Abstract Introduction and purpose There is a lack of published data on the anthropometric and relative-age effect of elite youth field hockey players. Purposes (a) To establish the anthropometric characteristics of elite junior Argentine male field hockey players; (b) to look for differences in physique, years of playing and birth-date effect between the final players selected to make up the team and those who were not selected out of the original pre-selected sample; and (c) to establish whether there are any differences in proportional limb lengths between elite junior hockey players and a local reference sample. Methods Thirty five elite Argentine junior field hockey players pre-selected to form the base of the national junior team for the 2005 Junior World Cup (Age 19.0 ± 1.0 years; weight 70.7 ± 5.4 kg; height 176.4 ± 6.4 cm). A full anthropometric battery including lengths, heights, breadths, girths, and skinfolds, plus number of years playing and date of birth. Results No statistically significant differences were found in skeletal structural dimensions when compared to a reference sample, nor between finally selected and non-selected players in anthropometric dimensions, playing history ( P = .11) and relative-age effect ( P = .11). Conclusion Male field hockey is a sport with normal bone-structural requirements, and with a lack of birth-date effect in Argentina.