Why is the minimum age for gymnastics 16?

Question

Why is the minimum age for gymnastics 16 when the minimum age for diving is 14? Do you perform better if you were younger than 16?

Answer 1

well its 16 because if u were any younger, u could maybe get seriously injured,(not that u couldnt when u were 16) but since u are less developed at 14, u could die from a fall on ur neck when a 16 year old would only get paralyzed. also, i think that they don't want younger kids training sooo intensely and as much. it could be mentally dangerous as well...thats my guess, or something like that.

also, being smaller and younger gives people a strong advantage in gymnastics because they can fly higher, twist faster, etc.

and for diving, ur only falling into water, so its not as bad

Answer 2

Diving you may not get hurt as easily as gymnastics or any other kind of olympics sport. Did you watch yesterday? The Olympic owner or whatever was talking about the age limit.

Answer 3

Because gymnastics is extremely rough on your bones and muscles, and many pre-teens and teenagers' bones are still growing, and their muscles are still developing. The FIG doesn't want to encourage too strenuous training that could cause very harmful or dangerous injuries to still-developing young bodies.

Answer 4

maybe cause their more experienced and they need more training??

Answer 5

when your younger than 16 your more flexible than others cause your kinda still a little kid

Answer 6

For gymnastics I've hears that the younger you are the more flexible you are, I dunno if this helps but I thought I'd put my two cents in.

:~)

Answer 7

lol its not, didnt you watch the olympics? there were girls that were as young as 13 competeing, I guess its because when your young, you can do more things whereas when your older, its more difficult to do things like its really easy for a 13 year old to run but for an adult its going to be slightly harder

Hope I helped!

Much love x

Answer 8

no. legal responsibility. ask a lawyer.

Answer 9

I think this is because of insurance policies that you cant join under 16 yes and i do think you do preform better when you are under 16...it also depends on how fit you are =D

Answer 10

Because the sports are dangerous for growing bodies. Also because people like Kexin He, it's a lot easier to perform as a 14 year old 4'8 girl than it is as a 20 year old 5'8 woman.

Answer 11

I don't know about the diving age requirements but I know why 16 is the minimum age for gymnastics.  

"Age falsification has been a problem in gymnastics since the 1980s after the minimum age was raised from 14 to 15 to protect young athletes from serious injuries. The minimum age was raised to its current 16 in 1997. Younger gymnasts are considered to have an advantage because they are more flexible and are likely to have an easier time doing the tough skills the sport requires. They also aren't as likely to have a history of injuries or fear of failure."

Answer 12

Minimum age for driving around here is 16.

Answer 13

Flexability.

Typically your ligaments will allow for further flexibility when you are younger and still developing.

A younger gymnast would typically be more flexible than those who are older. This is why you do not see too many professional gymnasts over the age of 24.