http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_10212320 can someone explain to me why there is a minimum age? regardless of this rule, 11 yr olds around the world will still be wisked away to camps and train for 12 hrs a day.
While most countries are wisking away 11 year olds to train in camps 12 hours a day the Chinese are doing it to 3 year olds. The age limit is in place so those 3 year old Chinese kids can have a proper Chinese childhood and be chained to a table where they can make cheap plastic crap for Americans to buy at Wal Mart.
In gymnastics, younger gymnasts have an advantage in that they can pull off more difficult moves because they weigh less. I think it might have something to do with puberty as well.
In some sports, women's gymnastics especially, younger athletes have an advantage because their strength to weight ratio is higher than older girls. They also haven't completed puberty and have a more favorable center of gravity. They can really fly on the uneven bars. Athletes who haven't completed puberty also lack complete ossification of some bones and the pounding of competition can cause orthopedic problems. Also serious female athletes often undergo hormonal changes with low body fat and can develop more masculine features with small breasts and narrow hips more suitable for world-class competition than baby-making. There is some evidence that if this happens while a girl is going through puberty, permanent damage to her body chemistry can result.
Well said! I believe Britney Spears would be a perfect example of this natural phenomenon outside that of a competitiive class! :hihi:
I've even heard it suggested that the younger girls do not grasp the gravity of the situation, so they perform better under the intense pressure and scrutiny. Debate the one all you want, but that's what one of the gymnastics talking heads was speaking about last night. I like Red's explanation better.
i hope the first answer is the correct one, because if the IOC think that this rule is stopping pre-pubescent girls from hardcore gymnastics theyre crazy. if this is the reason, then they should test for ovulation hormones or something rather than a nice round age.
Before drug testing, back in the 70's, Soviet and East German female gymnasts were suspiciously small and undeveloped even though they were 18 and 19 years old. Not only that but they were immature and giggly like the 12-year-olds they looked like. It was obvious that they were taking medications to delay the onset of puberty and minimize growth. This gave them gymnasts with the bodies of 12-year-olds and the experience of 18-year-olds.
Competitive sports is, such as Olympic gymnastics, is pretty scary stuff. We see a lot of it up here in Plano; for instance, Nastia and Carly Patterson both trained @ WOGA in Plano. These kids have no life outside of their sport, and they go to this joke of a school called Spring Creek Academy--which basically gives them high school credit--for just their sport. One of my students a couple of years ago was missing school more often than being there, always in a tennis tournament. Sure enough, he ended up at Spring Creek Academy for 9th grade; I guess he can play tennis all he wants now. The level of commitment these kids have to have to their sport, at the expense of a real life outside of it, bothers me.
true. and that is something that will cause life long problems. i am mixed on if the age limit for competing tho. on one hand, these girls are running the risk of long term serious injury so lets have an age limit. on the other hand, they are training anyway so they can compete at the highest level when they turn 16 so the damage is being done anyway. i have read that the ioc should have balls an investigate the chinese gymnasts ages. anyone who thinks that the chinese govt isnt already working on "documentation" such as phony birth certificates to back up an older age has their heads up their arses.
