A recent study of the soccer leagues in France 15 showed there was little relative age discrepancy in the professional ranks. Most of the relative age data in the literature are from hockey and soccer. 10 Are these recommendations really warranted in today’s environment? Certainly they would disrupt the established selection and training process already in place. 6 – 14 Some authors have studied the potential bias in the past and have recommended wholesale changes in league age structure. Hockey and other sporting programs have been reviewed. Are certain athletes, mainly on the basis of relative birthdates, unfairly using these resources intended for all athletes? This has been defined as the relative age effect (RAE), 1, 3 – 5 where players who are born in the first few months of the year are predominately selected over relatively younger players born in the later months of the year. Over the last 2 decades there has been an ongoing debate of what other aspects, 1, 2 such as where and when players were born, are the primary factors in determining success in sports. Emphasis on training techniques, hockey intelligence and parental attributes has often been seen as influencing the choice of hockey players on draft day. Many resources go into training and nurturing athletes to perform at elite levels.
