IOC changes for Youth Olympics 2028

[4everchan]

Many changes have been made to what sports will be featured at the Youth Olympics.

For figure skating, pairs have been removed while synchro skating has been added.

The team event is also nixed.

I am not too surprised about pairs because very few teams were eligible due to the age restrictions of the Youth Olympics. Still, that doesn't sit well with me.

Thrilled for synchro's inclusion.

Official source : https://www.olympics.com/ioc/news/events-and-athlete-quota-for-dolomiti-valtellina-2028-announced

 

[DemTuppesSeine]

I feel the same way. I like that synchro gets a bigger stage, but excluding pairs? With many events not featuring them as it is? Not a good look, I think.

 

[saine]

Official source - https://www.olympics.com/ioc/news/events-and-athlete-quota-for-dolomiti-valtellina-2028-announced

Happy to see synchro included, that'll be fantastic for the teams to get the experience.

 

[ladyjane]

I only have to agree. The age requirements makes getting enough pairs a problem though (we saw that at the last YOG, but funnily not at the one before that). As we all know boys tend to mature a little later than girls, and lifting requires strength. I don't think letting go of pairs is the way to go though, considering it is already the discipline featured the least. I really enjoyed that event last time, even if there were few pairs.

Thrilled for synchro of course!

No team event at all? I was allready disappointed by the change last time (I loved the mixed team formula which put skaters from different countries together).

 

[4everchan]

I only have to agree. The age requirements makes getting enough pairs a problem though (we saw that at the last YOG, but funnily not at the one before that). As we all know boys tend to mature a little later than girls, and lifting requires strength. I don't think letting go of pairs is the way to go though, considering it is already the discipline featured the least. I really enjoyed that event last time, even if there were few pairs.

Thrilled for synchro of course!

No team event at all? I was allready disappointed by the change last time (I loved the mixed team formula which put skaters from different countries together).

I guess they felt it was too complicated to hold a team event... or that without pairs, it didn't make sense, though Korea won the gold without even having a pairs team with the weird format used...

I am disappointed because the inclusion of pairs really emphasized that, though not the common route, it was possible to have pairs of teenage years, with a minimum age gap.
This being said, the champion from 2024, Canadians Behnke and Sauvé are no longer doing pairs, and I don't think I have seen around the names of the Americans nor the Spanish skaters who also won medals at the pairs event. (or the 4th and last place Australians)

So, maybe they are reacting too quickly but maybe they just sadly have a valid point...

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

Like the others, I'm disappointed about the Pairs skating being removed.

Confused by Synchro being added. Surely it would have the same problem as Pairs, but on a bigger scale - i.e. finding teams where all the members meet the narrower age range used in the Youth Olympics.

No team event at all? I was allready disappointed by the change last time (I loved the mixed team formula which put skaters from different countries together).

Ah, I picked up @4everchan's original post wrong. I thought he had done an @elektra blue style typing error and meant it was going back to being mixed.

I agree with you - the old format was fun. And it created a spirit of camaraderie amongst the skaters. Plus the silly names that the teams were given always made me chuckle.

CaroLiza_fan

 

[4everchan]

Like the others, I'm disappointed about the Pairs skating being removed.

Confused by Synchro being added. Surely it would have the same problem as Pairs, but on a bigger scale - i.e. finding teams where all the members meet the narrower age range used in the Youth Olympics.

I don't think so. There are many junior teams already. I don't think it will be as difficult than it was for pairs.

Ah, I picked up @4everchan's original post wrong. I thought he had done an @elektra blue style typing error and meant it was going back to being mixed.

I agree with you - the old format was fun. And it created a spirit of camaraderie amongst the skaters. Plus the silly names that the teams were given always made me chuckle.

CaroLiza_fan

 

[skatingguy]

I think this decision makes a lot of sense. If they're sticking with the age restrictions that currently exist there isn't a competitive pairs field that would fit those restrictions. Synchronized Skating makes a lot of sense because the size of the teams will allow a lot of young athletes to have this experience, and particularly if they encourage countries to have more mixed gender teams it will a good step for the sport.

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

I don't think so. There are many junior teams already. I don't think it will be as difficult than it was for pairs.

There may be many Junior Synchro teams, but how many of them only have 15 and 16 year olds in them?

That's always been my problem with the Youth Olympics. The age range is far too tight. And whilst it is easy to find Singles skaters that are 15 or 16, it is much harder to find Pairs or Ice Dance partnerships where both members are. So, imagine trying to find 16 skaters plus sunstitutes who are all within that range.

I imagine that the field will be very small indeed.

CaroLiza_fan

 

[lariko]

So, the first step to eliminating pairs as a discipline or something?

 

[Jumping_Bean]

There may be many Junior Synchro teams, but how many of them only have 15 and 16 year olds in them?

That's always been my problem with the Youth Olympics. The age range is far too tight. And whilst it is easy to find Singles skaters that are 15 or 16, it is much harder to find Pairs or Ice Dance partnerships where both members are. So, imagine trying to find 16 skaters plus sunstitutes who are all within that range.

I imagine that the field will be very small indeed.

CaroLiza_fan

The age range is 15 to 18 (at least, that was the age range for figure skating across all four disciplines at the last YOG in 2024). Still too restrictive for pairs, but not much outside of the range for synchro teams, it seems.

The silver and bronze medalists of last season's Jr Worlds currently only have skaters on the roster who would be eligible to compete if the YOG happened this year, as do the 5th and 10th placed teams. A lot of the other teams also seem to be composed of a majority of eligible skaters - The gold medalists, for example, have 4 ineligible (due to age or nationality) skaters out of a roster of 22. Definitely a much less dire situation than in Junior pairs.

 

[gkelly]

There may be many Junior Synchro teams, but how many of them only have 15 and 16 year olds in them?

That's always been my problem with the Youth Olympics. The age range is far too tight.

I agree that the age range for Youth Olympics has been too tight. Even for singles skaters (and solo participants in other sports), I believe there was only a 2- or 3- year window, which meant that some athletes would be too young for the upcoming Youth Olympics, too young for the Olympics two years later, and then too old for the following Youth Olympics 4 years later.

A four-year age window makes much more sense.

This is the latest official information about ages I can find:

https://www.olympics.com/ioc/faq/youth-olympic-games-faq/what-age-are-the-athletes-competing-in-the-youth-olympic-games-yog

What age are the athletes competing in the Youth Olympic Games (YOG)?​

The maximum age for participants will be 17 at the time of the Youth Olympic Games, with the respective age requirements aligned with the International Federations (IFs) and elite athlete pathways where feasible.

I'm not sure how that aligns with ISU age rules. The ISU likely would have input on age rules for figure skating disciplines, which might be somewhat different from those used for other sports and also from limits for regular ISU-sponsored junior competitions.

This site doesn't mention a lower age limit. Other sources I could find said 15-17 or 15-18. It seems the restrictions would be based on the athlete's age as of the Youth Olympic dates, not the July 1 cutoff the ISU uses or the January 1 cutoff for some other sports.

So I think there will be at least a three-year age window.
Four years would be better for the reasons I mentioned above.

I hope this will be clarified soon.

For federations that have at least one large existing junior synchro team that competes internationally, they may have to designate members who can be part of the Youth Olympic team vs. those who are not eligible for that event but can participate in ISU events.

Federations that have multiple existing junior teams that compete internationally could take the same approach and choose the best of those teams or the international team that best meets the YOG age limits to represent them.

Or those federations could form a Youth Olympic team that skaters would need to try out for and be selected for, that would then practice together for the Youth Olympics but might or might not enter ISU events that season. The skaters might have to take a year off from their regular teams as needed to practice with the YOG team.

Federations that only have one team with a wide age range and few substitutes would be out of luck.

 

[Jumping_Bean]

So, the first step to eliminating pairs as a discipline or something?

No, just the result of there being barely any pairs teams who are in the right age range for YOG (15 to 18).

Previously, the age rules were a little more favourable ( I think it was 15 to 19), but under these rules, there are only a handful of teams with two eligible partners. Last time, only 4 pairs competed at the YOG, and, while I don't have the numbers on hand (I'm not at home currently), I'd be surprised if there were enough pairs from different countries to fill all 10 spots (Yes, even including the Russians).

I don't think it's easy to miss that I absolutely love pairs and especially the baby pairs, but if these are the age rules the IOC wants to set for the YOG, then I have to agree that pairs is not a suitable discipline as it currently stands - Unfortunately.

 

[lariko]

No, just the result of there being barely any pairs teams who are in the right age range for YOG (15 to 18).

Previously, the age rules were a little more favourable ( I think it was 15 to 19), but under these rules, there are only a handful of teams with two eligible partners. Last time, only 4 pairs competed at the YOG, and, while I don't have the numbers on hand (I'm not at home currently), I'd be surprised if there were enough pairs from different countries to fill all 10 spots (Yes, even including the Russians).

I don't think it's easy to miss that I absolutely love pairs and especially the baby pairs, but if these are the age rules the IOC wants to set for the YOG, then I have to agree that pairs is not a suitable discipline as it currently stands - Unfortunately.

Between Russia and China it should be doable. But, like, whatever. Wasn't going to watch YOG anyway.

 

[TT_Fin]

Probably at least Finland, Canada and Usa should be easy to find a synchro team. I just checked, there will be 12 junior teams in nationals next time, I think there are enough skaters to pick a team. And not just that there will be 12, to make it to nationals those teams had to qualify before.

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

The age range is 15 to 18 (at least, that was the age range for figure skating across all four disciplines at the last YOG in 2024). Still too restrictive for pairs, but not much outside of the range for synchro teams, it seems.

I agree that the age range for Youth Olympics has been too tight. Even for singles skaters (and solo participants in other sports), I believe there was only a 2- or 3- year window, which meant that some athletes would be too young for the upcoming Youth Olympics, too young for the Olympics two years later, and then too old for the following Youth Olympics 4 years later.

A four-year age window makes much more sense.

This is the latest official information about ages I can find:

https://www.olympics.com/ioc/faq/youth-olympic-games-faq/what-age-are-the-athletes-competing-in-the-youth-olympic-games-yog

I'm not sure how that aligns with ISU age rules. The ISU likely would have input on age rules for figure skating disciplines, which might be somewhat different from those used for other sports and also from limits for regular ISU-sponsored junior competitions.

This site doesn't mention a lower age limit. Other sources I could find said 15-17 or 15-18. It seems the restrictions would be based on the athlete's age as of the Youth Olympic dates, not the July 1 cutoff the ISU uses or the January 1 cutoff for some other sports.

So I think there will be at least a three-year age window.
Four years would be better for the reasons I mentioned above.

I hope this will be clarified soon.

For federations that have at least one large existing junior synchro team that competes internationally, they may have to designate members who can be part of the Youth Olympic team vs. those who are not eligible for that event but can participate in ISU events.

Federations that have multiple existing junior teams that compete internationally could take the same approach and choose the best of those teams or the international team that best meets the YOG age limits to represent them.

Or those federations could form a Youth Olympic team that skaters would need to try out for and be selected for, that would then practice together for the Youth Olympics but might or might not enter ISU events that season. The skaters might have to take a year off from their regular teams as needed to practice with the YOG team.

Federations that only have one team with a wide age range and few substitutes would be out of luck.

I am so sorry. I just checked the ages for the Youth Olympics through the years, and found that they have been different at each edition.

I was working on the ages from the first edition. But even then I got it wrong, because it was 14 and 15 for the singles skaters and girls in partnerships, not 15 and 16 (I remembered that 15 was one of the two years, but I went the wrong direction for the other year! )

Plus, I didn't even notice before today that there were different ages for the male partners in Pairs and Ice Dance. That is a thing I have never agreed with. I have always believed that it should be the same age for everybody, regardless of their gender. So, I am glad that they did away with that at last year's edition.

Here are the age ranges for each edition:

Edition​	Skaters​	Earliest DOB​	Latest DOB​	Age On Previous 31 Dec.​
2012 Youth Olympic Games: Innsbruck (AUT)	Male Pairs Skaters & Male Ice Dancers	01 Jan. 1994​	31 Dec. 1997​	14 ≤ Age > 18​
2012 Youth Olympic Games: Innsbruck (AUT)	Everybody Else	01 Jan. 1996​	31 Dec. 1997​	14 ≤ Age > 16​
2016 Youth Olympic Games: Hamar (NOR)	Male Pairs Skaters & Male Ice Dancers	01 Jan. 1997​	31 Dec. 2000​	15 ≤ Age > 19​
2016 Youth Olympic Games: Hamar (NOR)	Everybody Else	01 Jan. 1999​	31 Dec. 2001​	14 ≤ Age > 17​
2020 Youth Olympic Games: Lausanne (CHE)	Male Pairs Skaters & Male Ice Dancers	01 Jan. 2001​	31 Dec. 2004​	15 ≤ Age > 19​
2020 Youth Olympic Games: Lausanne (CHE)	Everybody Else	01 Jan. 2003​	31 Dec. 2005​	14 ≤ Age > 17​
2024 Youth Olympic Games: Gangneung (KOR)	Everybody	01 Jan. 2006​	31 Dec. 2009​	14 ≤ Age > 18​

Apologies if any of the ages in the final column are incorrect. I was using the Days Between Two Dates Calculator on the Time And Date website, and was getting very confused as to what I was doing!

Sorry again.

CaroLiza_fan

 

[bckabck]

I am sad about the exclusion of pairs, but so so happy for synchro! I'm still hopeful that 2034 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake will include synchro and I feel like this is a good step towards that maybe happening. I would say the 2030 Olympics but I'm not sure if they have solidified the sports for it or not (maybe final review decisions in summer of '26).

As for the age requirements, I agree that they are restrictive, but some countries won't have that issue such as USA, CAN, SWE, and FIN (possibly FRA, ITA, GER, and JPN too). I wonder if for some of the other countries where that might be more of an issue they create a national team to go to it?