Igor Jelaska

Relative age effect and second-tiers: No second chance for later-born players

The main objective of this research was to determine the existence of relative age effect (RAE) in five European soccer leagues and their second-tier competitions. Even though RAE is a well-known phenomenon in professional sports environments it seems that the effect does not decline over the years. Moreover, additional information is required, especially when taking into account second-tier leagues. Birthdates from 1,332 first-tier domestic players from France, England, Spain, Germany and Italy and birthdates from 1,992 second-tier domestic players for the 2014/2015 season were taken for statistical analysis. In addition to standard statistical tests, the data were analyzed using econometric techniques for count data using Poisson and negative binomial regressions. The results obtained confirmed a biased distribution of birthdates in favor of players born earlier in the calendar year. For all of the five first-tier soccer leagues there was an unequal distribution of birthdates (France χ2 = 40.976, P<0.001; England χ2 = 21.892, P = 0.025; Spain χ2 = 24.690, P = 0.010; Germany χ2 = 22.889, P = 0.018; Italy χ2 = 28.583, P = 0.003). The results for second-tier leagues were similar (France χ2 = 46.741, P<0.001; England χ2 = 27.301, P = 0.004; Spain χ2 = 49.745, P<0.001; Germany χ2 = 30.633, P = 0.001; Italy χ2 = 36.973, P<0.001). Econometric techniques achieved similar results: estimated effect of month of birth, i.e., long-term RAE on players’ representativeness, is negative (statistically significant at the 1% level). On average, one month closer to the end of the year reduces the logs of expected counts of players by 6.9%. Assuming this effect as linear, being born in the month immediately before the cut-off date (i.e., December/August), reduces the logs of expected counts of players by approximately 75.9%. Further, ID (index of discrimination, that is, the ratio between the expected counts of players born in the middle of the first and the twelfth month of the selection year) is 2.13 and 2.22 for the first- and second-tier, respectively. In other words, in the top five European first-tier and second-tier leagues, one should expect the number of players born in the first month of the calendar year to be twice the number of those born in the last month. The RAE in the second-tiers is the same as in the first-tiers, so it appears that there is no second chance for later born players. This reduces the chances to recover talented players discarded in youth simply because of lower maturity.

Urine specific gravity as an indicator of dehydration in Olympic combat sport athletes; considerations for research and practice

ABSTRACT Urine specific gravity (USG) is the most commonly reported biochemical marker used in research and applied settings to detect fluid deficits in athletes, including those participating in combat sports. Despite the popularity of its use, there has been a growing debate regarding the diagnostic accuracy and the applicability of USG in characterizing whole-body fluid status and fluctuations. Moreover, recent investigations report universally high prevalence of hypohydration (∼90%) via USG assessment in combat sport athletes, often in spite of stable body-mass. Given the widespread use in both research and practice, and its use in a regulatory sense as a ‘hydration test’ in combat sports as a means to detect dehydration at the time of weigh-in; understanding the limitations and applicability of USG assessment is of paramount importance. Inconsistencies in findings of USG readings, possibly as a consequence of diverse methodological research approaches and/or overlooked confounding factors, preclude a conclusive position stand within current combat sports research and practice. Thus the primary aim of this paper is to critically review the literature regarding USG assessment of hydration status in combat sports research and practice. When taken on balance, the existing literature suggests: the use of laboratory derived benchmarks in applied settings, inconsistent sampling methodologies, the incomplete picture of how various confounding factors affect end-point readings, and the still poorly understood potential of renal adaptation to dehydration in combat athletes; make the utility of hydration assessment via USG measurement quite problematic, particularly when diet and training is not controlled.

Challenges of female vault finals for the 2008–2016 period

Article statistics Word count: 2,855; Tables: 0; Figures: 5; References: 21 Received: February 2017; Accepted: October 2017; Published: December 2017 Full-text PDF: http://www.balticsportscience.com Copyright

Letter to the Editor concerning "Validity and reliability of photographic measures to evaluate waistline asymmetry in idiopathic scoliosis" by Matamalas A, Bagó J, D Agata E, Pellisé F (2016) Eur Spine J. 2016 Mar 14 [Epub ahead of print].

In the latest years, some articles investigated the validity and reliability of several devices [3–5] raising several points about them. Recently, we read on the European Spine Journal an article entitled ‘‘Validity and reliability of photographic measures to evaluate waistline asymmetry in idiopathic scoliosis’’ on methodology test–retest assessment [2]. We think that this article promotes an approach surely simple but even worthy of further scientific evaluation. Some points listed in this letter point out what is yet necessary to verify to evaluate properly the effectiveness of this approach. Particularly, the methodological approach shows some severe flaws, which lead to unclear results interpretation. Therefore, this letter aims to help reader better understand the treated matter. Considering the study aims, the following points concern the used methodological approach.