Senior Ladies Need To Up The Age Requirement

[Parksideprince]

It's cool that these girls can do quads and triple axels but what happens when they hit a growth spurt? They walk off with gold medals and haven't put any time into the sport, then disappear, and the girls in their 20s take a backseat. And every couple of years it's a new prodigy but they're not lasting several Olympic cycles like a Michelle Kwan or a Mao Asada. I think the age should be 17.

 

[NaVi]

Raising it a year would be OK but tbh I'm less supportive of that now than I was a year ago Now I'd prefer they create another competitive category for men without quads and women without a triple axel or a quad. It could be done competed simultaneous at the world championships and would make a few of the earlier flights more interesting. Later on it could perhaps be added to Euros/4CC and later to to the Grand Prix.

 

[Amei]

It's cool that these girls can do quads and triple axels but what happens when they hit a growth spurt? They walk off with gold medals and haven't put any time into the sport, then disappear, and the girls in their 20s take a backseat. And every couple of years it's a new prodigy but they're not lasting several Olympic cycles like a Michelle Kwan or a Mao Asada. I think the age should be 17.

They've put years into the sport actually, the are just now getting recognition for what they have practiced for years in the shadows. Additionally, its unfair to assume the current crop of skaters doing quads and triple axels won't keep them.

 

[[email protected]]

No, they don't and they won't as long as Alysa Liu is doing fine.

 

[evangeline]

It's cool that these girls can do quads and triple axels but what happens when they hit a growth spurt? They walk off with gold medals and haven't put any time into the sport, then disappear, and the girls in their 20s take a backseat. And every couple of years it's a new prodigy but they're not lasting several Olympic cycles like a Michelle Kwan or a Mao Asada. I think the age should be 17.

But would Michelle Kwan and Mao Asada have competed for so many years if they won Olympic gold in 1998 and 2010 respectively? Maybe, maybe not.

My point is, competitive longevity depends on multiple variables, including availability of alternative economic opportunities and personal desire. Simply increasing the age limit to 17 doesn't address many of these variables, and thus may not have a substantial impact on encouraging skaters to compete for many years.

 

[Mishaminion]

What a horrible way to dismiss the hard work these young ladies have put in to their careers. As if just because they're only teenagers they somehow don't deserve the credit for their achievements.

Alina Zagitova won the last Olympics at a young age and yet despite the claim "they walk off with their gold medals" she is very much still around and still competitive.

Who knows what Kwan or Asada would have done had they won at their first Olympics, you don't know that they wouldn't have taken their gold medals and waved goodbye to competing.

We don't know what will happen with the current crop of quadsters/3A queens anyway, they'll probably be overtaken by progress just like the others are now.

Lengthy careers at the top like Kwan's and to a lesser degree Asada's are actually rarer than shorter ones.

Tara Lipinski "took her gold medals and disappeared" at 15 years old back in 1998, so I really don't understand why there is so much backlash for these young girls NOW.

And good on Tara anyway, she had achieved it all anyway, World and Olympic gold. It was her life and her choice what to do with it.

Same applies today.


If a skater achieves a lot of success young and moves on. Good for them
If a skater sticks around for a long career. Good for them

 

[Happy Skates]

correction: *You want the ISU to raise the age minimum for seniors because you happen to not like the youngsters that are winning.* FIFY.

And how disrespectful is it to say that "they haven't put any time into the sport?" Trusova, Shcherbakova, Kostornaia, Young You, etc have put in 10-13 years into the sport, devoting their entire lives to training, some of them having to move away from their families to do so. Plus, you have no idea if these girls will last. They just got here.

 

[AsadaFanBoy]

Why just the senior Ladies? Why not seniors in general?

Is it because Sasha is winning? Well she deserves to be winning with the content she's giving.

 

[Mishaminion]

Why just the senior Ladies? Why not seniors in general?

Is it because Sasha is winning? Well she deserves to be winning with the content she's giving.

Nailed it

 

[ec00834]

Why 17? What difference does two years make? The brain isn't fully developed at 17 either. There are also lots of girls that hit their growth spurt after 17. If you want to make the age requirement 17, then why not make it 25 when the brain and body are fully developed. Your logic is very flawed. What about men, pairs, and ice dance?

 

[colormyworld240]

I'd like to walk off with some 3As, quads, and gold medals. Someone please inform the 3A, Rika, You, Kamila, and Alysa that there is a much easier way to do what they've been doing.

 

[ec00834]

I'd like to walk off with some 3As, quads, and gold medals. Someone please inform the 3A, Rika, You, Kamila, and Alysa that there is a much easier way to do what they've been doing.

Quads are so easy they don't have to put any effort in at all! Everyone can do them if they want! They're killing the sport!

 

[AsadaFanBoy]

Quads are so easy they don't have to put any effort in at all! Everyone can do them if they want! They're killing the sport!

That was so funny. I needed the laugh lol

 

[Mishaminion]

Quads are so easy they don't have to put any effort in at all! Everyone can do them if they want! They're killing the sport!

Maybe we should just remove quads and 3A, from ladies and men's skating. Make everyone only do jumps that everyone at the same competition are capable of so it turns into a real snoozefest

 

[YuBluByMe]

As someone who’s been longing for technical strides in the women’s field for years, I must say this is an awful idea. It’s just two steps back. The age limit should stay right where it is. Both Asada and Tuktamysheva were landing 3As past 18 and they were the only ladies jumping it in their respective times. But neither woman was particularly dominant so other ladies didn’t feel the urge to learn a 3A. Like all sports, figure skating is advantageous to the young and spry and they are the ones that will advance the sport technically. Those that can’t hang need to up their game so they can. If they can’t do that then the response is not to complain. Either shut up or get the hell off the ice.

Also, Rika’s 17. The gold medal for Skate Canada still would have went to a youngster. The only difference is she would have won easily with no one to challenger her.

 

[Mishaminion]

As someone who’s been longing for technical strides in the women’s field for years, I must say this is an awful idea. It’s just two steps back. The age limit should stay right where it is. Both Asada and Tuktamysheva were landing 3As past 18 and they were the only ladies jumping it in their respective times. But neither woman was particularly dominant so other ladies didn’t feel the urge to learn a 3A. Like all sports, figure skating is advantageous to the young and spry and they are the ones that will advance the sport technically. Those that can’t hang need to up their game so they can. If they can’t do that then the response is not to complain. Either shut up or get the hell off the ice.

Also, Rika’s 17. The gold medal for Skate Canada still would have went to a youngster. The only difference is she would have won easily with no one to challenger her.

Ideas for raising the age to 18 have been made, which eliminates Rika too. Meaning Bradie Tennel would have won Skate Canada if that was was the current age limit.

Not that there is anything wrong with Bradie but she didn't even make the podium. All three skaters on the podium were 17 and under

 

[rain]

Raising it a year would be OK but tbh I'm less supportive of that now than I was a year ago Now I'd prefer they create another competitive category for men without quads and women without a triple axel or a quad. It could be done competed simultaneous at the world championships and would make a few of the earlier flights more interesting. Later on it could perhaps be added to Euros/4CC and later to to the Grand Prix.

I've come to favour this idea more and more. I do not enjoy watching children skate, which is why I've never followed juniors. I do not enjoy watching young girls with bodies that have not gone through puberty compete with women. Nothing against them. They're just not my cup of tea. They are, by dint of age and trying such huge technical feats, not producing the kind of skating that I enjoy, by and large. I watch now knowing that the programs and performances I like will not be winning medals. Which is fine, in its way. Makes me less nervous for them, lol. But I worry that they will quit competitive skating. I've mostly fallen out of love with mens in the same way with the quad-and-fall fest that it largely is.

So a competition for those that enjoy all the quads and such and then another competition more focussed on artistry for those like me would be excellent.

 

[sabinfire]

At first I misread the topic title as "Senior Ladies Need to Up the Ante".

 

[ladyjane]

Although I understand the sentiment, some 15 year olds really are just little girls and it's odd to call such children seniors. And, indeed, I don't like Figure Skating turning into jump skating either. Impressive as the jumps might be (and they are). I didn't stop watching certain gymnastic sports for nothing. I remember being rather pleased at the time when they upped the age to 15. The first time I saw Michelle Kwan at a Worlds I think she was 13, and never expected her to become the long-time success she eventually became. But I also found it ridiculous to see such a young girl in the mix.

But stating that the young guns don't put any time in the sport looks rather unfair to me. I think these girls work real hard, have done so for years, and I'm hoping they will improve on the other aspect of the sport, the skating skills and the gracefulness in time. Actually, some already have the complete package. Big jumps and beautiful skating, and managing to turn out appealing skates with lovely movements, a fluid crossing over the ice and all those things. Walking off with the medals, yes, but they worked for those, and used their talents well.

It's something else if you're talking about longevity in the sport. I personally like to follow skaters and root for them during a longer period of time, have a soft spot for veterans in the sport - be they male or female. It's not as if the young guns take the pleasure away from watching the others. Frustrating maybe that there isn't a special skater with medals to root for during a longer period of time, because there's a new star every year. Upping the age limit won't change this evolution when there's such a deep field of talented skaters. Having said that, Zagitova is still around, isn't she? Even won the WC a year after her Olympic gold.

i would much prefer to bring back the PCS marks to what they are intended to do than upping the age minimum. Perhaps change the factor used, and also not increasing them when there are bigger jumps. There's Base Values and GOE to take account of the jumps (and spins and steps). And not 'punish' girls and boys by keeping them among juniors too long if they have achieved all they can there already. We might miss out on them altogether among the seniors, and that would be a shame.

 

[Joekaz]

Maybe we should just remove quads and 3A, from ladies and men's skating. Make everyone only do jumps that everyone at the same competition are capable of so it turns into a real snoozefest

Actually if you think about it, that actually might be a better way to determine who are the best skaters. The emphasis would have to shift to skating quality and away from an over emphasis on jumping. Good idea!