Why do the olympic gymnasts have to be 16?

Question

Why do the olympic gymnasts have to be 16?

Answer 1

I think it's a good rule.  It was instituted back when Russia and other communist countries were dominating the sport with their state run gyms.  The government would cherry pick the best children and then put them under state supervision with little to no interaction with family.  Their whole life revolved around giving your best for the people.  The young skulls full of mush did just that.

My daughter is a gymnast. There is no free handout or state sponsorship to help us along in the pursuit of her dream. We carry the total burden of a very expensive sport.

Under a communist dictatorship, the hours are long and hard for the ones selected to serve the state.  Even Nadia has openly talked about how she was treated in Romania while training and the hours involved.

Here in the free world, gymnasts have a life so to speak.  School, friends, family, and so forth.  The time in the gym is limited compared to what is spent in the gym in China today or in Russia or Romania back in the 1970's.

A 12 or 14 year old in China has an advantage of a lot more time in the gym over my daughter or any other gymnast in the free world.  The extra couple years the rule gives the free world helps girls like my daughter at least get caught up a little bit.

I've added this to my original answer to help give you hopefully a better understanding of why those two years are important.

There is a popular tee shirt that my daughter loves that says, "If gymnastics were easy it would be called football."  A gifted athlete can show up at any high school and in a very short period of time excel to the point he is offered officerships to many  colleges.  It doesn't happen every day, but it does happen.  A gifted athlete with a good head on his shoulders can pick things up quickly.

It will never happen in gymnastics.  The average girl spends a couple years in recreational gymnastics before they even consider competitive gymnastics.  Competitive gymnastic has basically 7 levels, 4-10.  It's just like learning to walk.  Girls crawl along in compulsory levels 4 - 6 getting down the basics that the upper levels will build on.  Compulsory means they all do the exact same thing on all 4 events.

Level 7 is their first year of optionals, where they get their own routines on all 4 events even though the vast majority do the same vault.  This is where they start building on the foundation they need for the skills required to be an elite.    They get to add their own personality and flair.

Now the going gets tough.  The skills required to move on to the higher levels get more dangerous and many girls drop out of gymnastics when they get to this point.  The average gymnast spends one year at each level.  Some spend two.  Some skip a level.

So what I'm saying is it takes an elite gymnast about 9 years to get to the point where she can compete on a world level.  If a communist country takes a 4 or 6 year old and crams that into 7 years, just think what they have there. A couple more years to build on their already built in advantage.

That's why 16 is a good age for Olympic gymnastics.  It gives our gymnasts that extra couple years to get caught up in the upper levels.  They are at a smaller disadvantage that way.

Answer 2

Oh please. Don't give me the old "younger girls are more flexible" excuse. Everybody develops at a different rate. You can be not every flexible when you're young. Just because your young doesn't mean every young person is flexible. It's a stupid age limit the IOC created. If the girls that aren't old enough and know that they will have to train extremely hard to be in the Olympics. Then let them be in the Olympics. It's not like if they break a lot of bones then it's the IOC fault. There should be some kind of contract for girls that are under 16 and want to be in the Olympics to sign.  

Answer 3

So you know your legal rights when caught cheating.

Answer 4

Because at that point in a young women's life they are built more like a women then a girl and the competition is equal.

Answer 5

Quote: "The psychological pressures of Olympic level competition are intense, and can create mental trauma. In contrast, younger athletes, may also be subject to less emotional pressure, i.e. less aware of the magnitude of the occasion, and it may/may not be a competition edge."

Not true. There is no single Olympic age limit (the British have a 13 year old diver in Beijing) any more than there is a single age at which people are able to cope adequately with failure. If anything learning to deal with success or the lack thereof is part of growing up and the Olympics could only do good for a child in this regard.

Quote: "The tricks that Olympic level gymnasts perform are incredibly dangerous to learn and master, and broken bones -- especially breaking bones at or near the joints, or damaging ligaments -- can be especially devastating to still developing bodies, as it can damage the growth plates at the ends of the bones and therefore permanently disfigure the gymnasts. It is done to protect the gymnasts, one gold is not worth a lifetime of pain."

Also not true. The girls competing at the Olympics do so by training and competing for years beforehand when they are still developing. Nobody has a problem with this any more than they do with children performing other sports.

Answer 6

idk, i think they should get rid of that rule all together. it's the olympics, it should be the best of the best competing to win gold, no exceptions. it would also eliminate a lot of contreversey if they would just change that rule.  

Answer 7

i have no clue

its a stupid rule

Answer 8

So you get well trained and dedicated girls to go.

This person has a good answer to a similar question already asked:

There are two major reasons for the 16 year age limit that I've heard:

1) The psychological pressures of Olympic level competition are intense, and can create mental trauma. In contrast, younger athletes, may also be subject to less emotional pressure, i.e. less aware of the magnitude of the occasion, and it may/may not be a competition edge.

2) The tricks that Olympic level gymnasts perform are incredibly dangerous to learn and master, and broken bones -- especially breaking bones at or near the joints, or damaging ligaments -- can be especially devastating to still developing bodies, as it can damage the growth plates at the ends of the bones and therefore permanently disfigure the gymnasts. It is done to protect the gymnasts, one gold is not worth a lifetime of pain.

Answer 9

its the rule...plain and simple

Answer 10

Fairness.  Younger girls are more flexible, therefore they have an advantage.