Examining the Relative Age Effect and Influence of Academic Timing on Participation in Canadian Interuniversity Sport

Relative age effects (RAE) are developmental advantages experienced by those born in the initial months after a predetermined cut-off date over their younger counterparts. Student-athletes are considered to be ‘on-time’ when their current year of athletic eligibility coincides with their expected year of athletic eligibility, based on their year of birth. Conversely, student-athletes are considered ‘delayed’ when their current athletic eligibility year corresponds with a younger cohort. This project examined the RAE and academic timing within nine of the 12 Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) championship sports. A moderate RAE was seen among the entire sample of CIS student- athletes. Males are more likely to be delayed than females, and those student-athletes born in the later months of the year are more frequently delayed compared to their relatively older peers. Based on these results, delaying one’s athletic eligibly may be an effective method to reduce the disadvantages associated with being relatively younger

The Influence of Relative Age on Developmental Outcomes in Female Ice Hockey

When properly structured, sport has the capacity to offer athletes numerous positive outcomes. However, the seemingly simple procedure of dividing athletes by chronological age causes relative age disparities which are associated with varying sporting experiences and opportunities for participation. Relative age effects (RAEs) are developmental (dis)advantages associated with an individual’s birthdate and where that falls relative to a pre-determined cut-off date. The objective of this dissertation was to explore differences in positive youth development (PYD) across the relative ages of female ice hockey players, as well as to determine if the mechanisms that contribute to athletes’ acquisition of PYD differed by relative age. This aim was accomplished through three interrelated studies. In Chapter 2, differences in leadership behaviours were examined while accounting for athletes’ relative age. The findings of this study illustrated that the frequency with which female ice hockey players engage in leadership behaviours did not vary by relative age, supporting prior research in male ice hockey. Chapter 3 expanded the investigation of relative age on PYD by exploring how positive and negative developmental experiences differ by athletes’ relative ages. The results of this study showed that relative age was not a differentiating factor in female ice hockey players’ developmental experiences. Thus, the findings from Chapters 2 and 3 suggest that if female ice hockey players can overcome the initial selection bias associated with relative age, then their opportunities for PYD appear to be equitable. Chapter 4 builds on Chapters 2 and 3 by including interviews with relatively older and younger female ice hockey players that sought to gain insight into what mechanisms contributed or hindered their development of PYD outcomes. Secondary aims included determining if PYD outcomes varied by relative age as well as how athletes employed these skills in other contexts. The social features of the sport environment, the structure of female travel/rep ice hockey, and negative ice hockey experiences (e.g., difficult team dynamics, challenges with coaches, playing on boys’ teams) served as the overarching mechanisms that facilitated or hindered athletes’ development of PYD outcomes. Regardless of their relative age, athletes reported developing PYD outcomes in the personal, physical, and social domains as well as using these skills in many contexts outside of hockey. Future research is needed to explore if relative age influences PYD among those who have dropped out of sport. The findings from this dissertation can be used to inform the design of sport programming that aims to achieve PYD

Examining the Role of Relative Age on Leadership Behaviours among Female Ice Hockey Players: An Exploratory Investigation

The aim of this study was to examine the influence of relative age on self-reported leadership behaviors among competitive female ice hockey players. Secondary purposes included examining whether a relative age effect (RAE) was present within the sample and if leadership behaviors differed according to leader status (i.e., formal versus informal leaders). Canadian female ice hockey players (ages 15-18 years) completed an online survey that contained the Leadership Scale for Sport along with additional demographic questions. Players were segmented into birth quartiles based upon Hockey Canada’s selection date and classified by leadership status. The MANOVA suggested that the frequency of leadership behaviors displayed by these athletes did not differ across birth quartiles. Furthermore, although there was a RAE trend within this sample of competitive female ice hockey players, the differences relative to population distributions were not statistically significant. Finally, formal leaders (i.e., captains/alternate captains) reported higher levels of social support, positive feedback, democratic behavior, and training and instruction than informal leaders. It appears that relative age is not a discriminating factor with respect to leadership behaviors. Competitive female ice hockey may be an avenue for all players, regardless of their date of birth, to develop and demonstrate leadership