Constituent year: a new consideration for injury risk in Canadian youth ice hockey.
OBJECTIVE
To examine if chronological age within Canadian youth ice hockey's 2-year age bands influences the proportion of injury.


METHODS
Retrospective secondary data analyses.


METHODS
Information on 4736 injured youth ice hockey players (10-15 years old) reported by the Canadian Hospitals Injury Reporting Prevention Program (CHIRPP) and 4959 (12-15 years old) injured players reported by the Hockey Canada Insurance Database (HCID).


METHODS
Proportions of injuries according to constituent year (first vs second year of participation within 2-year youth ice hockey age bands).


METHODS
The influence of age band (Atom, 10/11; Peewee, 12/13; Bantam, 14/15) and level of competitive play on constituent year injury proportions were examined.


RESULTS
Injured Atom and Peewee players (CHIRPP) were more likely to be in constituent year 2 (Atom: odds ratio [OR], 1.72; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.46-2.03; Peewee: OR, 1.25; 95% CI, 1.10-1.42). Injured players (HCID) at the highest tiers of competitive play were more likely to be in constituent year 2 (eg, Peewee: OR, 2.91; 95% CI, 1.92-4.41; Bantam: 1.89; 95% CI, 1.46-2.46).


CONCLUSIONS
Constituent year may be a factor in determining injury risk and may be relevant to those managing the risk of injury for youth ice hockey players.
Wattie
Nick
N
Carnegie Faculty of Sport and Education, Leeds Metropolitan University, Leeds, United Kingdom. n.wattie@leedsmet.ac.uk
Cobley
Stephen P
SP
Macpherson
Alison
A
Montelpare
William J
WJ
McKenna
Jim
J
Howard
Andrew
A
Baker
Joseph
J
D000293:Adolescent; D000367:Age Factors; D002170:Canada; D002648:Child; D003163:Competitive Behavior; D016208:Databases, Factual; D006688:Hockey / Q000293:injuries*; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D018570:Risk Assessment