These include 3 changes to the age grids and 5 new Worlds divisions. We’ll explain all the changes and how they might affect gyms and teams all over the world.
The official reasons behind the age grid changes are “for the overall mental, physical and emotional well-being of the athletes”. They come at a time where athlete safety is heavily discussed – more about that further down in this post.
Remember! The changes are made by the IASF, not the USASF. Learn more about the differences between the organizations here: The USASF, IASF & ICU – What Are They and What’s the Difference?
In May 2020, the IASF announced changes to the age grid that were made because of the pandemic.
Since there were no end-of-season events in 2020, they allowed athletes who would age out to stay on their teams for another season. The U16 divisions allowed for athletes up to age 17, and U18 divisions allowed athletes up to 19 years of age.
Read more about that announcement (& the new division names) here: IASF Announces Changes To Worlds 2021 & New Division Names
These changes have continued for the 2021-2022 season as well, but from the 2022-2023 season and forward, the divisions will go back to U16 and U18.
Athletes on U16 teams currently have to be 10 years or older.
The new age grid will increase the minimum age from 10 to 12 instead.
Just like the change above, the minimum age for Open and Global divisions will be increased as well.
Right now, the minimum age for Open teams is 14. This will increase to 16 years of age instead.
UPDATE : After receiving feedback, the IASF has made changes again. Instead of increasing the age to 16, the minimum age will be 15 for the 2022-2023 season. It will then increase to 16 from the 2023-2023 season!
Let’s dive deeper into what the changes will mean for teams and gyms around the world.
First of all, since the changes come from the IASF, they only affect international teams so far.
In October, the USASF announced some of their own proposed changes, including looking over the age grids and potentially making them more similar to the IASF.
The USASF have commented on the IASF changes and will discuss them:
Want to take a look at the entire list of IASF Worlds 2023 divisions? Click here to view the document!
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