Abstract
M.Phil. (Sport Science)
During puberty, children experience great changes in biological growth and development. The onset of biological changes during puberty may occur at different ages and the duration and tempo of these changes may vary from child to child. The term relative age effect (RAE) means that these biological differences may occur in athletes that are separated by even less than 12 months, with relatively older athletes experiencing their growth spurt and other bodily changes at a younger age compared to their relatively younger counterparts. As such, relatively older athletes are frequently over-represented in elite teams with simultaneous under-representation of the younger individuals in the same age category. In order to reduce the effects of this phenomenon, research is needed to determine the reasons for RAE. Thus, it was the purpose of the present study to determine the prevalence of RAE in non-elite high-school male rugby players in Gauteng, South Africa and to explore if RAE was influenced by rugby-specific physical fitness parameters.
This was a descriptive study which included quantitative research in the form of a RAE questionnaire and 11 rugby-specific physical fitness assessments. The physical fitness assessments consisted of anthropometric, speed, maximal strength, muscle endurance, anaerobic capacity and aerobic capacity assessments. Two hundred and eighty one adolescent males ranging in age between 13 and 16-years were purposefully selected from a group of school rugby players who competed for their respective A-squads and B-squads. Data were analysed using the Chi-squared goodness-of-fit test, means and standard deviations, one-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), independent T-tests, Kruskall–Wallis tests and Mann-Whitney tests.
Significant (p ≤ 0.05) effects were observed for the U/14, U/15 and U/16 age groups. The results demonstrated that the quarterly birth date distribution of all the age groups differed significantly from the general Gauteng population and that there was an over-representation of relatively older athletes and an under-representation of relatively younger athletes in the respective A- and B-squads. The present study concluded that RAE plays a...