... or at least significantly changed. "Women's" gymnastics is child abuse.
... or at least significantly changed.…
"A sinister cabal of superior writers."
Why Gymnastics Should Be Banned - Comments Page 3
... or at least significantly changed. "Women's" gymnastics is child abuse.
... or at least significantly changed.…
Article comments
— go to most recent comments76 - Max
BACKGROUND - I started gymnastics at 18 months old I could do a standing back tuck by myself on the flat ground when I was 4, I would walk around the house in a handstand for minutes at a time, I competed threw the age of 7-12, I won the best in the state 4 out of 4 years, at regional’s (the next step after state) I placed in the top 3 all three years I was old enough to go, winning it once (my region which consisted of 8 states) I am 19 now.
POSITIVES - the enormous amount of strength, balance, even knowing the right way to fall so you don’t get hurt, no other sport can compare not football baseball basketball nothing it gave me a serious advantage over the other players, and still does 7 years after I stopped, I can still do a lot of those tricks today.
THE DOWN SIDE - being in the gym 12 hours a week from age 4-6, then starting at 6 yrs 24 hours a week, being homeschooled, never developing complete social skills for only being around a small group of the same people every day and only those people, when I stopped at 12 and went to real school a lot of the people would tease me because I could do the splits and was in gymnastics and short, YES gymnastics does stunt your growth, I don’t care what studies say any real gymnast will NOT reach there full height, all the gymnasts I new and still know are all shorter than there parents and family whether it is 2" or 6". on my mothers side there is no man shorter than 6'2" no woman shorter than 5'7" on my father side no man shorter than 6'1" and woman 5'8", I am 5'7", gymnastics will not stunt your growth if you just go for 2 hours a week but those people are not gymnast.
I love the sport but you decide whether you want your kids to be in gymnastics or not
77 - Just Another
I UNDERSTAND WHAT NATALIE BENNETT IS TRYING TO PROVE IN THIS ARTICLE. Gymnastics in the past was very intense regarding the age of Olympic gymnasts and what these girls had gone through. But the rules of gymnastics has changed. People need to be updated on information before arguing about it. And arguing that gymnastics is child abuse is completely disrespectful to all people who are involved with the sport and enjoy it. It is not gymnastics that abuses, but people abuse the sport. There have been people who have absolutely no knowledge of gymnastics and end up coaching it. Although there are many people like that and are very successful and are great coaches, I am talking about the ones who have horrible teaching habbits. For example the famous Bela Karolyi. He was coaching gymnastics having no knowledge of the sport or coaching, and ended up abusing his gymnasts. But again, that was the past, and gymnastics has changed in so many great ways. Gymnastics is a great sport and is a great experience for people of all ages.
IT IS COMMON SENSE TO RESEARCH THE SUBJECT YOU ARE GOING TO ARGUE ABOUT. That way you don't sound like a complete idiot when trying to argue about something. SO CAN I WRITE AN ARTICLE ARGUING THAT PEOPLE WITH THE NAME NATALIE BENNETT ARE IDIOTS? I MEAN, READING THIS ARTICLE I THINK THAT WAS JUST ABOUT ENOUGH RESEARCH I NEEDED.
78 - Molly
I am a gymnast and have only been doing Gymnastics for about 4 years. I found this article quite insulting to gymnastics. I love my sport and NOTHING can stop me from enjoying it. Gymnastics Australia discourages eating disorders and lots of makeup. I am almost 16, 172cm tall(don't know feet or inches btw) and 61kg(don't know pounds etc) I am a special olympics world champion and i competed against a 57 year old gymnast. 57! there is age limits on olympics and world championships, and height is NOT a disadvantage for ANY of the gymnasts in my club.
Next time you think about writing a negative article about gymnastics... DON'T!!
I love my sport and nothing will stand in my way of doing my best- at my height, I can do flics(back handsprings) backsaults('flips') double backs, layouts, and giants(an uneven bars skill) just fine!
If you could just take a moment of your time to research gymnastics, or at least visit a few gymnastics clubs in USA,Great Britian, Australia, ANYWHERE! you would see that gymnastics is a beautiful sport, and most clubs DO NOT encourage eating disorders.
If gymnastics is banned, I would be crushed. I have a disability(autism) and gymnastics is the only thing I have ever really succeeded at. GYMNASTICS IS MY LIFE!!!
79 - Nicole
articles like this make me so mad & wish the general population knew more about gymnastics. i'm so tired of ignorant people who make statements about something they KNOW NOTHING about! i began gymnastics at age 6 & now at age 26, i still do it every week in the gym where i now work. i was competitive my whole life, on my high school team, & private club, then went on to compete in club gym in college. i never trained more than 15 hours per week & no one in my gym ever had an eating disorder or were forced to workout w/ serious injuries.
every gym is different. i'm sure there are some gyms out there that push the gymnasts too hard, but that's a stereotype. the problem is that most people only see gymnastics once every 4 years when they watch the Olympics. btw, a gymnast must be 16 to compete in the Olympics...not 12. to even start competing at any level, a gymnast must be 6 years old (most don't even begin competition until at least age 8 or 9). the very early competitive levels do not train very many hours. a level 4 gymnast at my gym only works out 6 hours a week, level 5's work out 10 hours, & the top level (elite) gymnasts at my gym workout 15 hours/wk (these are gymnasts who receive college scholarships & compete in national championships). that's only 3 hours every day, the same as any sport. most Olympians are working out 40+ hours/wk. & those athletes are amazing & have worked very hard to get where they are, but the vast majority of gymnasts at the recreational level, high school, or college level do not train the way Olympians do. it is a FUN sport & most gyms focus on fun & being competitive at the same time. personally, i never really cared about winning, i always had fun learning new skills, reaching my goals, & enjoying time w/ friends in the gym. i still love participating in the sport & relearning old skills. i also love everyone i work with, we have a great group of coaches & it really is my life at work & away from work. i know the meaning of hard work & determination & my gymnastics career taught me that. i finished college at age 21 & my master's by age 23. but i came back to the gym to do what i LOVE.
also, gymnastics does NOT stunt your growth. i should know, i'm 5'8"!! yes it made it harder being tall, but plenty of taller girls can do well in the sport. to say that gymnastics stunts your growth is the same as saying playing basketball makes someone tall. it's just that shorter people tend to do better at gymnastics b/c it's easier to flip & twist & swing between the bars w/ a smaller frame.
i don't believe that gymnasts are giving up their life for the sport. many of them have a life outside of the gym, play other sports, & have friends outside of gymnastics. many of them CHOOSE to make the gym their life. what's wrong with that? if they are happy, i don't see the problem. i spent more time in the gym growing up than w/ my non-gymnast friends who were all out partying, drinking, smoking, & having sex at a very young age - all things i never even thought about b/c i was too involved w/ my sport. i sure turned out better than those kids who were always in trouble & now have no degree, making minimum wage, & are already divorced w/ kids.
to those of you who really believe this CRAP about this amazing sport, it saddens me to think that's the stereotype going around. do some research before you make such stupid statements!
on another note...throughout the years, i have been fortunate enough to meet numerous female & male Olympic gymnasts who are all still very much involved w/ the sport (whether it be coaching, owning a gym, and/or promoting the sport - giving lectures at gymnastics conventions, etc) & they have all said they don't regret their time in the gym. it was the life they chose & they loved it, that's why they continued to give back to the gymnastics community.
80 - Jessica
Gymnastics is a great sport!! Natalie has her opinion and we have ares!! If she hates it thats fine but its not ok to ban it, Natalie!! People like me LOVE gymnastics and thats all they want to do. We dont get hurt unless we dont do the right technique.I have been doing gymnastics since i was 7 and im 13 right now!! If you hate gymnastics is fine but there is no reason to ban it! What if someone banned something that you didnt like?? You wouldnt like it would you?? didnt think so. So dont even try to ban it because alot of people love this sport and want to do this sport and thats what they want to do! Why would you care anyway you dont do the sport?
Next time you think about writing an article about gymnastics just think about it! and if you think you are going to....DON'T!!! Gymnastics is a sport like any other sport, people get hurt in other sports too!
81 - Photogirl
I see nothing wrong with gymnastics. I view it as just another sport. Yes, you work through the pain, but that's with any sport.
I knew a guy in 6th grade that had to have numerous knee surgeries due to strain from football. My brother broke his collarbone around age 8 and never knew it...and continue to play. Broken bones, torn tendons, sprains and strains are normal when you push your body to its limits. It isn't torture. If you got out and did normal aerobics for 2 hours every day you'd be in pain too. After a while, however, your body adapts to being pushed.
Yes, there are horror stories of girls starving themselves (and these are all reproduced on Lifetime TV) but it's not the norm. Some above said that your body runs better on healthy food. Anyone that has taken basic nutrition knows that. "Junk" food is quick energy that you slam down from later. So if a gymnast chooses to restrain from pizza and icecream it's not because it's starvation...it's smart eating. Coaches push you hard, it's true. However, I live in Texas where football is King. Anyone see Varsity Blues? The attitude of the coach is very close to a lot of coaches here. But is it named as abuse? Nope. Maybe our author wants to "protect" the "fragile" girls from the big mean gymnastics coach. Guys can handle it right?
82 - elizabeth
i disagree with this i was a former gymnast and no one pusges the kids past the point they can go every child needs some kinda push to get going on the right track and i can personly say that gymnastics has helped me there so to you people that think that this is crazy i dare you to actuly get out there and feel the power behind what we do o my god it makes you feel so free ya you get hurt ya its hard but oo well get over it get up and do it agin and you will be amazed i think the people that disagree with this had no talent with this sport and got mad so just stop with all this because this is many peoples life dream and past
83 - a gymnast
okay look i dont care what you people say you think bannding people will actuly keep them from doing it i know so many people with beam bars in there yards kids that i competed with who have told me with out this they would be basicly bored if you think about it hell we aint on the streets shootin people up like others do most female gymnast are less likely to do drugs go off and have kids or get cought up in things that that they should never be in this keeps us out of truble and every one i do this with injoy it they wouldnt rather be any where else in the world then at that gym doing there thing something they can look at other people and say hey look what i learnd last night and show it and get more people in it and it you wate till your older to compeat then there wont be as many people in it but i guess thats what yall want huh well thats a lode of crap that you would take something that so many kids enjoy and tell them that they cant do it any more what are yall going to come and tell the lil kids that there dreams have been riped from them and they are no longer alwoed to do it thats so crap and you know it
84 - Alan
"Why natalie bennet shouldn't write about things she has no idea about"
For a start, the minimum age for competing at the Olympics is 16. 15 is the exception. Maybe you should actually know something before you write an article on it...
Part of gymnastics is pushing your body past what it is normally expected to do, or was even intended to do. That's the nature of the sport, and yes, there is pain, again, that's just part of it! In gym, the phrase 'no pain, no gain' really is true.
'what sort of education will they have received for future careers?' well. let's see, they would have learned, self discipline, perseverance, the value of hard work etc. what poor kids, i mean really, they're better off sitting infront of a tv all day arent they.
Basically, people like you disgust me. Unless you are/were a gymnast yourself, you have NO right to say that it should be banned. Why don't you try and do something useful like trying to ban whaling or something, because writing articles like this is a waste of space on a website.
85 - Sal
Minimum age for female gymnasts used to be 14 (nadia comaneci in 76) then it went up to 15, now the minimum age is 16. As gymnasts are staying in the sport longer and older, they are thinking about raising the minimum age again, not sure what to tho.
I think what Natalie was talking about, was the abuse the chinese gymnasts go through during their trianing. There was a documentary a few years ago, was in all the national papers as well, a reporter was at a chinese gymnastics school, and she fell off the bars (she was around the age of 6), she hurt her self, and her bottom lip shook, and tears filled her eyes. Her coach immediately clapped his hands and told her to do it again. This time with a smile on her face.
I think thats what Natalie was getting at!!! Not the training methods of other countries. I think she was talking about the training methods of the chinese coaches.
86 - Anthony
I have been on a synchronized swimming club for two years. I is a cool sport. It is not an easy sport for guys to learn in fact it is harder for us to do it that the girls. Synchro swimmers are far more fit than water polo guys and regular speed swimmers.
87 - jo
whoever wrote this is a complete silly billy....please actually KNOW what your talking about before you spit out comments such as 12year olds shouldnt be competing in olympics.... because they don't!! That rules changes in 1997..DER!
88 - CoachCJ
The people who have no professional or competitive involvement in this sport don't know what they are talking about. I've been coaching for three years and was a competitive gymnast myself and fully agree with this article, for every reason given here, every reason in "little girls in pretty boxes" and more that i do not have the time or energy to get into tonight.
89 - Joan
I think gymnastics shouldnt be banned,im 15 and i have been going gymnastics since i was 5 and i love itt i push my self to be the best i can be.your gunna get hurt just like every other sport out there its no different from football or hockey when i saw that people think gymnastics should be banned i thought it was Ridiculous.my little sister is 9 and she was doing bars at my gym and she broke her knee she has been outta gymnastics for 2 months she just went back last wednesdays WHY? you ask because she loves itt when you love a sport you never give up soo if gymnastics is ever banned it will be the end of the world for alot of girls and the end of manys lilttle girls dream!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
90 - KLM
Jealous much, Natalie?
91 - Joan
i agree with KLM you are jelous of us gymnast
92 - laura5333
silly woman, doesnt know what she is talking about. gymnasts push themselves nobody can force them. Im an ex gymnast and i miss the sense of achievement you get after overcoming a fear or whatever. it might slow down growth. but i wouldnt say stunt. i was only about 5'5 when i stopped. i was 17. now im 20 and im 5'9 and still growing. weird!!!! just makes me angry when people write about gymnastics and they have no idea about it.
93 - coach joanie =]]]
okkk im a gymnastics coach im only 15.i teach perschool and upp.i see them perschoolers get better and better everytime they come they listen better everytime they come and there parents tell me how much better they do in school thanks too gymnastics....the older girls get fitttt and enjoy what they do.gymnastics pushes you to the limitttt.......gymnastics shpuld never be banned EVERRR..
94 - anna
i am a level 11 gymnast,i have been doing gymanstics since I was 4, i love the sport, and it is something that teaches potential, and to just do it. Don't told back, it pushes you to your furthest. just because a few gymnasts' were complaing about pain, well thats there own fault.
95 - Natalie Bennett
This is what a former top US gymnast has to say:
She has detailed widespread eating disorders, coaches suspected of being sexually attracted to their young charges, and a brutal physical regime that leaves gymnasts crippled in later life and bearing psychological scars. She describes a sometimes hellish experience in which she ended up so obsessed with losing weight that she did not menstruate until she gave up gymnastics and turned 20.
She was so addicted to laxatives that she once soiled herself in public. And the physical brutalities of her training and injuries left her years later with premature arthritis and permanently bruised feet and other physical problems.
96 - Alexandria Jackson
It is sad, but I'm not sure why gymnastics is singled out from any other sport. Whenever you have dedicated, committed players and coaches you're going to have all of the things you just mentioned. Look at the steroids in major league sports. I'm not saying it's right, I just don't think you can ban gymnastics and not figure skating, swimming, ballet, wresting.... everything. It's the competitive nature of sports and the American dream of being "the best."
I guess I'm saying, it would be more comprehensive to ban all competition. Then there'd be no purpose in the self-mutilation that athletes put themselves through.
97 - boo
gymnastics rocks it is my world they dont starve us and if you dont like it then dont do it you dont have to ruin gymnasts lives!!!!!!!!!!!!! i am a level 4 and am having ssssssssssssssssssssssssssoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo much fun im not stoping!!!i love showing off to my friends! we have 2 gymnasts in our class including me one in another class and my teachers kid is a level 7! you wold be an ass to end gymnastics!!!!!!!!!!
98 - Nicola
My daughter is now 10 and has been doing fairly intensive training for around 2 years. She hasn't grown in that time and where she was one of the tallest in her class, is now the shortest.
It would break her heart if I stopped her, she loves it. Having read some other articles I will concentrate on her diet to help, and am now encouraging her to eat more protein and carbohydrates. Having said all that she is 10 and still the average size of a 10 year old so am not too worried. She has also begun to develop slightly which is more than her 11 year old best friend who doesn't do any sport at all. As others have said...10 and active but average sized or a coach potato? I know which I would prefer.
99 - HANNAH
PERSONALLY IM VERY OFFENDED BY THIS. GYMNASTICS IS A SPORT WHERE YOU HAVE TO TRAIN HARD IF U WOULDNT BE STRONG ENOUGH FOR THE HARD STUFF.AND IF THE PEOPLE WHO TAKE IT CANT HANDLE IT THEY USUALLY QUIT IF THEY CAN THEY AND THE LIKE IT THEY DONT QUIT.I DONT THINK GYMNASTICS SHOULD B BANNED AND I AGREE THIS ARTICLE IS TOTALLY SEXIST.GYMNASTICS ROCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! SO SCREW ALL OF U WHO THINK GYMNASTICS IS STUPID AND EASY AND SHOULD B BANNED CAUSE ITS HARD IT TAKES STRENGTH PHYSICALLY AND MENTALLY.
100 - hannah
JUST A FEW MORE THINGS!ok 1st of all I've been doing gymnastics since i was 2 n i love it i dont smile cause my coach makes me i smile cuase this sport is my life i love it . Ill do anything to make sure that gymnastics is never banned . I train almost 30 hrs a day and im only 12 but i dont complain i no some adults who complain just cuase they have to do one lesson wich for their class is only 30min. so dont go around tellin ppl that kids shuldnt be doin this stuff.
2nd of all.GET YOUR FREAKN FACTS STRAIGHT!!!!!!!!Its not right to write an article like this and not have your facts straight just because you dont like it.I think this whole article is stupid. yea im short and probly cuz i do gymnastics but who the freak cares i dont i love bn short and news flash gymnasts r not anorexic or skinny because they r on diets or they have an eating disorder its cause we actually work we arent lazy at all we work so hard that we cry because we feel like jello not cuase we were forced to we can stop at any time but we dont cuase we get better stronger and more flexible.
and yae im 12 yrs old and only like 60-72lbs. but again who cares.but you want to no something when we get our medals we feel great even when its 4-9 place we feel bad but we feel good because we worked for this and its a 1 man thing so dont compare us to football soccer or nething with a team . so if all of these dont stop you im sorry that u hate gymnastics enough to ruin our dreams our sport our pride and especially all that we worked so hard on to accomplish, and sorry that ur stupid enough to not realize that this is a great wonderful awsome ssport.
101 - Autumn
Personally,if kids don't learn to fight through pain,they'll become wussies when they get older instead of sucking it up and being tough.
102 - Jordan Richardson
And sucking it up and being tough is certainly a core value we need to inflict...er...I mean instill on all of our children.
103 - Mahoney
Ok first off yes gymnastics does stunt your growth, secondly gymnasts know all the pain and dedication it requires and yet they still do it what is that saying?
Im a gymnast and I take great offense to this. Would you rather us be cheerleaders, because thats against my religion.
One of my best friends, who is also a gymnast, is about 5' 10" which is wayyyy above average for a gymnast and she's amazing. She does one armed stunts for God's sake! So don't tell us gymnastics should be banned because we will revolt and petition against it.
104 - Chris "UZ" White
Hannah:
You train almost 30 hours a day, you say?
Wow, can I borrow your time stopper?
105 - Karina
Whoa. Whoa, whoa, whoa, you need to do research before you go spouting off. Twelve year olds DO NOT COMPETE AT THE OLYMPICS.
It's so annoying when people who know jack shit about gymnastics start spouting off the poorly-researched bullshit whenever they Olympics roll around.
Seriously, if you don't know what you're talking about, maybe you shouldn't talk!
106 - Kaarrr
And, what a fecking idiot. If what you say were true, half of the 2008 USA Olympic team must be washed up.
Alicia Sacramone is 20. Is Alicia washed up?
Chellsie Memmel is 20.
Nastia Liukin is 19.
Mohini Bhardwaj was 25 in Athens.
Annia Hatch was 24.
And the list goes on. And on. And on. If you had the slightest clue what you were talking about, you would know that the vast majority of today's top gymnasts fall within the 18-22 age bracket.
Idiots who don't know their facts should def. be banned from blogging.
107 - Justin
Just want to point out, as if others haven't, that you can't compete in a World Championships or Olympic Games at age 12.
You have to be 16 to compete at any/all world championships and olympics.
Miss Article Lady (I don't want to say your name, it's not worth my effort), did you read "Little Girls in Pretty Boxes" before you wrote this? it seems to me you did.
108 - Casey
I am highly offended by this. I think this is, once again, someone judging the whole sport by what ONE person has seen in ONE country. It's not like this in all countries...yes, it is a perfection-aimed sport, and yes, it is painful, but we are also talking about CHINA, which strives for perfection in absolutely EVERYTHING. How can you judge a whole sport on one piece of it? The Olympics is only one part of gymnastics.
I'm 16, and I coach, and I've seen girls do gymnastics just to be more flexible and have those skills people always say they wish they could do (How many times have you heard somebody say "I wish I could do a back handspring"?). A lot of girls do gymnastics because they like it and want to stay fit.
I coached a girl who had anxiety and self-esteem issues (she had been going to a counselor for 4 years, and had been on one medication), and by the end of the year (8 months later), she felt great about herself, and had few anxiety issues. This was a girl who thought she could do nothing and was a failure at basically everything, and now she feels terrific about herself.
Now, if we were judging gymnastics on solely this, people would be swearing up and down gymnastics is a wonderful sport. It all depends on how you WANT to look at it, I guess. If you want to see all the bad things, then that's all you're going to see.
Would it be fair of me to judge football based on the Super Bowl? No, it wouldn't, just like it wouldn't be fair to judge gymnastics on the Olympics. Yes, it's a HUGE part of gymnastics, but it's not the ONLY part of it.
GYMNASTICS SHOULD NOT BE BANNED! I'd like to point out that just because some gyms promote losing weight and being small, doesn't mean ALL gyms do. The gym I work at coaches kids from 6 months old (the Mommy & Me classes) up through USAG Team Gymn kids (around high school age), and I've NEVER heard a coach tell a kid to lose weight. All the girls (and boys) I coach are at a healthy weight. Gymnastics makes kids feel proud and confident in themselves. I think people who want to ban gymnastics need to go to a few gyms and experience it for themselves, not take someone else's word for it.
109 - Kim
There is a minimum age requirement to compete in the olympics, it is 16. The reason women's gymnastics is done by young girls is because the female body (curves) makes the sport very difficult. The girls do have to train very hard to aquire the skills before their bodies change then they have to stay strong enough to do them while and after they change. This article makes the sport sound terrible. It doesn't mention that most competitive gymnasts are straight A students or that they usually LOVE the sport and learn a lot about life and hard work. It instead mantions the small percentage of gymnasts that have a negetive experience.
110 - lilli
what the heck woman if someone banned gymnasticcs i'm serious i'll kill them, gymnastics is my luv of my life (and riding horses)you dumb doctors think
that a little injury is the biggest thing in the world. i had overworked my knee and strained it
i wuz of 4 3 months dang the doctor. and tons of kids in my school have gone to the gym and quit cuz they thoughtmy favorite coach rob was mean. i think hes the best coach ever i would neva hate him ,sure he'll yell at us but thats why my gyms one of the best gyms in the state we had about 4 out of 8 girls place first in my level. some of the girls are 7 and it goes
to 11 year old girls lil ps i'm in level 5
111 - zardia
it was to long
112 - Carla
Natalie, you suggest that female gymnastics should at least be changed and you link its abuses to some form of chauvinism. You do not offer many constructive ideas for change other than to suggest raising the age of participation, wearing no make-up and not smiling.
I am surprised by your reluctance to take on board the comments here, and your one example to support your claims appeared to be an extreme example which would not be uncommon in most sports. You are seeking some kind of sporting utopia, I'm afraid.
As a feminist myself and former gymnast, I can assure that gymnastics is quite beneficial for women. And given the current 'size zero' fascination sitting ironically alongside soaring obesity rates, you should be delighted that British, European and American gymnastics encourages positive female self images, physical strength and a healthy body. Please do not make the amateurish mistake of using one example as evidence of the greater picture, and be big enough to accept criticism.
113 - may
I think that especially since females emotionally mature at a younger age, they should all be allowed to compete at a younger age. I think that gymnastics is the last sport that should be banned. It expresses what we women are all about. We're tough, we're flexible, we're innovative, and we're creative. Although as mentioned before, there are many who can and do compete successfully at later ages, in many cases, at age 14, we are at our top condition in this sport. I know I peaked at fourteen. It was a lot easier for me to do tricks on the beam at 14 than when I was older. I turned out to be 5'11", a total skyscraper! Besides, I feel that for the most part, we are women at age 14. We know what we are getting into. We know that if we take risks and hurt ourselves the injuries may come back to haunt us, but we are willing to take that risk for the love of our sport. I know I was. I was and am a dare-devil. And I think that women should be allowed to be dare-devils too. So, instead of banning gymnastics, let's make the competitive Olympic age 14 again and keep women's gymnastics live and well. But too, I think that coaching issues and standards of physical care/diet should be enforced and we should modernize coaching so that while resting from an injury--a gymnast should have time to heal--time is not lost. Coaching should enhance the gymnast, that way, it's a win-win! We all need to be flexible and change. God knows we are good at being flexible!
114 - tesa
the us state should investigated how old are this chinesse girl, they look like 10 years old girl the requirementis is 16 yrs, they should be banned.
115 - Juniper
"And as Bill said, the only real way of tackling it is to change the sport, so that it is for grown bodies, not for those of children. And since this is the case for the men's sport - I just heard a British official on the radio saying that the peak age for 'women's' gymnastics was 13 to 15, while for the men it was about 20 - if you make women's gymnastics more like men's in the nature of the competition and you have at least alleviated the problem.
"I should perhaps also clarify that I'm talking about the serious competition stuff - of course there's nothing wrong with kids tumbling around a gym and having fun."
This is the best point!!!
"It is sad, but I'm not sure why gymnastics is singled out from any other sport."
Other Olympic events aren't easier for children's bodies than for adults' bodies, are they? Having adult height isn't a disadvantage in Olympic men's gymnastics, having hips and breasts isn't a disadvantage in Olympic women's basketball, etc. 13-year-olds who didn't start their careers in elementary school and who still dream of going to the Olympics in those events don't have to cry themselves to sleep knowing no matter how hard they try they're already too old.
Anyway, that totally has nothing to do with non-Olympic gymnastics like middle school girls' tournaments with no women competing, NCAA women's tournaments with no girls competing, recreational gymnastics with nobody competing let alone being pressured to be less fertile than another athlete does!
"I think that gymnastics is the last sport that should be banned. It expresses what we women are all about. We're tough, we're flexible, we're innovative, and we're creative. Although as mentioned before, there are many who can and do compete successfully at later ages, in many cases, at age 14, we are at our top condition in this sport."
Claiming that something in which top condition is usually before reaching one's adult size expresses what we women are all about is downright disrespectful to the vast majority of adult women.
116 - Juniper
"So, instead of banning gymnastics, let's make the competitive Olympic age 14 again and keep women's gymnastics live and well."
If it's a women's event, it should be able to thrive with only women competing in it and a competitive Olympic age of 18. A women's event needing girls in it to be live and well is like a women's event needing men in it to be live and well.
BTW, women's gymnastics shouldn't be banned at all! It should be *invented*. :D Right now we've bascially got men's gymnastics which boys practice for and girls' gymnastics which some women still hang onto for a few years.
And promoting starvation, pushing kids to pick their careers as preteens, neglecting injuries, etc. are bad whether they're in gymnastics or another sport or somewhere else instead of a sport!
117 - May
What new moves are you thinking of, Juniper? Maybe we should revamp ballet too?
118 - may
I agree that there shouldn't be any fudging with the age guidelines. I believe that if we lower the age back to 14 years old, the potential for this unfairness would almost cease. In China, I would need proof that they are really cheating. In China, ages may be calculated in a different way; for example, ages can be calculated by the year in which you are born, not by how many years you have been on planet earth. That way, technically, a woman who would be a 15-year-old by the Western clock could compete as a 16-year-old. Personally, I think it's disrespectful not to allow a young woman to compete at what might be her best physically when she has worked hours on end to perfect her work in her sport. Why not even lower the age to 13?
119 - Akhenathon
I think feminism should be banned. It causes brain damage.
120 - Juniper
"What new moves are you thinking of, Juniper? Maybe we should revamp ballet too?"
Women's rhythmnic gymnastics and men's gymnastics already don't seem to penalize growing more height and muscle, so I'm pretty sure gymnasts can come up with more moves that are still gymnastic. I'll leave *which* moves to experts like all the dedicated gymnasts here (which moves would you enjoy doing after you reach your peak at the traditional ones?).
Ballet's already being revamped by modern dance choreographers who care more about making performance art than about scoring tournament points. :)
"I believe that if we lower the age back to 14 years old, the potential for this unfairness would almost cease."
Once upon a time, there were rumors that some Soviet-allied countries were disguising men as women to get an unfair advantage in other Olympic women's events. The potential for that unfairness would almost cease if the IOC didn't keep men out of any events in the first place. The potential for fakery at the weigh-in would also cease in boxing if that sport stopped having bantamweight, welterweight, heavyweight, etc. divisions. In non-Olympic sporting, getting rid of all these barriers would also mean athletes in small schools could compete (like, only 2 girl basketball players at your school? play on the same team as the boys instead of being told "2 people is too few, no team for you!!!").
121 - may
This conversation reminds me of a very badly strained muscle.
122 - MK
It's not "child labor" or "abuse" if they choose to do it! Gymnastics rules!
123 - John
Gymnastics is a good physical activity for young ladies and guys, too. However, I gotta tell ya that when I see footage of young Chinese gymnists doing a lot of crunches and hearing they're taken away from their family for extended periods, it's kinda creepy. With glory comes sacrifice I know; and look they are beating us now in Beijing! A good life needs balance though. I would like to hear from an ex-Chinese gymnist about her experience and life afterwards.
124 - tommy
The woman with the "huge" list of 20+ year olds is right on the money.
Only women 18 and older should be able to compete. Can it even be considered a real sport, otherwise?
Really, think of any other endeavor, olympic or otherwise, that a 14-year-old is even considered ready to perform on such a huge stage. Maybe a savant chess player or musician.
It's amazing what they can do - and gymnastics is a great form of exercise and self expression - but let's keep it to adults please.
125 - May
I do see where you are coming from, Tommy. But aren't these amazing young gymnasts savants? Besides, in the best interest of the athlete, it is often safer for female gymnasts to compete at the Olympic level at a younger age. They are less likely to get injured, they often take less time to learn the moves which means less potential for stress fractures due to repetition; I think the difference in practice time needed is because younger athletes require less strength and balance-compensation to execute the moves. Also, if a younger gymnast falls and that fall results in an injury, that injury is usually less serious; and usually, younger gymnasts tend heal from their injuries faster and more completely. Besides, at the younger age of competition, gymnasts can enter the competition, experience success, and then move on to a new career before serious damage has been done and while there is still time and resources to prepare for that new career. Why fight mother nature and often times the pocket book? If someone like Nastia Liukin can compete at age 18 or higher as in this Olympics, great! But many cannot do that due to lack of financial resources and unavoidable physical limitations that can increase with age. I didn't have the joints for it when I got taller . . . Besides, young, elite gymnasts are training hard anyway, they are competing under international pressure already. Moving right along . . . .This is slightly off the subject, but I often wonder how it was decided that the minimum age should be higher for women to compete in Olympic gymnastics? Were the Chinese duely represented in that decision making process? Who was there? What countries were represented in the IOC when that decision was made? How did the Chinese vote? Is it really fair to change the rules around to a higher age when some countries have the potential to win with higher aged team members and others who have not had as much time or money to develop the sport in their home country don't? Won't the special interests of the voters reflect whether or not that potential is there? What I'm saying is that in this case, some countries may be changing the rules to benefit themselves in a way that isn't necessarily fair to some of the countries in places like China or North Korea. That's why there may be some cheating going on. I think there are always two sides to every conflict. Besides, in terms of customs in places like say China, it may be going-against-the-grain, so to speak, to openly disagree in a discussion with the established countries representing gymnastics. It may also be customary in some of these countries that to fudge on a rule that doesn't work is less frowned upon than causing the conflict that results from aggressively contending it. I have never been to China or North Korea, but I do know that the customs and ways of approaching conflict differ a great deal from places like the U.S. or maybe England or Canada. I hope that someone with more knowledge than me will provide some feedback regarding this issue. Thank you for reading this.