Maturity-related developmental inequalities in age-group swimming: the testing of ‘Mat-CAPs’ for their removal

Abbott, Shaun; Hogan, Clorinda; Torres Castiglioni, Marcela; Yamauchi, Goshi; Mitchell, Lachlan J.G.; Salter, James; Romann, Michael; Cobley, Stephen (2021). Maturity-related developmental inequalities in age-group swimming: the testing of ‘Mat-CAPs’ for their removal Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport, 24(4), pp. 397-404. Elsevier 10.1016/j.jsams.2020.10.003

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Objectives: To (1) examine the association between maturity timing and performance-based selection levels in (N=708) Australian male 100-m Freestyle swimmers (12-17 years); (2) identify the relationship between maturation status and 100-m Freestyle performance; and (3) determine whether Maturation-based Corrective Adjustment Procedures (Mat-CAPs) could remove maturation-related differences in swimming performance. Methods: In Part 1, maturity timing category distributions ('Early', 'Early Normative', 'Late Normative' and 'Late') for 'All', 'Top 50%' and '25%' of raw swimming times were examined within and across age-groups. In Part 2, multiple regression analyses quantified the relationship between maturity offset (YPHV) and swimming performance. In Part 3, sample-based maturity timing category distributions were examined based on raw and correctively adjusted swim times for 12-17 year old age-groups. Results: Based on raw swim times, a high prevalence of 'Early-maturing' swimmers, with large effect sizes was identified (e.g., 14 years 'All' - χ2 (3, 151=111.98, p<0.001; 'Early' v 'Late' OR=82.0 95%CI=4.77, 1409.9); while a complete absence of 'Late-maturers' was apparent in the sample (N=708). When maturity categories were re-defined based on sample mean±standard deviation, and when using the expected curvilinear trendline identified in Part 2, Mat-CAPs mitigated maturity timing biases across all age-groups and selection levels, and removed the Freestyle performance advantage afforded by advanced maturity timing and status. Conclusions: Removing the influence of maturation-related developmental differences could help improve youth swimmer participation experiences and improve the accuracy of identifying genuinely skilled age-group swimmers.

Item Type:	Journal Article (Original Article)
Division/Institute:	Swiss Federal Institute of Sports Magglingen SFISM > EHSM - Leistungssport > Trainingswissenschaft
Name:	Abbott, Shaun; Hogan, Clorinda; Torres Castiglioni, Marcela; Yamauchi, Goshi; Mitchell, Lachlan J.G.; Salter, James; Romann, Michael0000-0003-4139-2955 and Cobley, Stephen
ISSN:	1440-2440 (Print) 1878-1861 (Online)
Publisher:	Elsevier
Language:	English
Submitter:	Service Account
Date Deposited:	20 May 2022 10:05
Last Modified:	20 May 2022 10:05
Publisher DOI:	10.1016/j.jsams.2020.10.003
PubMed ID:	33172611
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Adolescence Athlete development Maturation Swimming Talent identification
ARBOR DOI:	10.24451/arbor.16846
URI:	https://arbor.bfh.ch/id/eprint/16846