Piel said:
IMO the age limit should be the same for all Nationals, Worlds,the GP, and the Olympics to avoid this situation. Making an exception for Mao would set a very bad precedent.
Worlds and Olympics do have the same age limits, and it certainly does make sense to have the Grand Prix, or senior-level competitions in general including the "senior B" events follow the same rules, which perhaps should be slightly younger than is currently the case, at least for ladies singles and ladies in pair teams.
However, when it comes to nationals, which countries' reality should set the rules for all other countries?
Say you have a small country with one or two rinks and a few dozen skaters who can do double jumps and basic flying and combination spins and have decent basic skating. The little kids at that level might have some potential to reach a world-class level at some point if given access to enough ice time and good coaching; the teenagers at that level would be equivalent to recreational skaters in a country like the US or Canada with little hope of reaching a world-class standard. It's logistically feasible for all these skaters to compete in a "national championship" with the levels perhaps divided more by age than by tests.
Because of exceptional talent and/or familial resources to train abroad, there also happen to be three female skaters, or three male skaters, who are at a much higher level -- consistent triple jumps, advanced spins and steps, quite good basic skating. Skater A is 12 years old, Skater B just turned 15, and Skater C is 23.
Would it make more sense for the national federation to say that they must compete at the novice, junior, and senior levels, respectively, even if there is no one else for them to compete against? Should the teenagers at a lower skill level be forced to compete as "juniors" or "seniors" at their national championships even though they have no hope of successfully completing the required elements in junior or senior short programs? Or would it make more sense to combine the age groups for the high-level skaters and let A, B, and C compete against each other?
Which international events their federation could send them to would be limited by their ages, but at least they would have someone to compete against domestically.
Or what if you have a pair team in which the lady is 14 and the man is 22? They can't compete anywhere internationally until the girl gets old enough for seniors, but meanwhile, should they not even be allowed to compete at their own nationals at either junior or senior level, if it's a country with several other pairs at each level, because internationally the girl is too young for seniors and the guy is too old for juniors? If it's a small country with no other pairs or other potential partners, would they not even be allowed to skate exhibitions at their nationals? Could they enter club competitions in their own country (as exhibition skates) or abroad so they could compete against other pairs?
Ok, just in case, I AM just kidding here.
