Relative Age Effects and Place of Early Development Constrain Male Youth Italian Swimmers’ Developmental Experiences

Morganti, Gabriele and Kelly, Adam L. and Vitarelli, Matteo and Strassoldo di Villanova, Francesca and Ruscello, Bruno and Campoli, Francesca and Padua, Elvira (2024) Relative Age Effects and Place of Early Development Constrain Male Youth Italian Swimmers’ Developmental Experiences. Sports, 12 (11). p. 309. ISSN 2075-4663

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Abstract

Italian swimming emphasizes the early specialization of selected children from approximately 6 to 7 years old. Such an approach often leads to selection biases (i.e., birth advantages), which may undermine swimmers’ development and progression through the talent pathway. Accordingly, this study aimed to: (a) explore the presence of birth advantages at the annual Italian national age-group competition by observing the birth quarter (BQ) and place of early development (PED) distribution of 514 U15 swimmers; and (b) investigate how birth advantages affect swimmers’ ability to maintain their national status by comparing the BQ and PED distributions of 555 U17 national-level swimmers to the expected values (i.e., U15 distribution). Chi-square statistics for the U15 revealed an overrepresentation of BQ1s and swimmers developing in north and central Italy (p-values < 0.0001). In contrast, the U17’s BQ (p < 0.001) and PED (p = 0.01) distributions appeared skewed compared to the U15, favoring swimmers born in BQ3 and BQ4, and swimmers developing in north Italy (odds ratios: 1.69, 1.76, 1.39 respectively). The findings highlighted that cultural–contextual features of the environment shape Italian youth swimmers’ development and their progression through the current talent pathway.

Item Type:	Article
Identification Number:	10.3390/sports12110309
Dates:	Date Event 12 November 2024 Accepted 14 November 2024 Published Online
Uncontrolled Keywords:	birth advantages, youth swimming, talent identification, talent development, relative age effects, place of early development
Subjects:	CAH03 - biological and sport sciences > CAH03-02 - sport and exercise sciences > CAH03-02-01 - sport and exercise sciences
Divisions:	Faculty of Health, Education and Life Sciences > College of Life Sciences
Depositing User:	Gemma Tonks
Date Deposited:	16 Jul 2025 13:39
Last Modified:	16 Jul 2025 13:39
URI:	https://www.open-access.bcu.ac.uk/id/eprint/16527

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