Relative age effect revisited: findings from the dance domain.

The relative age effect is a worldwide phenomenon. While there is solid empirical evidence for the existence in sports like soccer and ice hockey, there are also some findings indicating the absence of the phenomenon. In an earlier study, no support was found with Dutch top-level athletes in table tennis and in volleyball. The explanation was that in athletic tasks which depend heavily on the technical ability (or motor skill) of the participant, a relative age effect will not be observed. In the present study this supposition was tested again with three samples of Dutch preprofessional dance students (overall number of subjects: 546). Again no support was obtained for the relative age effect. Therefore, a case is being built that the relative age effect is not an omnipresent phenomenon.