No Observable Relative Age Effects in Professional Surfers: a Constraints-Based Evaluation

Area of Science:

• Sports Science
• Human Kinetics
• Olympic Sports Analysis

Background:

• Surfing's inclusion in the 2020 Olympic Games highlights the need to understand athlete development.
• Relative Age Effects (RAEs) are common in sports, where athletes born earlier in the selection year have advantages.
• Investigating RAEs in surfing is crucial given its unique developmental and environmental factors.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the presence and extent of relative age effects (RAEs) in elite male surfing.
• To examine RAEs considering specific developmental constraints within the sport.
• To determine if surfing exhibits RAEs comparable to other Olympic sports.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of 1590 elite competitive male surfers' birth months.
• Categorization by competitive level, age groups, and geographical regions.
• Statistical analysis (chi-squared test, odds ratio) to compare observed vs. expected birth date distributions.

Main Results:

• No significant RAEs were found in the overall group or subcategories based on quarterly birth distribution.
• A notable odds ratio of 1.85 indicated top 34 athletes were more likely born in the first semester.
• Despite this, the overall findings suggest limited observable RAEs at the professional surfing level.

Conclusions:

• Surfing appears to have minimal relative age effects at the professional level.
• This contrasts with many other sports that show significant RAEs.
• Surfing may be an outlier among Olympic sports regarding the influence of relative age on athlete selection and success.