
Among the solutions that several researchers have proposed for palliate this effect, this stand
over the rest; change the cutoff date (Hurley, Lior & Tracze, 2001), set competitions with
smaller age groups (Glamser & Vincent, 2004), or separate the players from the same category in
order to their performance (Kaiserman, 2005).
Nevertheless all these propositions will crash with handball philosophy and with his biggest
organizational identity, the IHF. Other proposition more suitable with the actual IHF line,
respecting the criterions of the age as cutoff reference, for appaliate the effect of RAE on
international high level handball competitions, during the formation categories, would be, as the
same as Garca y Salvadores proposed (2005), permit that players change category at the end of
the year, in a way that in one season the oldest of the group would be the ones born in evennumbered year, but next year, on the same category the oldest ones would be the ones born in
odd year.
CONCLUSION
The data collected shows the existence of RAE on international handball players at Junior and U
18s masculine category. The system that IHF is running nowadays to organize their
competitions, makes that players born in even-numbered year, have more chances of being
selected at Junior and U 18s categories than the ones born in odd year.
PERPECTIVES
To reduce the existence of RAE in higher level competition of handball, on formation categories
(Junior and U 18s), the International Handball federation should change the selection system of
contesters, in a way that every year, the oldest player of the group will change category. With
this method, each season, groups will renew and the ones who were the youngest, next year
would be the oldest ones. If things are done like that it is possible that this tendency (of selecting
players born in even-numbered year over the ones born in odd year)from the people responsible
of choosing the players will fall down, because this seems not to be a determinant criterion in the
process of detecting talents.
____________
ogutierrez@umh.es

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