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Examining the relationship between relative age, competition level, and dropout rates in male youth ice‐hockey players
Author(s) -
Lemez S.,
Baker J.,
Horton S.,
Wattie N.,
Weir P.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
scandinavian journal of medicine and science in sports
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.575
H-Index - 115
eISSN - 1600-0838
pISSN - 0905-7188
DOI - 10.1111/sms.12127
Subject(s) - ice hockey , competition (biology) , dropout (neural networks) , quartile , demography , athletes , psychology , medicine , physical therapy , physical medicine and rehabilitation , biology , computer science , ecology , confidence interval , machine learning , sociology
The relative age effect suggests that athletes born in the first two quartiles of a given selection year experience a selection advantage and therefore a greater opportunity for success. We describe two studies examining the relationship between relative age, competition level, and dropout rates of O ntario M inor H ockey A ssociation male ice‐hockey players from ages 10 to 15 years ( n = 14 325). In Study 1, dropout was highest among players born in quartiles three and four [χ 2 (3) = 16.32, P < 0.05; w = 0.06], while Study 2 found dropped out players to have less movement between competition levels compared to retained players. This study confirms a relationship between relative age and dropout from ice‐hockey and adds further depth to our understanding of this persistent phenomenon.