I Declare Shenanigans

I recently read an article on HuffPo from way back in February, before the Sochi Olympics, about how figure skating is a little girl's sport (I also read the book on the right when I was a kid). In it, it raises the notion that once you hit 20 or 21, you become a grandma. No Olympic gold yet? To bad, time to be put out to pasture, with a spectrum of psychological trauma.

Yes, it's true. Five of the last six Olympic gold medalists in the ladies event have been teenagers. The exception is 2006 Olympic Champion Shizuka Arikawa, who was 24 when she won. Yes, it's true, some young girls who pursue the sport are put under immense pressure to fit into a mold if they want to become elite-level champions, which leaves lasting psychological marks.

But at the same time, I couldn't disagree more that you cannot achieve success in figure skating unless you're a tall, slim teen, and that the sport as a whole destroys body image or causes mental and emotional distress. The majority of skaters aren't going to feel that intense pressure that lands one in therapy. As well, the VAST majority of skaters are never ever going to make it to the Olympics. So why don't we all just quit?

Because figure skating is not about little girls in pretty boxes anymore. It has become even more of a recreational activity these days than a competitive one, in the absence of the media attention it used to get. People of all ages are doing it primarily for fun, and for exercise. One just as to point to the rise in popularity of synchro and theater on ice, and the need to create separate sectional events for Adult Nationals, because it was getting so popular.

And (this should come as no surprise) I couldn't disagree more with the idea that you cannot achieve success as a singles skater unless you're a tall, stick-thin, bird of a person. I am over 21 (by how much I will not admit) and I've never skated better in my life. I've given birth to a child, and I've never skated better in my life. And even when I was a youngling, it wasn't until after I put on a few pounds and grew some boobs that I could actually land a double axel or any triples.

Of course, my rant is not to disprove or detract from the suffering many young girls (and boys) have endured as a result of their participation in the sport. I am truly sorry for those who have had negative experiences, and would lend all the support I can give in a heartbeat. But I declare some BIG shenanigans on those who claim that the sport as a whole is responsible for destroying the lives of little girls by pushing a youth-biased agenda. I think that bad crap happens to aspiring young skaters because they are vulnerable and at the mercy of misguided parents or coaches, which is something that can and does happen in ANY sport.