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Jennifer Kirk Speaks Out Against Eating Disorders In The World Of Competitive Figure Skating

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Kilotwat
07/05/09

In reply to Jennifer Kirk Speaks Out Against Eating Disorders In The World Of Competitive Figure Skating
I've always wondered why she quit skating so completely when there are still opportunities for her in the sport. Now I'm happy and relieved to hear it was to get healthy.
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SarahHeartburn
07/05/09

In reply to Jennifer Kirk Speaks Out Against Eating Disorders In The World Of Competitive Figure Skating
There was a book and subsequent controversy a few years ago about women in Spain's gymnastic team from an ex champ. I realize that certain sports require certain body types, but does being a winner mean being sick? It's funny, it started with women and anorexia..now it's moving on to men and steroids. I have nothing against the use of some steroids for chronic pain; I think a lot of the professional/Olympic rules about steroids are unfair.

But if being a winner means being a chemical cyborg, I'll give up on sports.
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BellaTricks
07/05/09

In reply to Jennifer Kirk Speaks Out Against Eating Disorders In The World Of Competitive Figure Skating
This is unsurprising, but still incredibly sad. In sports such as figure skating, where a smaller frame often allows for higher levels of success, there will ALWAYS be problems with eating disorders. The struggle between health and disorder in the name of success is inherent, but IMO, we need to set a healthier norm, a better baseline. The struggles would still be there, but perhaps they would be less extreme?

I apologize if this didn't make sense. The sangria I had last night is making it difficult for me to articulate my thoughts properly.
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RossMerula
07/05/09

In reply to Jennifer Kirk Speaks Out Against Eating Disorders In The World Of Competitive Figure Skating
I worked in the office of an ice rink one summer during college, and I've never forgotten some of the things I overheard coaches say to their students. I remember one coach screaming "There is NO WAY you weigh 80 lbs. Tell me the truth or I'll shove you on the scale myself". The girl was 11.
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ImDatNinja (loves her Red Sox)
07/05/09

@RossMerula: This made me shutter. So sad.
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lms11
07/05/09

In reply to Jennifer Kirk Speaks Out Against Eating Disorders In The World Of Competitive Figure Skating
And one last comment: Those weigh-ins are no joke. So mentally devastating, yet so commonplace.
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JennaW
07/05/09

@lms11: Wow. Thanks for the insight. I love the sport, but things like this make me sad.

I wonder if it would help to have age brackets so grown women wouldn't have to compete with girls whose bodies haven't yet matured and are therefore naturally slimmer and smaller -- sort of like weight classes in boxing. But then of course you get into varying body types regardless of age...
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nora charles
07/05/09

In reply to Jennifer Kirk Speaks Out Against Eating Disorders In The World Of Competitive Figure Skating
While I appreciate her trying to do something about it, I just don't think there's much that can be done. You can get rid of the coaches and trainers that are institutionalizing eating disorders, like gymnastics has tried to do since the publication of Little Girls in Pretty Boxes, but at the end of the day, skating and gymnastics and distance running and equestrianism (and many others that are slipping my mind) are all sports where getting thinner allows you to be more competitive. In many of these sports, once you reach a certain level, dropping weight is the fastest way to become more competitive--it can do the equivalent of hundreds of hours of training. You can get rid of the institutionalization of the eating disorders, but that won't get rid of the eating disorders, because as long as a smaller or thinner body makes you more competitive, athletes will push themselves to those levels on their own.
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Slumdog_Mamabear
07/05/09

@nora charles: I am glad to see it even being talked about. I think that awareness, especially on the side of parents might go a long way.

I think that there is a lot of work to be done in boys and mens sports on this issue. It is considered a "female" issue and even the most drastic measures to drop weight are not looked at as unhealthy. It is really scary.
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nora charles
07/05/09

@Slumdog_Mamabear: Wrestling is probably the worst offender when it comes to boys' sports. I remember the wrestlers at my high school doing things to drop weight that would have gotten my cross-country coach fired had she pushed them on us. Sure, not all of those boys internalized the body image issues and unhealthy weight loss habits, but some of them did.

Weight was an issue for guys on my cross-country and track teams, too. I can absolutely see how it would be an issue for men in gymnastics and skating and other image-conscious sports.
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Slumdog_Mamabear
07/05/09

@nora charles: My husband boxes. The stuff he does to make weight blows my mind. Eggs whites and mustard for two weeks solid. No water for 3 days. Hours in the sauna. But it is nothing compared to his body builder friend. That guy has a serious problem and everytime I say something to Papabear he says "but he is a guy".

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!
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sarrible
07/05/09

In reply to Jennifer Kirk Speaks Out Against Eating Disorders In The World Of Competitive Figure Skating
I seem to recall the book Little Girls in Pretty Boxes, or something like that, was primarily about gymnasts and skaters and the horrible things they do to their bodies.
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nora charles
07/05/09

@sarrible: If I recall correctly, it focused more on the gymnastics world than the skating world, but there were at least a couple chapters on skating.
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Plum-Pie
07/05/09

@nora charles:I seem to remember the author writing that she planned on looking at both equally but ended up focussing on gymnastics as it seemed to be more of a problem. It seems from this post, however, that people involved in/ex of the skating world are less keen to talk about it.

One phrase which always stuck with me from the book, a quote from a skater was 'If you skated better at 100lbs, but looked better at 95lbs, then you had to weigh 95.'
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milominderbinder
07/05/09

In reply to Jennifer Kirk Speaks Out Against Eating Disorders In The World Of Competitive Figure Skating
figure skating is INTENSE i took figure skating lessons and got pretty good but quit once i started getting to the jumps level because i was terrified of the other coaches, there was always so much yelling and it was taken so seriously, i was just a kid who wanted to have fun skating around in cute outfits and everyone was pushed so hard. sometimes i wish i had stuck with it, but oh well.
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lms11
07/05/09

@milominderbinder: Sticking with it can get you to int@nora charles: I was a competitive skater for 13 years. I do not have the "ideal" body type and it became painfully obvious that I would never ever be able to land the harder jumps unless I drastically changed my body (center of gravity, etc). I instead decided to focus on other things (this was high school, so debate, model UN, Amnesty international, blah blah blah) while still enjoying skating as a pastime (if you call every morning at 6:30 AM a pastime! What was I thinking?!). I did see eating disorders in a lot of my fellow skaters...it's a dangerous path.
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NewsBunny
07/06/09

@lms11: I had a ball figure skating. We had a figure skating club in high school, and I learned how to do the basic jumps and spins. As I senior, in our annual show, I did a solo preformance. Until then, I had never felt more beautiful.
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