EFFECTS OF BIRTH QUARTER ON BODY WEIGHT, SLEEP QUALITY, FITNESS MEASURES AND NATIONAL AND REGIONAL RANKING POSITION: A PRESELECTION OF YOUTH ANDALUSIAN PADEL PLAYERS

Resumen

INTRODUCTION: Relative age effects (RAEs) appears affect physiological and physical aspects in a variety of sports, both at youth andadolescent level [1]. Children born early in the selection year are more likely to experience success and to sustain participation, which caninfluence the dropout of the other athletes. Despite that, little is known about the influence of RAEs on physical parameters in youth padelplayers. Hence, the aims of the study were to test: 1) whether the relative age effect (RAE) was prevalent in the pre-selection of young (10-18 years) Andalusian padel players, and 2) whether anthropometric, sleep quality, national and regional ranking and fitness measures varyaccording to birth date distribution in elite youth padel players. METHODS: For the present study a pre-selection of youth padel players of the Andalusian Padel Federation (n = 69, 10-18 years old) were analysed. Body weight, sleep quality, national and regional ranking and fitness characteristics (Dominant-arm Hand Grip and Abalakov Jump) were measured. Chi-square tests were used to test the observed and expected birth distribution across the sample of players. A oneway analysis of variance ANOVA was used to compare all anthropometrical, sleep quality, performance and fitness variables across birth quarters for each age group. RESULTS: Of the pre-selected players, 63,77% were born in the first half of the year, specifically 50%, 75%, 68,75% and 61,9% for the U12, U14, U16 and U18 categories, respectively. No significant differences were found in any of the anthropometric, sleep quality, skill level and fitness characteristics of the regional squad players born across different quarters.CONCLUSION: Compared with early born, late born players did not seem to be different in anthropometric, sleep quality, national and regional ranking and fitness characteristics in youth elite padel players. Studies with a much larger sample are needed to obtain more conclusive results.