2

8/22/2008 12:30:24 AM

Quote :

"If you think the rules are wrong, and need to be changed, then that's one thing."

yes, that is my point.

8/22/2008 12:32:54 AM

Quote :

"The minimum age for female gymnasts was increased from 14 to 15 in 1981, and up to 16 in 1997, to protect the physical and mental health of young athletes"

maybe the rules should change to let the best compete. but in the meantime, rules are there for a reason, so they bloody well ought to be followed. with the consequences in place, if they are broken

8/22/2008 12:36:18 AM

if i could play little league now, i'd kick some ass!

8/22/2008 12:39:37 AM

I didn't read much of this thread, and I didn't watch any of the gymnastics. But I have a good question.

If they find out that she's too young, and take away her individual medal, does the Chinese team that she participated on lose their medal as well?

8/22/2008 12:42:35 AM

China, of course, has only the greatest concern for the physical and mental health of it's young athletes



[Edited on August 22, 2008 at 12:43 AM. Reason : ^ It's already been discussed in the thread]

8/22/2008 12:42:51 AM

^OH SHIT AMAC IS BACK

wait a minute...

8/22/2008 12:43:49 AM

lol

8/22/2008 12:44:17 AM

Quote :

"to protect the physical and mental health of young athletes"

that's total bullshit though. the only difference between a 16 year old chinese gymnast and a 14 year old chinese gymanst is 2 years of state sponsored gymnastics training. it's not preventing anything.

8/22/2008 12:44:48 AM

look, i don't particularly disagree with you on that. but that doesn't mean the IOC should say "oh, china's going to be making these girls do state sponsored gymnastics training regardless of the rules, so we'll overlook the fact that they're lying about the athletes' ages."

[Edited on August 22, 2008 at 12:51 AM. Reason : \/ precisely]

8/22/2008 12:48:39 AM

the rules are the rules. they may be bullshit, and they may need to be amended.

but they are the current rules, and everyone has to play within the constraints of those rules. if you don't, then you don't deserve any gold fucking medals

8/22/2008 12:50:16 AM

The sad part is the difference between Silver and Gold for the US girls is probably a few thousand dollars bonus money from the Olympic committee. The difference between Gold and Silver for the Chinese girls is 15 minutes out of their cages.

8/22/2008 1:00:14 AM

And they won't even get silver.

8/22/2008 1:02:12 AM

They'll probably be executed now that they've failed to serve their purpose.

I'm only half kidding.

8/22/2008 1:04:19 AM

because refusing to do what the chinese government asks of you is totally a choice

8/22/2008 1:10:15 AM

Because Chinese citizens have all the same liberties as Americans.

8/22/2008 1:22:57 AM

Chickity China the Chinese chicken,
you have a gold medal and your brain starts stickin.

8/22/2008 1:32:59 AM

Quote :

"so what? if younger girls are better then younger girls are better. what's your point?"

my point is that other countries did NOT CHEAT and put in younger girls. ergo, by doing so, China gained an unfair advantage

Quote :

"they keep old kids out of teeball b/c they're too good, but this isn't ymca teeball, it's the fucking olympics. the whole point is that the people competing are THE BEST. why would you exclude someone b/c they're too good?"

at least you admit that age DOES make a difference. Why is it so hard to fathom that a younger, smaller, gymnast would have a competitive advantage over an older, larger one? Or that a younger, pre-pubescent female gymnast who isn't able to have her period yet might have a competitive advantage over an older female gymnast who is on her period during the games?

We aren't excluding people because they are "too good." Or, would you prefer that doping be allowed? We are excluding people to prevent them from being abused and exploited. THAT is why people younger than 16 are banned in gymnastics. It has nothing to do with them being "better."

Furthermore, how can you say that the 14 y/o chinese gymnasts are "the best" when other 14 y/olds are NOT competing because their countries are actually FOLLOWING THE RULES.


As for my column, when are you gonna stop riding my nuts, faggot? If you only focus on the number, then you are a fucking moron. The whole point of the column was to say that our school newspaper shouldn't be calling student athletes "incompetent." That you can't comprehend such a thing shouldn't be too surprising, as you have already shown your incompetence in this thread. Now, please SHUT THE FUCK UP, asshole.

8/23/2008 2:59:23 PM

this isn't the only sport with age restrictions in the olympics, i think some people think the age thing is restricted to gymnastics.

8/23/2008 3:46:23 PM

wow. they are now saying maybe 5 of the 6 girls on the team are under 16. straight. up. cheating.

for any of you questioning why the age of the gymnasts matters, ask yourself why China would have five of six athletes younger than 16. that should answer the question as to whether or not younger gymnasts have an advantage.

8/23/2008 11:49:46 PM

good work, IOC. Hey, look at these forged documents China gave us... They clearly show these girls are 16!!! Thanks, Mr. Iraqi Information Minister!

8/24/2008 1:50:03 PM

were the age limit rules put in place before or after it was announced that Beijing would be hosting?

8/24/2008 2:13:04 PM

way before

8/24/2008 2:15:57 PM

well the IOC are headed by frenchmen

a chinaman wouldn't even need to fart particularly loudly near them before they'd rollover and throw up the white flag

8/24/2008 2:17:12 PM

I don't think the age should matter, if the girl is the best then she's the best. But they put those rules in place because countries like China have girls at the age of 3 in gymnastics for 7 to 8 hours a day. Take them out of their homes and raise them at the gym. I think that rule will protect the younger girls so you're not going to have 9 year olds training for the olympics.


Putting children that young into physical activity that high can mess with the child's development.

[Edited on August 24, 2008 at 2:21 PM. Reason : ]

8/24/2008 2:19:56 PM

REGARDLESS OF YOUR PERSONAL OPINION ON IF AGE SHOULD MATTER

THERE IS A RULE ALREADY IN PLACE CONCERNING AGE

IF SHE IS YOUNGER THAN 16 SHE BROKE THIS RULE

OTHERWISE SHE DID NOT BREAK THIS RULE

THERE ARE NO FUCKING GRAY AREAS ON THIS

COME ON NOW

COME ON NOW

8/24/2008 2:22:18 PM

http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/news?slug=ap-agerules&prov=ap&type=lgns

so they age limit was changed to 16 in 1997 (from 15 in 1981)

Beijing was selected as host in 2001

Chinese girl was 14 when she won bronze in 2000 Sydney Olympics

so they've been cheating forevers

i was going to argue that if the rules changed post 2001, that China probably didn't care because they had already invested years in training their chosen athletes to compete...

8/24/2008 2:26:37 PM

An unenforced rule is a suggestion.

8/24/2008 2:33:54 PM

PWNT

9/19/2008 9:08:47 AM