In reply to Jody:
> I think the uneasiness comes from seeing the very young doing exceptionally well (or better) at a sport that at lot of older folks have dedicated their life too. Based on this thread it seems that this uneasiness is particularly strong in men
Someone just had to say it didn't they, way to ruin a sensible discussion. Nobody wants to piss on the kids bonfires, I just hope we don't end up like gymnastics, embroilled in scandal over the explotation of young atheletes. The physical peak of female atheletes for pure strength to weight activities is around the point of adolescence, hence the low retirement age of female gymnasts. In order to exploit that peak, coaches pushed harder and harder younger and younger and many female gymnasts as a result retire with an enourmous catalogue of injuries that will be with them for the rest of their lives. Particularly disturbing is how the natural progression of puberty is disturbed.
Now, I climb at the Westway a lot and they actually take a very sensible approach (they have a lot of youngish and very talented girls on their squad). The youngsters boulder only once a month (or something similarly infrequent) and there is no specific training, just lots of climbing. And that's healthy, for sure. But these girls are operating at maybe high 6s to low 7s. I just worry that v10 and 8a are not natural for 8 year olds because they require exceptional finger strength. However, if these kids can genuinley just climb a couple of times a week for fun and go on to climb that hard, more power to them. I just don't want to see a culture of exploitation of young atheletes develop like was prevelant in gymnastics until the rule changes.
And Jody, how many 8 year olds do you know who made their own professional website? I'm sorry, I refuse to buy that.