I don’t necessarily know of any other youth sport activities in which grown adults (21+) can be on teams with kids as young as 8th grade. It’s not developmentally appropriate. But again we’re talking about the same governing body who thinks it’s developmentally appropriate for first graders to have high school age teammates.
When we began in 2010 the age grid had age maximums, however, they had no age minimums. A Sr. team was 18 and under, a Jr team was 14 and under, etc. The age grid has continued to evolve as the sport and gym population continues to grow.I don’t necessarily know of any other youth sport activities in which grown adults (21+) can be on teams with kids as young as 8th grade. It’s not developmentally appropriate. But again we’re talking about the same governing body who thinks it’s developmentally appropriate for first graders to have high school age teammates.
Yep. People thought I was crazy when they first added age minimums. People were flipping out that 6 year old could be on a team with a 14 year old. I was like, up until now a newborn technically could have been on a team with an 18 year old. I know they did seniors first around 11/12 is when they made it 10-18. But juniors and younger took a lot longer.When we began in 2010 the age grid had age maximums, however, they had no age minimums. A Sr. team was 18 and under, a Jr team was 14 and under, etc. The age grid has continued to evolve as the sport and gym population continues to grow.
2010 USASF age grid
I vaguely recall a period of time when when you could have been like ten or 11 on Worlds and 5 on J6 but I wasn’t sure if I dreamed it?Yep. People thought I was crazy when they first added age minimums. People were flipping out that 6 year old could be on a team with a 14 year old. I was like, up until now a newborn technically could have been on a team with an 18 year old. I know they did seniors first around 11/12 is when they made it 10-18. But juniors and younger took a lot longer.
That sounds about right. I started L5 in 2006 and there was definitely a 5th grade flyer on my team.I vaguely recall a period of time when when you could have been like ten or 11 on Worlds and 5 on J6 but I wasn’t sure if I dreamed it?
It's crazy to think about but the oldest folks on open teams or retired folks who are multi time World Champions are that way because they have literally been Worlds eligible half their lives.That sounds about right. I started L5 in 2006 and there was definitely a 5th grade flyer on my team.
Were there any proposed changes besides bumping the bottom of the open age? Any changes to World's age for senior teams? I'm not in the "worry -zone," just curious!This proposes to bump the bottom age of international open teams up to 16.
I wonder if USASF will follow suit with the other open divisions?
I doubt it. We’re talking about the same governing body who thought it was a great idea for Jr Teams to be composed of HS seniors and first graders.