Age requirements in gymnastics

The term senior, in gymnastics, refers to any world-class gymnast who is age-eligible under F.I.G. rules. The term junior is used to describe any gymnast who competes at a world-class level, but does not meet the F.I.G.'s age minimum. Juniors are judged under the same Code of Points as the seniors, and often exhibit the same level of difficulty in their routines.

The one exception to the F.I.G.'s age restrictions until recently applied to the year before the Olympics, when gymnasts who were one year below the required age, but would be the required age in the Olympic year, were allowed to compete as seniors at the World Championships and other FIG meets. For instance, gymnasts born in 1977 were allowed to compete at senior events in 1991, when they were 14 or turning 14 within the calendar year. Within the last Olympic cycle, gymnasts born in 1992 were permitted to compete as seniors in 2007. This was permitted to allow nations to qualify to the Olympics with their best teams, and to give emerging gymnasts some experience in major competition before the Olympics. However, the FIG eliminated this exception as of the 2012 Olympic cycle.[16]

In addition, the age requirement technically only applies to meets which are sanctioned and regulated directly by the FIG: the Olympics, the World Championships and the World Cup circuit. Many other meets, such as the European Championships, have separate divisions for juniors. Additionally, some competitions, such as the Pan Am Games, the Pacific Rim Championships and the All-Africa Games, have different rules which permit seniors and juniors to compete together. There are also numerous international competitions specifically limited to junior gymnasts, such as the Japan Junior International, Moscow World Stars, the Junior Pan American Championships, and the Youth Olympic Games.

According to official statements from the FIG, "the accepted proof of a gymnast’s eligibility for competition is a valid passport issued by the country of residence."[17] This verification process has been criticized by some in the gymnastics community, with the argument that countries can manufacture and submit falsified documents for underage athletes.[18][19][20] In several cases, gymnasts involved in age falsification have verified that they did in fact compete under forged passports provided to them by their federations.[21][22]

Since 2009, gymnasts competing in FIG-sanctioned events at both the senior and junior level have been required to have licenses issued by the Federation. These licenses reportedly verify the competitors' ages based on their passports. However, the licensing does not include any independent verification of submitted passport information.[23]

The age limit is arguably one of the most contentious rules in gymnastics, and is frequently debated by coaches, gymnasts and members of the media. While some members of the sport, such as former USA Gymnastics president Bob Colarossi, have expressed support for the age limit of 16, others, such as coach Béla Károlyi, have heavily criticized it.[24]

Supporters of the age restrictions have pointed out that it has encouraged older gymnasts to remain in the sport. The average age of an international gymnast was 18.10 years in 2005. In contrast, in 1994, before the new age requirements, it was 16.49, and in 1989, gymnasts who had reached the age of 17 were already often considered to be of retirement age.[25][26]

Opponents of the rule have countered that by barring younger gymnasts from top level meets, they are denying them valuable competitive experience.[24] They have also argued that junior gymnasts perform and are scored under the same Code of Points as the seniors, perform the same skills, and are thus not avoiding the physical impact of training and performing high-level skills. It is also argued that the current Code of Points, with its increased requirements for difficult skills, is more suited to younger and lighter athletes, and puts older athletes at greater risk of injury.[19]

According to many scientific and medical studies, as well as reports from ex-gymnasts, younger gymnasts may have psychological or physical advantages in elite gymnastics competition.

Psychologically, younger gymnasts may be more fearless, and have less visceral appreciation for the potential for injury. They are therefore more likely to perform more dangerous, and more highly scored, routines with confidence and steadiness.[9] “Psychologically, I think they worry less,” former Olympic medallist Nellie Kim told The New York Times.[31] Daniela Silivaş, in her interview, commented, "You should know that I competed better at the age of 13 than at 17. I felt much better, physical (sic) and mentally."[22]

Physically, younger gymnasts, particularly those who have not yet gone through puberty, tend to be lighter, smaller, more pliable and flexible, which aids them in performing more complex skills and gives them a better strength-to-weight ratio. When a gymnast hits puberty, growth spurts and weight gain may affect her centre of gravity, causing mental and physical stress as she must adjust, and in some cases relearn, her moves to compensate.[9][32] Smaller athletes have generally excelled in the more challenging acrobatic elements required by the evolving Code of Points after the 1960s.[13] In addition, older gymnasts may be more prone to certain types of injuries caused by overuse of bones and muscles; younger gymnasts are less likely to have such problems, or more likely to be able to work through pain while injured.[9][13]

Kim Gwang Suk (North Korea): Kim, the 1991 World Champion on the uneven bars, was active on the international circuit between 1987 and 1993. During this time, several observers claimed she was too young for senior competition. The North Korean Gymnastics Federation submitted inconsistent dates of birth for Kim at various competitions, claiming that she was 15 for three consecutive years. As punishment, the F.I.G. barred the North Korean women's team from the World Championships in 1993. She competed in the 1989 World Championships at the estimated age of 11 or 12.[33] However, she may have been younger than that. At the 1992 Olympics, she claimed she was 17. However, her front teeth were missing, leading Béla Károlyi to speculate that she may have been as young as 10 at the time.[34]

Lavinia Agache (Romania): Agache competed at the 1981 World Championships at the age of 13, under a passport which gave her year of birth as 1967. She was in fact born in 1968. The falsification was suspected as early as 1981; Agache confirmed her 1968 birthdate to International Gymnast magazine in 2000.[6][35][36]

Olga Bicherova (Soviet Union): Bicherova, the 1981 World Champion in the all-around event, was introduced at an early 1981 meet as a 12-year-old, but was claimed to have been born in 1966 at the 1981 World Championships later in the same year.[6][37][38]

Gina Gogean (Romania): Gogean competed in the 1992 Olympics with a passport with a 1977 birth year. However, in 2002 her original birth certificate was uncovered by the media, revealing she had been born in 1978.[8][39]

Alexandra Marinescu (Romania): Marinescu, a World and team Olympic medalist in the mid-1990s, had her birth year advanced from 1982 to 1981 in order to be eligible for the 1995 World Championships and 1996 Olympic Games.[8][21]

Olga Mostepanova (Soviet Union): Mostepanova, who competed at the 1983 and 1985 World Championships and was the all-around gold medalist at the 1984 Friendship Games, has been reported as having 1968 and 1969 birth dates, but has stated that she was actually born in 1970.[40][41]

Daniela Silivaş (Romania): Silivaş, a multiple World and Olympic gold medalist, competed as a junior until 1985, when her birth year was changed from 1972 to 1970. She went on to compete at the 1985 World Championships at the age of 13. Silivaş revealed the falsification to the media in 2002.[22]

Dong Fangxiao (People's Republic of China): Dong was a member of the bronze-medal winning Chinese team at the 2000 Summer Olympics. Her birthdate was listed as January 20, 1983, in the FIG database. However, it was discovered that her accreditation as a technical official at the 2008 Summer Olympics, where she worked as a vault secretary, listed her birthdate as January 23, 1986. Additionally, her blog stated she was born during the Year of the Ox, which would place her birthdate between February 1985 and February 1986. An FIG investigation determined in 2010 that Dong was 14 during the 2000 Olympics and the Chinese team should be stripped of its bronze medal. Dong's 1999 World Championships and World Cup results were vacated.[42] In April 2010, the International Olympic Committee upheld the F.I.G.'s recommendation and nullified both the Chinese team's bronze medal and Dong's individual Olympic placement.[30]

Hong Su Jong (North Korea), the 2007 World Championships silver medalist on vault, was investigated for age discrepancies in 2010. Hong competed at the 2004 Olympics with a March 9, 1985, birth date, but participated in subsequent Asian Games and World Championships meets with a 1986 year of birth. Her 2010 F.I.G. license and 2010 Worlds registration indicated that she was born in 1989. The F.I.G. responded in October 2010 by provisionally banning North Korea from competition for one month, which effectively barred them from the 2010 World Championships.[43] In November 2010, the F.I.G. extended the ban until October 5, 2012, fined the North Korean Federation $20,800, and banned Hong from competing even in national competition within North Korea.[44]

During the 2008 Summer Olympics the age of four Chinese gymnasts — He Kexin, Jiang Yuyuan, Deng Linlin, and Yang Yilin — was brought into question, with many foreign media outlets speculating that they were underage during the Olympics.[45] Multiple age investigations were conducted at the urging of media, as well as United States Olympic Committee executive Jim Scherr and International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge,[46][47] and the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG) found that the gymnasts had met the age requirements and were eligible to compete.[48][49] The Chinese sports administration also acknowledged that mistakes in its paperwork have contributed to the misunderstanding.[50]