"Canadian Bureaucracy Ends Autistic Track Star's Sr Sea

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http://rivals.yahoo.com/highschool/blog ... ool-wp1316

This is just...dumb.

I think that he's autistic is irrelevant. Things like this happen frequently in the US and Canada.

Its relevant because its needless red tape getting in the way of a positive role-model for Autistics, and those are always helpful. Its also hard enough getting anywhere with an ASD without daft crap like this.

No, I seem to remember a rule like this in high school. It has to do with the developmental level of the body. People who are younger than a certain age have to pass a physical to play sports in high school, so they don't hurt themselves. Likewise, people who are older than a certain age can't play modified or JV sports. I suppose they have a limit for varsity, too. At least, that's how it is for NYS.
I don't know if that's the same thing going on here, though, because of the wording "Despite the fact that Towle was a high school student between 2005 and 2007 by technicality alone, the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations ruled that his attendance in a high school building still put him in violation of the association's strict rule that limits a student athlete's eligibility to a five-year span."

There is an old aphorism: "Hard cases make bad law."

While we might sympathize with this particular young athlete's circumstances, these eligibility rules are in place for good reasons and creating exceptions for one case will inevitably lead to other attempts by aspiring athletes to extend their eligibility by deliberately delaying their entry into competition and their graduation in order to be older and more physically developed in their last year.

I agree with Chronos that his being autistic is irrelevant!

The reason they have these limits in school level sports is due to developmental advantages.
An 18 year old cannot play in their local under 10 football side. It wouldn't be fair.
This rule is designed to stop the same thing.

Is it unfortunate? yes, but so are a lot of things.

But how he deals with this setback should be the real test for whether he is a good role model. Anyone can achieve when things go their way. Only true champions will persevere and succeed in the face of opposition.