Ultrasound-derived skeletal maturity estimates of boys and girls selected to football and athletics development programmes: an exploratory study of 716 South African and German adolescents

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BACKGROUND: Differences in maturity status between athletes may affect selection to development programmes. Data supporting this are limited for low- and middle-income countries. AIM: This exploratory study aimed to describe the maturity by country, sport and position/event, using data from a convenience sample of South African and German adolescents selected to competitive football (soccer) and athletics (track and field) programmes, and school learners from the same geographical area. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: We included skeletal age estimates from BAUSport ultrasound assessments of 233 girls (age 10-15 years) and 483 boys (age 10-17 years). RESULTS: South African boys in the athletics group were advanced in maturity compared to football players, who were advanced compared to school learners. Similar patterns could be seen for South African girls (data only available for athletics vs. school learners). German female football players were less mature than the athletics and school samples, with no apparent differences between German male groups. South African boys and girls were delayed in maturity compared to German participants. CONCLUSION: Our observations may inspire future research aiming to understand the maturity of athletes in development pathways in South Africa using more robust study designs. Such studies should include a suitable control group.

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