Eligibility
Posted: Mon Aug 22, 2005 12:43 pm
(First, let me correct a statement in my original post on this subject: I wrote that it was my understanding that the U. S. did not send a team to this Universiade. The U. S. did send teams in other sports, they just didn't send a track and field team. In the over-all medal count, USA was fifth, behind Russia, China, Japan, and Ukraine.)
Skyin' Brian asked about eligibility for participation and lollipop answered that athletes must be between 17 and 28 years old and full time university students. Close, but the official International University Sports Federation rules have the age as at least 17 and less than 28. It's when they start to define "full time university student" that things get weasily:
5.2 Participation
5.2.1 Only the following may participate as competitors in the Universiade:
a) students who are officially registered for and pursuing a full time
course of study at a university or similar institute whose status as a
university is recognised by the appropriate national academic
authority of their country;
b) former students of the institutions mentioned in a) who have
obtained their academic degree or diploma in the year preceding
the event.
5.2.2 Notwithstanding Art. 5.2.1, in countries with fewer than 2.000.000
inhabitants or with fewer than 5.000 students, students attending
technical or secondary schools may participate in FISU events provided
they have been attending their establishments for at least two years.
Countries wishing to take advantage of the concession in the first
paragraph of Art. 5.2.2 must submit an application to the FISU
Executive Committee at least six months before the scheduled start of
the event. Such an application must be supported by documents
endorsed by the appropriate State or National Academic Authorities.
5.2.3 All competitors must satisfy the following conditions:
a) be a national of the country they represent;
b) be at least 17 and less than 28 years of age on January 1st in the
year of the event.
In past years, the meaning of full time attendance and of "technical or secondary schools" has been interpreted very loosely by some countries and apparently without rejection by the Executive Committee.
As I wrote to t-and-f@darkwing in 1997:
An Associated Press story on Nando News today notes that Javier Sotomayor has won the high jump competition at the University Games. The 1997 ATFS Annual lists Sotomayor's birthdate as 13 October 1967. Ineligible, by what Tchaka understands to be the age limit.
More and more, it seems that the only eligibility condition is that the
athlete must be a college student, have been a student at some time, or
have aspirations to become one. There even is disagreement on what a
"college" is. For example, private communications have made it clear that
the equivalent of community college enrolment would not be considered to
constitute eligibility in Germany or the Netherlands.
As Alice would say, curiouser and curiouser . . .
My post was followed by one from a former participant, in which she stated, in part:
"However, having spelled out the "rules," I will now comment that these rules were not adhered to by athletes and Athletics bodies of *many* nations. Several athletes that were there in '95 representing the US were only part-time students, taking a grad class or 2 at night to be "eligible." I know of members from other countries who were "eligible" for the WUG and who were only taking correspondance courses--as we would call them in the US. I do not know whose "job" it is to enforce WUG eligibilty, it may be up to each individual nation... or maybe no one is enforcing eligibility."
In summary, I'd say that these abuses of eligibility rules might alone justify the decision of USATF not to participate in this meet.
Skyin' Brian asked about eligibility for participation and lollipop answered that athletes must be between 17 and 28 years old and full time university students. Close, but the official International University Sports Federation rules have the age as at least 17 and less than 28. It's when they start to define "full time university student" that things get weasily:
5.2 Participation
5.2.1 Only the following may participate as competitors in the Universiade:
a) students who are officially registered for and pursuing a full time
course of study at a university or similar institute whose status as a
university is recognised by the appropriate national academic
authority of their country;
b) former students of the institutions mentioned in a) who have
obtained their academic degree or diploma in the year preceding
the event.
5.2.2 Notwithstanding Art. 5.2.1, in countries with fewer than 2.000.000
inhabitants or with fewer than 5.000 students, students attending
technical or secondary schools may participate in FISU events provided
they have been attending their establishments for at least two years.
Countries wishing to take advantage of the concession in the first
paragraph of Art. 5.2.2 must submit an application to the FISU
Executive Committee at least six months before the scheduled start of
the event. Such an application must be supported by documents
endorsed by the appropriate State or National Academic Authorities.
5.2.3 All competitors must satisfy the following conditions:
a) be a national of the country they represent;
b) be at least 17 and less than 28 years of age on January 1st in the
year of the event.
In past years, the meaning of full time attendance and of "technical or secondary schools" has been interpreted very loosely by some countries and apparently without rejection by the Executive Committee.
As I wrote to t-and-f@darkwing in 1997:
An Associated Press story on Nando News today notes that Javier Sotomayor has won the high jump competition at the University Games. The 1997 ATFS Annual lists Sotomayor's birthdate as 13 October 1967. Ineligible, by what Tchaka understands to be the age limit.
More and more, it seems that the only eligibility condition is that the
athlete must be a college student, have been a student at some time, or
have aspirations to become one. There even is disagreement on what a
"college" is. For example, private communications have made it clear that
the equivalent of community college enrolment would not be considered to
constitute eligibility in Germany or the Netherlands.
As Alice would say, curiouser and curiouser . . .
My post was followed by one from a former participant, in which she stated, in part:
"However, having spelled out the "rules," I will now comment that these rules were not adhered to by athletes and Athletics bodies of *many* nations. Several athletes that were there in '95 representing the US were only part-time students, taking a grad class or 2 at night to be "eligible." I know of members from other countries who were "eligible" for the WUG and who were only taking correspondance courses--as we would call them in the US. I do not know whose "job" it is to enforce WUG eligibilty, it may be up to each individual nation... or maybe no one is enforcing eligibility."
In summary, I'd say that these abuses of eligibility rules might alone justify the decision of USATF not to participate in this meet.