Kansas Wrestling Forums General Discussion Kids Folkstyle Age Groups - Youth Sports Quick Facts

Youth Sports
Quick Facts

Age in which children first have the capability to understand social dynamics of competitive sports: 8 years old

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, National Council of Youth Sports, NCAA.org, Jay Coakley's "Sports in Society".

· Number of kids ages 5-19 in U.S.: 61,446,112
· Number of kids ages 5-18 that competes in 61 top sports organizations: 38,259,845

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, National Council of Youth Sports, NCAA.org, Jay Coakley's "Sports in Society".

Youth Age Divisions

Youth competitions typically take place in two-year age divisions. These age divisions provide young athletes the opportunity to compete with other athletes of similar ability. The age divisions for competition year 2005 are as follows:

Age Division Year of Birth
Bantam (10 & under) 1995+
Midget (11-12) 1993-1994
Youth (13-14) 1991-1992
Intermediate (15-16) 1989-1990
Young (17-18) 1987-1988


2005 Divisions
The Junior Olympics is divided into six divisions for boys and six divisions for girls. The athlete's year of birth shall determine the division in which the athlete shall compete. With each succeeding year each division shall be adjusted. Listed below are the 2005 divisions (NOTE: Sub-Bantams do not advance past the Region 2 Meet in both Track & Field and Cross Country):
Sub-Bantam: Born 1997 or after
Bantam: Born in 1995-1996
Midget: Born in 1993-1994
Youth: Born in 1991-1992
Intermediate: Born in 1989-1990
Young: Born in 1987-1988

(NOTE: Sub-Bantams do not advance past the Region 2 Meet in both Track & Field and Cross Country):

· Average stint in one sport : 5 years

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, National Council of Youth Sports, NCAA.org, Jay Coakley's "Sports in Society".

These are not really my points by I support these national organizations research, conclusions and opinions.

The earliest age recognized by most National Organizations in 2005 for COMPETITIVE SPORTS sports was 8 years of age or older. Competitive sports vs Organized sports

Point #1)

Age in which children first have the capability to understand social dynamics of competitive sports: 8 years old

Point #2)

· Average stint in one sport : 5 years


Age Groups
Hockey players are separated into levels based on their age.
· Mites--This is the youngest age group for youth hockey. There are two groups of mites, silver mites and gold mites. Silver mites consist of six year olds and younger, while gold mites consist of seven and eight year olds.

These are not really my points by I support these national organizations research, conclusions and opinions.

The earliest age recognized by most National Organizations in 2005 for COMPETITIVE SPORTS sports was 8 years of age or older. Competitive sports vs Organized sports

Point #1)

Age in which children first have the capability to understand social dynamics of competitive sports: 8 years old

Point #2)

· Average stint in one sport : 5 years


Age Groups
Hockey players are separated into levels based on their age.
· Mites--This is the youngest age group for youth hockey. There are two groups of mites, silver mites and gold mites. Silver mites consist of six year olds and younger, while gold mites consist of seven and eight year olds.

73% of all youth athlete's quit the sport within 5 years. There is a decline in the number of high school athletes in America. It use to be that the average student did not even start competing in sports until junior high. Then, during the 1980's and 1990's an explosion of youth sports leagues and traveling teams moved competition down to younger and younger ages. Winning become the most important aspect of sports. The result: kids are leaving sports at a younger age which leads to less students competing at the high school level. See the articles in "Wow..." for more information.