So you want the age requirements on Women’s Gymnastics Removed – Why ?
The following is a recent comment in part posted by Troy on Gymnastics Coaching Canadian gymnast badly injured – Comments
“The only thing that I can figure as far as why there aren’t more kids getting more seriously injured by insane coaches, is that these kids are protected by fear. Thank goodness for that warning system in the mind that makes kids balk or not do skills when coaches that couldn’t care less about their gymnasts’ well-being, ask them to do something that they have no business attempting.”
We agree with the above comment and is the reason we take the opposite position of many coaches and others that would like to see the minimum age requirement for the Olympics removed.
All coaches will tell you it’s easier to coach a young child new tricks, they are more trusting, in most cases fearless and the key to success may be that they are not in position to decide what is in their best interests.
It has been reported that Taylor Lindsay-Noel was attempting a toe on double front, if this is true it is a very difficult and dangerous skill to learn.
The sport of gymnastics needs to take a long look at the rules/code and requirements. The view that only little girls can do the tricks/gymnastics I want to see at the Olympics every four years should be changed.
The code which supports a mindset that by the time your 19 or 20 you’re to old does nothing to keep athletes involved in the sport, retired at 16 is not the answer. A sport that as you gain experience and maturity diminishes your chances of success has some issues to deal with.
The pride that is shared by some over the accomplishment of the Chinese gymnasts is not shared by all. The road to success for them was well mapped out starting at 5 or 6 years old. Families giving up their only child to the government sport schools in the hope of a better life for them, a few succeed, thousands fail, millions watch.
In the future we hope the age restriction is again raised at the Summer Olympics in regards to Artistic Gymnastics. The code of points changed to bring back the artistic value of the sport making it possible for women not children to compete successfully.
Would this be a step in the right direction for the benefit of the sport and the safety of the children?
The 2010 Youth Olympics for 14 to 18 year old athletes may become the intermediate step the IOC hopes it will be.
IOC President Jacques Rogge
By creating the Youth Olympic Games on 5 July 2007, the IOC played its role as a catalyst for the sports movement. It showed that its commitment to the youth of today and tomorrow is about action, not just words, by offering them an event of their own in the spirit of the Olympic Games.
Having helped to bring about this new event, I wish to show you how the Youth Olympic Games can inspire young people around the world to take up sport. We all know that sport today plays an ever greater role in society. Never has it borne so many expectations as at the start of this new century. People expect sport to promote the integration of minorities; to reduce differences; to combat the rise of obesity; and to help conquer all forms of dependency.
The Youth Olympic Games must set an example in this regard. Alongside competition itself, the event can offer an excellent platform to create a true community between the youth of the world and the participants by learning and sharing experiences. A major role will thus be given to information and education linked to sensitive subjects like the dangers of doping in sport; violence in stadiums; the risks associated with extremes, whether a sedentary lifestyle or over training; the benefits of a balanced diet; and the advantages of striking a healthy balance between sport and other social and educational activities.
The Youth Olympic Games will be innovative Games made to measure for young people with sports events carefully chosen to protect the health of the young athletes -, but also Games made to inspire them with the incorporation of all the Olympic symbols (torch relay, anthem, flag). Moreover, we want these young athletes to become better human beings, true sportsmen or simply ambassadors in society for sport and the Olympic values, having learnt their relevance and meaning today. Our hope is that if young people can learn to respect each other on the field of play, they may transfer this to the other parts of their daily lives. Not only will the Youth Olympic Games bring renewed life and vigour to the Olympic Movement, we also owe these Games to the young people of the world. The first edition of the Summer Youth Olympic Games will be in 2010…
Gymnastics is a wonderful sport. It teaches discipline, flexibility, agility, and coordination. However, it is unique in its requirements for competitive female gymnasts to remain in a pre-pubescent state that is incredibly unhealthy. The mere fact that female gymnasts can compete at such a serious level at such a young age is what is leading to the many abuses taking place in this sport. Coaches, blinded by the possibility of success, give little regard to the long-term health of their young, female atheletes. Impressionable young athletes are generally unaware of the long-term damage they are doing to their bodies. When you are 13 years old and in the elite gymnastics scene, the lines become blurry and parents who once said they would never push their child to such extremes suddenly see the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.
There needs to be a lot of changes to this sport before I would EVER let a child of mine participate in gymnastics competitions of ANY kind. First, basic coaching standards need to be put in place. There are some great coaches out there who truly care about the health of their athletes (short term and long term) and see the bigger picture. However, there are just as many coaches who only see winning as the goal. These coaches leave carnage in their past as they move from girl to girl, trying to find the next “it girl” to build their careers. Gymnasts like Christy Heinrich or Julissa Gomez would likely still be alive today had they not been pushed to such an extreme at such a young age. Sure, the Karolyi’s churn out olympic champions, but no one ever asks, “At what cost?”
When you look at sports in general, the number of medals chalked up at the olympics seems very trivial and silly. What does a lot of medals at the Games mean? What does it really say about a country? While watching the Beijing Olypics this summer, seeing the depths to which both the Americans and Chinese were willing to sink to rack up the medals in gymnastics, it seem as though this measure means absolutely nothing.