Sylvia
Flight #5342: I Will Remember You
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Link to the GSD news & info thread for the ISU Congress, June 6-10, 2022: https://www.fsuniverse.net/forum/threads/isu-congress-elections-2022.109352/
Creating a separate thread for discussing the upcoming ISU Council's proposal to raise the minimum age limit for competing at the Senior (ISU Championships/Olympics):
...
3. Age Limits for Single & Pair Skating / Ice Dance
a) i) For the Season 2022/23, in International Senior Competitions, ISU Senior Championships and the
Olympic Winter Games, only Skaters may compete who have reached at least the age of fifteen
before July 1 preceding the Events.
ii) For the Season 2023/24, in International Senior Competitions, ISU Senior Championships and the
Olympic Winter Games, only Skaters may compete who have reached at least the age of sixteen
before July 1 preceding the Events.
ii) From the Season 2024/25 onwards, in International Senior Competitions, ISU Senior
Championships and the Olympic Winter Games, only Skaters may compete who have reached at
least the age of seventeen before July 1 preceding the Events.
b) In International Junior Competitions and ISU Junior Championships a Junior is a Skater who has met
the following requirements before July 1 preceding the event:
i) has reached at least the age of thirteen;
ii) has not reached the age of nineteen for Women and Men in singles competition; and
iii) has not reached the age of nineteen for Women and the age of twenty-one for Men in Pair Skating
and Ice Dance competition.
c) In International Novice Competitions a Novice is a Skater who has met the following requirements before
July 1 preceding the competition:
i) Basic Novice - has not reached the age of thirteen;
ii) Intermediate Novice - has not reached the age of fifteen;
iii) Advanced Novice - has reached the age of ten and has not reached the age of fifteen for girls
(Singles/Pairs Skating/Ice Dance) and boys (Singles) and seventeen for boys (Pair Skating/Ice
Dance).
Copied from pages 19-20:
Reason: The ISU Council received the following report from the ISU Medical Commission:
“Competition, training and recovery depend not only on the chronological age but also on the
Junior athletes need to cope with multiple stressors on their pathways towards elite sport. First of all, they are exposed to high physiological loads caused by training and competitions. Secondly, they normally experience social hassles, demanding and high amounts of school tasks, and potential difficulties relating to their peer groups. Thirdly, they need to participate in competitions and handle competitive stressors. Ultimately, performance enhancements are normally the central concern for ambitious athletes, as athletes themselves and by others are continually evaluating their accomplishments.
The ISU must also consider the image they want to project as Junior and Senior Champions.
Developmental age
Physical
Generally, we know that elite athletes may delay their onset of puberty by an average to 2 years compared to the general population. Genetic disposition, intense physical training (training load), nutritional status, participation in competitive sports and psychological stress during childhood and early adolescence determine athletes’ pubertal timing of development. Athletes that practice, specifically, esthetic sports, are predisposed to a delay in pubertal development.
The growing evidence indicates that energy deficiency, plays a crucial role in the pathogenesis of functional hypothalamic hypogonadism in female athletes. Metabolic and psychologic stress activate hypothalamicpituitary-adrenal axis and suppress hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian axis, which delays development in female athletes.
Chronic negative energy balance resulting from a systemic physical training and inadequate energy intake (common in aesthetic sports) may delay pubertal development in elite athletes. Youth athletes, especially those engaged in competitive sports that emphasize prepubertal or lean appearance, are at risk of developing relative energy deficiency in sport associated with disordered eating or eating disorders.
In a study by Weimann they found that, intensive physical training of elite female gymnasts combined with inadequate nutritional intake markedly affect pubertal development. These peripubertal effects are not observable in male gymnasts due to different training regimes in male and female elite gymnast. Regular monitoring of female gymnast during their vulnerable growth phase is necessary to minimize life-long physiological and psychological side effects of high impact training. (E Weimann 1, C Witzel, S Schwidergall, H J Böhles; Wien Med Wochenschr; Effect of high performance sports on puberty development of female and male gymnasts 1998;148(10):231- 4.)
Mental, Cognitive and Emotional Maturity
Preliminary data suggest that the risk of psychological injury associated with participation in Elite youth sport is high. The concern includes burnout, disordered eating, and longterm consequences of injury. (Reference: Todd M Sabato; Tanis J Walch, Dennis J Caine: J Sports Med 2016 Aug 31:7:99-113 The elite young athlete: strategies to ensure physical and emotional health.)
The neural development (brain and nervous system) is 95% developed by age 7. This provides children with the opportunity to develop the movement skills of agility, balance, coordination and speed in general training.
The Jr athlete who develops the neuromuscular control early is picked up by Coaches and mentored with early success but may be injured because of lack of skeletal or muscular development or is not able to manage the psychological stress that is imposed during that time. The Junior athlete who develops more slowly is not seen as initially talented but when they both reach puberty with equal strength, muscle mass and neuromuscular development and emotional maturity the early developer begins to feel failure as they are no longer have progressed technically and or not the only one with those skills and they lose interest, become frustrated as their body changes during puberty forcing them to relearn skills that they accomplished early and they drop out or become injured. However, the athlete who develops later but on a steady course in line with their skeletal and muscular development must be encouraged to stay involved early on and not to be discouraged by the other athletes’ early develop. They need to stay on the training track in order to reach their full potential. Both of these athletes have the risk of ending participation in the sport but for different reasons.
By remaining in the Junior level and providing time for them to mature psychologically and socially along with their neuro and technical skill development, they are better prepared to cope with the increased psychological pressures of Senior. competition, which is important for their emotional health and well-being and in the development of a well-rounded athletes.
Skeletal age
There are two aspects to this area:
The epiphysis (growth plates) and the rate of rapid growth that occurs during adolescence. This immature skeleton along with rapid growth spurts are risk factors for certain types of adolescent injuries.
The epiphyseal plates (growth plates/skeletal immaturity) of adolescence are more prone to injury than the fully developed skeleton. The growth plate (epiphysis)is made of cartilage and is the last portion of bone to ossify or harden into solid bone. It can be 2–5 times weaker than other structures (ligaments and tendons) around the end of the bone and joint.
The growth plates most at risk for a stress-related injury are the ones most loaded during repetitive activity.
Such as the knee in jumping sports for take-off and when landing, the heel in running sports, the hip in jumping sports when repetitively lifting the knee for take-off, the shoulder and wrist in lifting maneuvers and the back in sports with continued flexion or over extension.
Rapid growth places stress on the muscle-tendon junction, bone-tendon junction ligament and growth plates.
The increases in strength needed to accommodate these changes that will enable a child or teenager to continue to generate the same limb speed as before the growth spurt may not occur in a uniform pattern. Such imbalances in growth and strength, coupled with the loading imparted by sport training and competition, create a situation conducive to the development of overuse injuries.
The concern is that during a period of known skeletal vulnerability, the adolescent athlete may be exposed to excessive training and competition loads associated with high-level competition, which places the athlete at greater risk of injury.
In general, closure of the epiphyses and final adult height is achieved at a skeletal age of 17 by the standards of Greulich and Pyle. (Reference: Greulich WW, Pyle SI. Radiographic atlas of skeletal development of the hand and wrist, 2nd edn. Stanford, California, USA: Stanford University Press, 1959)
Summary
There are Identified modifiable injury risk factors that include postural control, competition anxiety, life events, previous injury, and volume of training that will protect the elite junior Skater.
There is also adequate evidence arising from injury prevention studies of youth sports participants - including neuromuscular training, protective equipment, mental training to enhance self-esteem, adoption of task oriented coping mechanisms and sport rules modification - to prevent injuries in elite youth sports settings.
Increasing the age limit to 17 years of age to qualify for entry to the Senior category allows the Junior athlete the time necessary to reach skeletal maturity decreasing risk of epiphyseal injury if training loads are modified during times of rapid growth and to expand on their social and emotional skills development.
Most importantly the ISU has a duty of care to protect the physical and psychological health and safety of all athletes including elite adolescent athlete.”
The ISU Council furthermore noted the conclusions of a survey conducted by the ISU Athletes Commission in December 2020/January 2021, in which 86.2 % of all respondents supported raising the age limits. The detailed Survey Report can be found here: https://isu.org/docman-documents-li...sion-survey-on-figure-skating-age-limits/file
Creating a separate thread for discussing the upcoming ISU Council's proposal to raise the minimum age limit for competing at the Senior (ISU Championships/Olympics):
From page 18:
...
3. Age Limits for Single & Pair Skating / Ice Dance
a) i) For the Season 2022/23, in International Senior Competitions, ISU Senior Championships and the
Olympic Winter Games, only Skaters may compete who have reached at least the age of fifteen
before July 1 preceding the Events.
ii) For the Season 2023/24, in International Senior Competitions, ISU Senior Championships and the
Olympic Winter Games, only Skaters may compete who have reached at least the age of sixteen
before July 1 preceding the Events.
ii) From the Season 2024/25 onwards, in International Senior Competitions, ISU Senior
Championships and the Olympic Winter Games, only Skaters may compete who have reached at
least the age of seventeen before July 1 preceding the Events.
b) In International Junior Competitions and ISU Junior Championships a Junior is a Skater who has met
the following requirements before July 1 preceding the event:
i) has reached at least the age of thirteen;
ii) has not reached the age of nineteen for Women and Men in singles competition; and
iii) has not reached the age of nineteen for Women and the age of twenty-one for Men in Pair Skating
and Ice Dance competition.
c) In International Novice Competitions a Novice is a Skater who has met the following requirements before
July 1 preceding the competition:
i) Basic Novice - has not reached the age of thirteen;
ii) Intermediate Novice - has not reached the age of fifteen;
iii) Advanced Novice - has reached the age of ten and has not reached the age of fifteen for girls
(Singles/Pairs Skating/Ice Dance) and boys (Singles) and seventeen for boys (Pair Skating/Ice
Dance).
Copied from pages 19-20:
Reason: The ISU Council received the following report from the ISU Medical Commission:
“Competition, training and recovery depend not only on the chronological age but also on the
- Developmental age (physical, mental, cognitive and emotional maturity)
- Skeletal age (degrees of ossification of the bone structure).
Junior athletes need to cope with multiple stressors on their pathways towards elite sport. First of all, they are exposed to high physiological loads caused by training and competitions. Secondly, they normally experience social hassles, demanding and high amounts of school tasks, and potential difficulties relating to their peer groups. Thirdly, they need to participate in competitions and handle competitive stressors. Ultimately, performance enhancements are normally the central concern for ambitious athletes, as athletes themselves and by others are continually evaluating their accomplishments.
The ISU must also consider the image they want to project as Junior and Senior Champions.
Developmental age
Physical
Generally, we know that elite athletes may delay their onset of puberty by an average to 2 years compared to the general population. Genetic disposition, intense physical training (training load), nutritional status, participation in competitive sports and psychological stress during childhood and early adolescence determine athletes’ pubertal timing of development. Athletes that practice, specifically, esthetic sports, are predisposed to a delay in pubertal development.
The growing evidence indicates that energy deficiency, plays a crucial role in the pathogenesis of functional hypothalamic hypogonadism in female athletes. Metabolic and psychologic stress activate hypothalamicpituitary-adrenal axis and suppress hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian axis, which delays development in female athletes.
Chronic negative energy balance resulting from a systemic physical training and inadequate energy intake (common in aesthetic sports) may delay pubertal development in elite athletes. Youth athletes, especially those engaged in competitive sports that emphasize prepubertal or lean appearance, are at risk of developing relative energy deficiency in sport associated with disordered eating or eating disorders.
In a study by Weimann they found that, intensive physical training of elite female gymnasts combined with inadequate nutritional intake markedly affect pubertal development. These peripubertal effects are not observable in male gymnasts due to different training regimes in male and female elite gymnast. Regular monitoring of female gymnast during their vulnerable growth phase is necessary to minimize life-long physiological and psychological side effects of high impact training. (E Weimann 1, C Witzel, S Schwidergall, H J Böhles; Wien Med Wochenschr; Effect of high performance sports on puberty development of female and male gymnasts 1998;148(10):231- 4.)
Mental, Cognitive and Emotional Maturity
Preliminary data suggest that the risk of psychological injury associated with participation in Elite youth sport is high. The concern includes burnout, disordered eating, and longterm consequences of injury. (Reference: Todd M Sabato; Tanis J Walch, Dennis J Caine: J Sports Med 2016 Aug 31:7:99-113 The elite young athlete: strategies to ensure physical and emotional health.)
The neural development (brain and nervous system) is 95% developed by age 7. This provides children with the opportunity to develop the movement skills of agility, balance, coordination and speed in general training.
The Jr athlete who develops the neuromuscular control early is picked up by Coaches and mentored with early success but may be injured because of lack of skeletal or muscular development or is not able to manage the psychological stress that is imposed during that time. The Junior athlete who develops more slowly is not seen as initially talented but when they both reach puberty with equal strength, muscle mass and neuromuscular development and emotional maturity the early developer begins to feel failure as they are no longer have progressed technically and or not the only one with those skills and they lose interest, become frustrated as their body changes during puberty forcing them to relearn skills that they accomplished early and they drop out or become injured. However, the athlete who develops later but on a steady course in line with their skeletal and muscular development must be encouraged to stay involved early on and not to be discouraged by the other athletes’ early develop. They need to stay on the training track in order to reach their full potential. Both of these athletes have the risk of ending participation in the sport but for different reasons.
By remaining in the Junior level and providing time for them to mature psychologically and socially along with their neuro and technical skill development, they are better prepared to cope with the increased psychological pressures of Senior. competition, which is important for their emotional health and well-being and in the development of a well-rounded athletes.
Skeletal age
There are two aspects to this area:
The epiphysis (growth plates) and the rate of rapid growth that occurs during adolescence. This immature skeleton along with rapid growth spurts are risk factors for certain types of adolescent injuries.
The epiphyseal plates (growth plates/skeletal immaturity) of adolescence are more prone to injury than the fully developed skeleton. The growth plate (epiphysis)is made of cartilage and is the last portion of bone to ossify or harden into solid bone. It can be 2–5 times weaker than other structures (ligaments and tendons) around the end of the bone and joint.
The growth plates most at risk for a stress-related injury are the ones most loaded during repetitive activity.
Such as the knee in jumping sports for take-off and when landing, the heel in running sports, the hip in jumping sports when repetitively lifting the knee for take-off, the shoulder and wrist in lifting maneuvers and the back in sports with continued flexion or over extension.
Rapid growth places stress on the muscle-tendon junction, bone-tendon junction ligament and growth plates.
The increases in strength needed to accommodate these changes that will enable a child or teenager to continue to generate the same limb speed as before the growth spurt may not occur in a uniform pattern. Such imbalances in growth and strength, coupled with the loading imparted by sport training and competition, create a situation conducive to the development of overuse injuries.
The concern is that during a period of known skeletal vulnerability, the adolescent athlete may be exposed to excessive training and competition loads associated with high-level competition, which places the athlete at greater risk of injury.
In general, closure of the epiphyses and final adult height is achieved at a skeletal age of 17 by the standards of Greulich and Pyle. (Reference: Greulich WW, Pyle SI. Radiographic atlas of skeletal development of the hand and wrist, 2nd edn. Stanford, California, USA: Stanford University Press, 1959)
Summary
There are Identified modifiable injury risk factors that include postural control, competition anxiety, life events, previous injury, and volume of training that will protect the elite junior Skater.
There is also adequate evidence arising from injury prevention studies of youth sports participants - including neuromuscular training, protective equipment, mental training to enhance self-esteem, adoption of task oriented coping mechanisms and sport rules modification - to prevent injuries in elite youth sports settings.
Increasing the age limit to 17 years of age to qualify for entry to the Senior category allows the Junior athlete the time necessary to reach skeletal maturity decreasing risk of epiphyseal injury if training loads are modified during times of rapid growth and to expand on their social and emotional skills development.
Most importantly the ISU has a duty of care to protect the physical and psychological health and safety of all athletes including elite adolescent athlete.”
The ISU Council furthermore noted the conclusions of a survey conducted by the ISU Athletes Commission in December 2020/January 2021, in which 86.2 % of all respondents supported raising the age limits. The detailed Survey Report can be found here: https://isu.org/docman-documents-li...sion-survey-on-figure-skating-age-limits/file
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