Yes! But why did you delete your first post? I found it interesting. Do you mean that figure skating isn't seen as a "real sport" in Norway?
Abuse of Young People in Figure Skating
- Thread starter karlowens2
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Yes! But why did you delete your first post? I found it interesting. Do you mean that figure skating isn't seen as a "real sport" in Norway?
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- Aug 23, 2013
I was really not sure about replying to this thread. I posted then had second thoughts
. Sorry.Thank you for the welcome
Figure Skating in Norway is really an amature sport. They need to rethink the system in Norway and I would not recommend any country adopting the Norwegian system. I see a lot of frustration from the coaches side (the non Norwegian coaches). Alas it seems the Norwegians are happy with it, I'm not sure why. They have no real education system for coaches in Norway, you can compete, retire and go straight to coaching, but it's seen as a past time/hobby. But this is just my opinion.
The top lady in Norway actually trains in Sweden, and as far as I am aware the junior boy also does the same or he did the last I heard. So actually there not so much in Norway, no pairs, no ice dance and very few men/boys, so many I could count them on one hand. The NSU dedicates all it's efforts into the girls. Politics does not escape any country!
This has been a hot topic since the 1990s, when a book was written about it called "Little Girls in Pretty Boxes." The age requirements came soon after, though I don't know if it is a direct result of this book or just a movement going on at that time. Most of the abuses were in gymnastics, and if you notice, gymnasts are a little bigger and older than they were in the 80s and 90s. You also hear about more girls staying in school (ironically, as homeschooling is going more mainstream for everybody else). I used to be concerned when I heard that Michelle, Tara, Mary Lou Retton, etc. were not even marginally enrolled in high school. How many others of that generation stopped going to high school and weren't rewarded with fame and fortune?
Also, I am not a gynecologist. I do not know the "normal" age of puberty. But as a teacher in several girls' schools over the years, I can say that it is not common for someone to be the age of these Russian ballerinas and still have not gone through the "change." I would worry that excessive exercise is delaying their menstrual cycle more than anything else. This "puberty monster" that is attacking people at 16 comes about 3-4 years earlier for most of us.
Also, I am not a gynecologist. I do not know the "normal" age of puberty. But as a teacher in several girls' schools over the years, I can say that it is not common for someone to be the age of these Russian ballerinas and still have not gone through the "change." I would worry that excessive exercise is delaying their menstrual cycle more than anything else. This "puberty monster" that is attacking people at 16 comes about 3-4 years earlier for most of us.
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- Aug 23, 2013
The judging system as I said before but deleted: children can compete at national competitions. Up until the year they turn 10 or it could be 11 I forget, they are judged using a colour code system, each colour (5 colours in total) represents specific criteria. So no COP until the year they turn 10/11.
Again the kids of all ages have very little time to train, maybe an hour on ice and an hour off ice. Maybe 5 hours on ice a week and 2 hours off ice. Of course It is up to the skaters to decide which days they would like to train. However the children tend to take part in many sports at the same time and it's not until they are around 11/12 sometimes older that they decide which sport to peruse. In the case of figure skating this in most cases is to late. Especially when no serious commitment has been made at an earlier age.
Again the kids of all ages have very little time to train, maybe an hour on ice and an hour off ice. Maybe 5 hours on ice a week and 2 hours off ice. Of course It is up to the skaters to decide which days they would like to train. However the children tend to take part in many sports at the same time and it's not until they are around 11/12 sometimes older that they decide which sport to peruse. In the case of figure skating this in most cases is to late. Especially when no serious commitment has been made at an earlier age.
Thanks Npmonice for your answers.
Anyway i think it's good for children to do sports for fun and try many in young years. If they want to focus on one sport early on, like you probably must in figure skating, I think it's neccesary to have a diverse training: Running, playing ball games, wrestling or whatever. Not just jumping, jumping, spinning on the ice.
Anyway i think it's good for children to do sports for fun and try many in young years. If they want to focus on one sport early on, like you probably must in figure skating, I think it's neccesary to have a diverse training: Running, playing ball games, wrestling or whatever. Not just jumping, jumping, spinning on the ice.
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- Aug 23, 2013
I agree to a certain degree. Cross training can be good as long as it has a purpose and is related to the sport you choose.
Of course different countries have different ways of approaching things. I dare say the little jumping beans from Russia have probably concentrated on figure skating from an early age. It also helps if the said country has a good infrastructure/system in place. As I refer to Norway again, it does not have a good system for figure skating and that's why we see no results from Norway.
I do not want to offend anyone who may read the post from Norway, this is just my opinion on what I have seen and experienced with my own eyes.
This is something that strikes me as well. It's true of gymnasts as well as skaters. Every time I hear of a fourteen-year-old who is under five feet tall and less than ninety pounds, it makes me anxious. This is not a typical developmental line for girls, even in most of Asia. It does have a lot to do with the percentage of body fat, which is partly from diet (those restrictive "training" diets) and partly from excessive exercise. There can be both short-term and long-term effects, on things such as bone development.
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- Nov 30, 2013
I think it would be completely unfair to limit training hours for young figure skaters. Most of them wouldn't be doing it if they didn't want to and if the teenagers are the ones making the podium in international events, so be it. Most of these girls, such as Julia, are all muscle and I see nothing wrong with that. They're all in excellent shape and obviously keep very healthy lifestyles. I am a figure skater myself and if someone put a limit on the jumps I could do and the hours I could practice, I would be furious.
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- Jul 26, 2003
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Welcome to GS, Nataliec 817!
I agree with that.
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- Sep 19, 2006
I agree. These girls aren't fragile as they may seem or doing something they don't know how to. They're athletes, they've been doing this for a while. Age limits don't prevent injury and some skaters are at their peak at 14, making them sit out for another two years doesn't help. Tracey Wainman, a former Canadian Champion, and a teenage sensation during the 80s, has often pointed out that if she didn't get to go to Worlds when she was at her peak, she'd probably never get to go at all.
I think the priority should be on keeping the material age appropriate, and I think Julia's LP is. She has a maturity and a seriousness about her, and her costume isn't overly sexy. What about watching out for abusive coaches? It's more emotionally that girls are vulnerable than physically.
I don't think we can conclude that because a girl is small (ie, skinny) that puberty has been delayed. It is true that body fat percentage can have an effect but I am skeptical that most skaters fall below the levels needed for puberty to occur (unless they have an eating disorder). It would be interesting to see some statistics on this, though I don't expect any. I think what we are seeing is not puberty per se, which in most cases occurs between ages 11 and 14, but the development that many girls go through in their mid to late teens, when their bodies fill out. This is not limited to skaters.
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- Jun 27, 2003
With so many girls getting puberty by age 10 in the USA, I think anything that "delays" it to the normal age (like I suppose skating would) would be a good thing. With all the hormones and other crap injected into our foods - sports training is the least of our worries for our children.
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- Nov 19, 2010
In most of the 1900s, girls started menstrating at about 15 but now it's around 12, with many more going through precocious puberty at much younger and alarming age. Early puberty has many causes including toxins in food, personal and household products as well as in the environment, and incurs a host of health risks and social/behavioral problems in the lives of such kids.
The sèemingly late onset of puberty in many athletes may actually be healthy and normal even though standard for normal has been skewed.
The sèemingly late onset of puberty in many athletes may actually be healthy and normal even though standard for normal has been skewed.
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- Dec 3, 2011
One medical site I just found via google says it is potentially a medical issue before 8 or if delayed past 16. So most girls in skating who have a bit of delay are probably just fine.
