@naita and @Thudlow_Boink I shouldn’t have mentioned the overworked child thing. That really wasn’t my point. I’m not saying there should be a lower age limit as a way of curbing abuse. I only mentioned that in passing as one of the unfortunate side effects of letting children compete.
My point has more to do with this:
My bold.
I would like to see athletes in the Olympics compete against well-matched opponents. Not against someone who is freakishly good. I mean, so a 10-year old gymnast can do four mid-air flips because she’s been training since before she could walk and now only weighs 70 lbs-- yeah, it’s freakishly good to watch. But it is a sport? Is it sportsmanship?
This brings me back to the mission of the Olympics, which I’m still not 100% clear on. I see it as a display of talent, skill, training, and sportsmanship among individuals (and teams) who are comparable.
If you have a 12-year old boy who is freakishly good at, say, baseball, do you really enjoy seeing him play on a team with 18-35 year old men? Maybe you do. That bothers me.
I know many will disagree with me, and that’s fine, but does anyone get my point?