Variations in the constituent year effect in Junior World Championships in alpine skiing: A window into relative development effects?

While research on the effects of ‘birth month’ is usually referred to as relative age effects, the study of the effects of ‘birth year’ is described as the constituent year effect (CYE). In the present study we examined the impact of the CYE on participation in the Junior World Championship in alpine skiing. Based on previous research, we expected to find increasing numbers of participants the older the age-group, and that the CYE would be stronger in the speed events compared to the technical ones. The sample in the present study consisted of 1188 male skiers and 859 female skiers within the age range of 17 to 21 years at the time of competition. The results show that the number of male participants increased with increasing age, which can be described as a CYE. For female skiers, a CYE was found, but it dissipated two years earlier than for male skiers. The CYE varied with event and was more pronounced the higher the speed of the event. The findings thus suggest that a constituent year effect exists among skiers participating in the FIS Junior World Ski Championship in the alpine skiing championships, and that the effect varies with gender and event, rather unrelated to age. Thus, it seems that the effect may not be a relative age effect, but instead a relative development effect.