Efecto de edad relativa en la Liga Nacional de Básquetbol de Chile

Abstract

The objective of the study was to verify the existence of overrepresentation of players born in the first part of the year or Relative Age Effect (RAE), in Chilean elite men's basketball. The distribution by month, quarter, and semester of players’ birthdates were obtained from the official rosters of the National Basketball League of Chile (LNB) for the 2019-20 season. These were compared to the distribution of births in Chile between 1977 and 2005. The statistical significance of the differences between expected and observed distribution was verified using the 2 test (monthly and quarterly) and a binomial distribution (semi-annual). The three analyses yielded significant differences between the expected and observed distribution, with an overrepresentation of those born in the first semester, first quarter, and January and an underrepresentation of those born in the second semester, fourth quarter, and December. It is concluded that there is sufficient evidence to confirm the existence of RAE in LNB. To reduce RAE, measures are proposed to educate coaches about the effects of age differences on performance and the establishment of mobile cut-off dates during the competitive season.