Is Britteny Cox too young to compete in the Vancouver Olympics?
The International Gymnastics Federation would not allow her to be an Olympian, were she a gymnast.
Skyrider 95 points out I got this wrong. Britteny turns 16 in 2010 so she would be old enough under the gymnastics rules.
The rest of the post is still valid, I think.
… Her inclusion in our team to represent Australia at the Vancouver Winter Olympics is testimony to her rapid rise through the ranks …
From eight years of age Britteny has been winning titles at state and national level in her chosen alpine discipline – mogul skiing. …
15 year old falls creek skier to become our youngest winter olympian
I did a quick search of the news reports on her surprise selection. Not a single “concern” that she might be too young to handle the Olympics. Or that her coaches have pushed her too hard.
Why is it that only Gymnastics is convinced that a minimum age of 16 is necessary? Not Diving. And not Skiing.
We look like idiots in the international sporting community for putting that age rule in place. Perhaps Grandi will realize his mistake Feb. 26th.
51 comments ↓
OK, so, don’t Google image search “Brittney Cox” if you’re at work…or in class at school….as transposing the “N” gets you an entirely different person.
2 questions: Does skiing have a history, real or fictional, of abusive coaching? And, if you removed all 90 pounds of winter clothing/gear, would Britteny look like a 15 year old girl, or a 10 year old girl? (And, is there a difference between having her perform under all that stuff and a gymnast competing in what amounts to be a swimsuit?) I.e., does she have both the physical look and the emotional “look” that she’s competing on her own free will, as opposed to the fear of a pre-teen competing under the threat of parents or state?
None of that is in defense of the age requirement on gymnastics, but just my speculations as to why it might not even be an issue on the radar of other sports.
It’s also sad that in Olympic gymnastics the best gymnast may not even be in the event. Should it still be called “The Olympics”? I thought that was the whole point of the Olympics. Can you imagine if the fastest runner in the world was not allowed to race?
Good point JAO. I searched “Google News”.
Rick, there’s an age limit in Figure skating:
“Skaters must be older than fifteen as of July 1st the previous year to compete.” Which is same for competing at Worlds. So Tara will always been the youngest Olympic champ (at 14)
Age rule, or no age rule, the level of competition in gymnastics is high enough that I don’t really see the need to worry about the one or two competitive kids that “might” be missing from the competition due to age. I do wish there were no age rule just so people would quit whining about it.
The upshot of the age rule is that coaches can not simply throw away an athlete once they start to grow. It’s better for the sport that coaches have to actually figure out how to deal with the growth cycle instead of just spouting some crap about women not being built for gymnastics and moving on to the next rinky dink little kid.
The world may have never known Nadia or Mary lou.
We were missing plenty of good gymnasts in 2008 but even more in 2009. We miss getting some really awesome kids that hope to go to the Olympics experience on the Worlds stage prior to competing at the biggest meet of their life. How is that healthy for our gymnasts? They can compete in the Olympics but they cannot compete in the World Championships before one? Don’t you think that kind of experience helps build confidence?
Nadia, Olga, Miller, Boginskaya, Moceanu, Omelianchik, among countless others all made a big splash in the year of their 15th birthday at a major competition. Without them, we’d be missing some seriously awesome gymnastics, don’t you think?
Im a swimmer but also a keen gymnastics fan.
The main problem with gymnastics is unlike alot of sports
(not all though) it puts so much physical damge ont he body its unhelathy for a 12 year old to train 37 hours a week in order to fulfill olympic fame. In the end these athletes are kids/people first and need to be treat like this. This hasnt always been done in gymnastics with too many sad stories to count.
In the end people just need to pin a picture of NASTIA on their wasll because although she couldnt go to athens if a kid wants it soo much it can be done and they can win the biggest prize of them all.
We’ll never be without them because their day is done and gone. They competed in a different era under different rules. We’re not without the current jr phenoms or missing their seriously awesome gymnastics either, thanks to youtube. So they can’t go to the Worlds or Olympics. So what. This is 2010, not 1972 – 1992. If there is a talented jr. out there, you will see her on whatever video sharing site. Forget worlds or Olympics. She could be competing in her home gym’s fun meet and it won’t matter thanks to the magical combination of the video camera and the internet.
A gymnast doesn’t need to be in a worlds before they go to the Olympics. They get plenty of experience elsewhere. He Kexin did fine in 2008. Cheng Fei, with all of her experience, fell all over the place.
Firstly, moguls is the only ski event that having the advanage of being young COULD help. But they’re still going to be compared to past olympians still competing and people who could have up to 15-20 years experience on them.
Secondly, people should stop comparing gymnstics to other sports. FIG has already given the women’s gymnastics fields a lower age restriction, because they obviously decided that 16 was the most apropriate age to alow peopl to compete as a senior. It’s the rules, deal with it.
Great comments from Sher.
The kids are training the hours, getting pushed, etc-regardless of whether they are too young to get to compete in the olympics- so just let them compete regardless of their age.
Perhaps instead of calling gymnastics stupid for having an age limit it should be flipped? Perhaps those sports should have one. Stop trying to peak gymnasts when they’re 12 (I’m thinking of Jordyn Wieber here). Gymnastics is a dangerous sport, not only because of the risks being taken on the apparatus, but just the general stress on the body. I don’t understand why everyone thinks it’s good that the average age is getting older, and yet they want the end of an age limit as well.
As much as I hate Grandi, not removing the age limit is, in my opinion, a good thing.
Hey Munch,
Let’s flip it, as you say.
GOAL: safer training and competition for athletes
SOLUTION: ???
Is it putting in a minimum age for Olympics? …
I don’t think so.
Wild guess, I’d say that rule change made the sport 5% safer for girls and young women around the world. The open-ended code made it 40% more dangerous.
… I’ll put the rest of this in a future post.
THANKS.
shergymrag, i don’t understand your point at all?
so they can’t compete at a worlds or olympics. so what. we can still see them on youtube.
are you kidding me!?!? that is extremely selfish, and the issue isn’t about fans getting to see them, it’s about showcasing their talent and ability to the world, on a world stage. but mostly, it’s about THEM achieving THEIR goals and dreams. i promise they care about missing out on a worlds or olympics, and could care less (or very little) if videos of them are put up on youtube.
I think you do understand my point. You think it’s selfish but you do, in fact, understand it.
The age limit doesn’t force anyone to miss out. All they have to do is keep going and they’ll be old enough to participate. This goes for gymnasts of any age. Eight-year-olds can’t be level 10s in the US. They have to wait until they are at least 9. As for elites, if they get surpassed while they’re waiting, that’s just too bad. I’m sure all athletes who miss the cut are all sad and forlorn that they got whooped.
And youtube is a world stage. It’s bigger than the Olympics, actually.
I lost a high caliber gymnast, in the end almost entirely due to the age restriction. It was difficult for her to sit on the sidelines and see her buddies trying out for Sydney. She may not have made the team in the end, but the fact that she was shut of out the trial entirely was quite defeating. The idea of 4 years more was daunting. In her case, having had the chance to try would have made an enormous difference. Every situation is different, but those few months that prevented her from trying out for her dream cost us all. Just one story. Just one gymnast. Just one coach. There are more.
Athletes quit. For some reason you are blaming the age limit but how did she not know already that she was too young for Sydney? The age limit changed after Atlanta. Why were her goals wrapped up in just the Olympics? There were three world championships between Sydney and Athens.
Sorry, Dana but this kid sounds like moving on to something else was just in the cards for her regardless of any age limit.
NOTHING in gymnastics is bigger than the olympics- especially youtube! just ask any elite athlete. sure, worlds has more competitors, but it’s just not the same as the olympics. nothing carries the same prestige or clout. i’m not sure how one would even think that. and the attitude of “what’s another four years?” is insulting and beyond insensitive. a gymnast could be ready NOW, and to have to wait an entire quad more, when they could be past their prime or have an injury, is heart breaking. sure, they may decide to go to a second olympics anyway had they been eligible for the first, but that’s such a different feeling.
i agree that elite athletes getting surpassed while they’re waiting is one thing, but it’s when it turns into so much more, such as what i just said above about injury, illness, or other gymnasts being better not because they’re actually better but because the other gymnast is past her prime.
as far as the level 10 rule, that really has no place, as it’s not even close to the same thing. an 8 or 9 year old still has her prime years ahead of her and at that point the goal is probably college or elite anyway, so it does nothing to delay her progress.
There needs to be an age limit. A bunch of ten year olds competing at the Olympics with bad form and no technique will kill this sport. It is bad enough we have Nastia doing that and being the face of the sport when she can’t even do a giant correctly or a cast to handstand with her legs together. Or twist without crossed legs.
If there was no age limit we would have 11 year olds doing big tricks with no regard to safety or form or technique and the world doesn’t need that.
Alexandrite, the level 10 rule is exactly the same as the FIG rule. It’s an age limit which forces kids – and their coaches – to wait.
The gymnast is not ready if she’s not old enough and if the “prestige and clout” of the Olympics is what she really wants then she’ll just have to wait until she’s old enough. She’ll get the prestige and clout then. Simple as that.
People act like it’s torture to train for four more years. If it’s torture to the gymnast — she should not be training in the first place.
Now people are being ridiculous. We’ve never had 10 year olds at an Olympics, nor have we have 11 or 12 year-olds – and if you cound Kim Gwang Suk, then that kid have the talent and ability to be competing on the world stage, without a doubt. Chronological and Biological age are different.
Everybody peaks at different times, and gymnastics has always been a sport that benefits younger, smaller people. The coach could be super smart and great at training for peaking, and the kid could STILL lose their chance to be an Olympics in their best shape.
If a kid is 14 and the best in the world, I want to see them, and they want their chance to be on top. Just ask Nadia, or Mostepanova, or Moceanu. With the open-ended code, we’ve asked gymnasts to put more strain on their bodies and for longer, and when they are older and less able to handle it. It takes a lot more luck these days for one’s body to make it to the Olympics. I think when making an age limit, one has to take into account the nature of the sport. You can be a Level 10 at 10 years old, but to go Sr. Elite you have to wait 6 more years.
Please excuse the post above; I swear I don’t speak that way – it’s late and my brain clearly isn’t functioning correctly. I know my grammar – I really do
The Couch Gymnast has a nice article about older elites.
http://couch-gymnast.blogspot.com/2010/01/old-dogs-new-tricks.html
well said tp. there are enough variables in this sport as it is, and no, we don’t have to worry about 10 or even 12 year olds at olympics, and no, it does not makes sense that you could be required to wait SIX years to progress from level 10 to elite.
also, to say someone should not be training anyway if four more years is so torturous, well, there are no words…
My guess is “there are no words” because there’s nothing wrong with that statement. Somebody who is doing something that’s torturous to them should not be doing it. Not unless we’re talking life and death which we’re not.
good. grief. that statement is way too insensitive to even begin to digest, which is why there are no words. tell the1980 u.s. olympic team, and 1984 soviet team, among many others, “there’s always the next olympics”.
it is clear there is no concept here of the mental and emotional aspect of this sport that come into play, as well as financial and physical, just to name a few.
I think that no mattter what happens with the age rule we will still see some of the best gymnasts in the world never compete in, or perform their best at the Olympics. Three or four years is a long time to stay on the top of your game and if you peak the year after the Olympics you’re stuck there waiting for the next ones to roll around anyway. I guess a lot of it depends on what year you were lucky enough to be born in.
Unfortunately for gymnasts their international careers are usually very short compared to that of athletes in other sports and the Olympics only comes round every four years. There are always going to be gymnasts who peak too early or too late no matter what the age rule is.
“…tell the1980 u.s. olympic team, and 1984 soviet team, among many others, “there’s always the next olympics”.”
Maybe somebody did tell Talavera, McNamara, and Johnson that “there’s always the next Olympics.” Because after they missed out in 1980, they stuck around and made it in 1984. Kelly Garrison Steves missed out in 1980 and 1984. She stuck around and made it in 1988. Amanda Borden didn’t make it in 1992. She stuck around and made it in 1996. Half the 1992 US Olympic team stuck around even though they’d already made it and they made it again! We could talk about 2000, 2004, and 2008 too.
There is a long history of athletes continuing for a second Olympic cycle. It’s not some impossible feat.
just as i said though, it’s a very different feeling if you’ve been to a first, or if you could at least try out for you first rather than being denied because of the year you were born.
you also didn’t mention beth rybacki, and the couple others who made the 1980 team and couldn’t continue on to 1984 for various reasons.
I didn’t mention them because my point was if the athletes stick around, they might still make it. That entire middle passage was meant to illustrate how common this phenomenon actually is. Beth and those couple others did not stick around. Maybe if they had they might have made it.
Beth tied McNamara at the 1980 Olympic trials. Frederick, Collins, and Koopman finished 3rd, 4th, and 5th. I guess somebody should’ve told them “there’s always the next Olympics.” Instead, they joined the ranks of the countless athletes who never make an Olympics.
“just as i said though, it’s a very different feeling if you’ve been to a first, or if you could at least try out for you first rather than being denied because of the year you were born.”
It really doesn’t matter what feeling the athlete has – unless they are feeling head-casey.
of course it matters! because of the financial burden, among many other factors, maybe a gymnast has no choice in the matter and cannot continue for another quad. maybe those on the 1980 team who did not continue were the older ones, who it was hard enough on them to begin with, but then there is all that emotional trauma. maybe they tried to come back but then it just got too hard. i couldn’t blame them for not coming back anyway, personally.
in every single interview i’ve heard with athletes talking about coming to a second games, they say that is the hardest thing they have ever done. EVERY. SINGLE. ONE. and not everyone is successful in the attempt. there is also the example of dominique moceanu. imagine the age limit had been in 1996 what it is now. she would not have been in atlanta. the u.s. might not have won gold. history would be different. then, guess what also- she would have NEVER made an olympic team!!
we’re allowed to have different opinions, obviously, but the mental, emotional, physical, financial, etc., strain on the athlete, the body, the family, friends, the coaches, etc. is largely overbearing, and the sport is fickle and unfair enough as it is without yet another thing standing in the way of a gymnast and her shot at her dream. basically, if you’re a fan of the age rule, that’s fine, just show some sensitivity to the consequences of such a rule even if you feel the benefits outweigh the costs.
I’m not siding either way here, but if Moceanu hadn’t been old enough to make the team in 1996 then I think she would have made it in 2000. I think perhaps her greatest problem was making the team so young and being seen as one of the stars of the team at that age. Her disastrous beam in EF won’t have done anything to help her mental state and all the publicity and tours after 96 had an impact on her training etc.
I think if she’d known from day one that she was too young to compete in 96 then the long term plan would always have been Sydney and we would have seen her mature and develop possibly a little slower but I really do think she would have been there. Nastia did it for 2008. She could have been there in Athens but held on. She always knew she wasn’t going to make 2004 because of the age rule.
I just reread my last paragraph and when I say that Nastia could have been there in Athens, I mean in terms of ability, not in terms of age!
“I’m not siding either way here, but if Moceanu hadn’t been old enough to make the team in 1996 then I think she would have made it in 2000.”
I agree about Moceanu.
“basically, if you’re a fan of the age rule, that’s fine, just show some sensitivity to the consequences of such a rule even if you feel the benefits outweigh the costs.”
I’m not a fan of the age rule. I think it’s good for the sport but it wouldn’t bother me if they got rid of it. Missing the Olympic team does not and never will even register on my scale of hardships that people have to go through in life.
“The International Gymnastics Federation would not allow her to be an Olympian, were she a gymnast.”
Actually they would not be able to prevent her if she were a gymnast. Being that she is born in 1994, she will indeed be 16 by december 31, the deadline to meet the age requirement.
Do your research before making a huge deal about someone who WOULD be able to qualify in gymnastics
Oops, sorry about that Skyrider. I’ll make the correction to the post.
but dominique moceanu was injured in 2000, and that’s something i guess we’ll never know whether or not it would have changed and she would have been completely healthy.
if missing out on the olympic team does not factor into a scale of hardships whatsoever, then i guess there is no concept of what an elite athlete, espeically a gymnast, goes through. it’s not like i know first hand, but i really don’t need to, because reading and listening to the many interviews i have about that in the past it is obvious what it can do to someone.
also, coach rick, even if you made that mistake about her age, i think you still have a point, because wouldn’t she still be able to compete in this year’s olympics even if she wasn’t turning 16 by the end of the year because aren’t snowboarding rules different?
I’m not sure what the ski rules are. I assume they have no minimum age.
“if missing out on the olympic team does not factor into a scale of hardships whatsoever, then i guess there is no concept of what an elite athlete, espeically a gymnast, goes through. ”
I don’t have a separate scale of hardships for people who missed the Olympic team vs people who just got shot and are laying in the road bleeding to death or people who’s loved one has passed away.
yes, those are terrible things as well and terrible things to have to go through.
“yes, those are terrible things as well and terrible things to have to go through.”
Terrible:
shot and bleeding to death in the road
losing a loved one
Way, way, way, way, way, way, way, waaaaaay less terrible:
missing the Olympic team
omg can we stop this. i am acknowledging and respecting your point of view, and you cannot do the same. you cannot even see that hanging in there and training at one of the toughest sports for another four years because of your age, for an olympics that might not/probably won’t happen is the slightest bit of hurdle to overcome.
” i am acknowledging and respecting your point of view, and you cannot do the same.”
I think that depends entirely on how one defines “acknowledging and respecting” someone’s point of view.
“you cannot even see that hanging in there and training at one of the toughest sports for another four years because of your age, for an olympics that might not/probably won’t happen is the slightest bit of hurdle to overcome.”
I never said it would be easy. I said that if an athlete misses out due to age or whatever she can keep training and try to make it the next time. It can be done and has been done numerous times.
it’s just that you sound as though you think it’s not even hard.
I’m not saying that the athlete should just keep training because I think it’s easy. I’m saying they should just keep training because that’s what they have to do to get what they want. The level of difficulty doesn’t factor into it. Especially if they are missing the team because they are too young. That “extra” four years should’ve been in their training plan anyway.
Its a good idea for gymnastics to have a 16-year old age limit. Because coaches would just ditch kids once they don’t have the correct body type. Like previously said. Also before you start complaining their are other sports with more strict rules. Ie trampoline has an age restriction of 18 years old. However, they do have the world age games which allows kids under 18 compete but with strict caps on the amount of difficulty competed. But trampolinists have to wait even longer to compete.
TECHNICAL REGULATIONS 2008 – SECTION 1 – GENERAL REGULATIONS May 2007
Reg. 5.2 AGE OF PARTICIPANTS
For the official senior competitions of the FIG and for the Olympic
Games the participants must, in the year of the competition, have the following
minimum age:
Seniors
Men’s Artistic Gymnastics: 16 years
Women’s Artistic Gymnastics: 16 years (except that in the year
immediately preceding the Olympic
Games, gymnasts of 15 years of age are
authorised to participate in the World
Championships). From 2009, 16 years
without exception.
Rhythmic Gymnastics: 16 years
Trampoline Gymnastics: 18 years for Olympic Games
17 years for all events in the open category
(senior/adult) such as World Championships,
Continental Championships, World Cup
Series, International competitions etc. (subject
to the 17 year old not having participated in
any youth or junior international
championships in the same year)
Acrobatic Gymnastics: 15 years
Aerobic Gymnastics: 18 years
Juniors
Men’s Artistic Gymnastics: the gymnast must be not less than
14 years of age nor more than
18 years
Women’s Artistic Gymnastics: the gymnast must be not less than
13 years of age nor more than
15 years
Rhythmic Gymnastics: the gymnast must be not less than
13 years and not more than 15 years
Trampoline Gymnastics: Age for Continental Youth Championships:
13 to 17 years old (subject to the 17 year old
not having participated in any open category
(senior/adult) of World Championships,
- 28 -
Continental Championships, and World Cup
Series).
Acrobatic Gymnastics : 12 – 19 years
(difference of age max. 6 years)
Aerobic Gymnastics: 14 – 17 years
Thanks crazytumbler.
hm… I found something on a site not sure of how correct it is, but a lot of sports have age restrictions that i never noticed
- Bobsled (minimum of 14 years old)
- Boxing (17-32)
- Diving (minimum of 14)
- Equestrian (16 or older)
- Figure skating (15 by July 1 of previous year)
- Judo (15 or older)
- Luge (16 or older)
- Soccer (under 23)
- Team handball (over 18)
- Weightlifting (17 or older)
- Wrestling (must be at least 17 on day of Opening Ceremonies).
There was the 13yr-old British diver in Beijing …
But he may turn 14 “during the year of the Olympics”, or some such interpretation.
Gymnastics WAG is one of the few sports where younger girls sometimes have an advantage. MAG doesn’t care about the FIG age rule. It will never affect them.
Leave a Comment