An early grave or the fountain of youth sport and the malleability of chronological age

Controversies in the field of sport are circulated and perpetuated through stories and narratives played out on the field, that are then taken up in conversation and broadcast through increasingly diverse media formats and outlets. Currently, on the competitive sport scene, there are two dominant story lines that are tied closely to malleability of chronological age for athletes at different stages of the lifecourse. The first warns of the dangers and destructive potential of competitive sport. This alarm is sounded predominately about brain injuries among youth who are involved in high-contact sport (Stern et al., 2009). Yet, it echoes beyond brain injuries to include the negative health effects of bullying, competition stress, eating disorders and hazing rituals that are linked to sport involvement among younger athletes (Holm-Denoma et al., 2009). Dangerous outcomes of sport are often described using the language of epidemics and calls are made to medical science, new technologies and the restructuring of sport as potential solutions (Benson et al., 2009; Finch et al., 2011).