Ever since the sport got rid of the compulsory school figures, the painstaking tracings of figure eights, in 1990, figure skating has become gymnastics on ice. The school figures were flawed, but as a difficult exercise for an unpolished skater, they served a useful purpose: to keep the little teenaged jumpers at bay while actual women won the medals in women's figure skating.

When skating jettisoned the school figures, it ushered in an entirely different era. The ability to jump superseded all else. The tinier the body, the better to spin in the air. Puberty became a girl skater's No. 1 enemy. Any female skater about to hit her 20s — if she got that far — knew her days in the sport were numbered.

Is it any wonder that the three youngest Olympic gold medalists in women's skating history (other than the legendary Sonja Henie, who was 15 in 1928) have all come along in the last 14 years? Oksana Baiul was 16 when she won in 1994, Tara Lipinski was 15 in 1998 and Sarah Hughes was 16 in 2002.

So one would think this would portend great things for the U.S. duo of Caroline Zhang and Mirai Nagasu, born little more than a month apart in the spring of 1993 (yes, 1993), making them both 14 as they debuted as senior (Olympic division) skaters at the 2008 U.S. figure skating championships Thursday.

Nagasu immediately leaped to the advantage, winning the short program with a flawless and delightful performance that beat Zhang, who finished seventh, 70.23 points to 53.49. Nagasu was so strong that defending national champion Kimmie Meissner, who fell once, trailed her by more than 12 points.

"It's 12 points! Wow. That's exciting," said Nagasu, who, like Zhang, trains in Southern California.

Another member of the kiddie corps, Ashley Wagner, 16, finished second, while Rachael Flatt, 15, ended up third, also ahead of the 18-year-old Meissner. That three women younger than Meissner were ahead of her speaks volumes about the future depth of U.S. women's skating.

At this point on the skating calendar, halfway between the 2006 Torino Olympics and the 2010 Vancouver Games, simple math takes over. A girl who is 14 today will be 16 in 2010. And knowing what we know about three of the last four Olympic gold medalists, 16 is the perfect age to be.

But that's if Nagasu, Flatt and the others actually make it to Vancouver. There are road blocks in their path that negate some of the advantages of youth.

The International Skating Union says to compete in the 2008 world championships in Sweden, skaters had to turn 15 by July 1, 2007. The intent of this minimum-age rule is to keep the kids down on the farm until they are a bit more ready for the pressure and fame, but in reality, it's just another silly skating rule. All of the top teenagers already are traveling around the world to junior competitions, doing all the toughest jumps, missing school and making money. Some even have agents. Innocent little things they are not.

Nonetheless, the rule exists, and it could have serious ramifications that reach to 2010. In the short term, the rule knocks Nagasu, Flatt and Zhang out of the running for this year's worlds, Flatt being born just 20 days too late.

It is possible, depending on the results of Saturday's long program, that U.S. Figure Skating will not be allowed to send one or more of its top three finishers, including the national champion, to the worlds.

That is bad enough, but let's take this conversation one step further. So USFS can't send the little kids to the world championships and has to fill in with the fourth- or fifth-place finisher here. Nice for them — they get a chance they might not otherwise have to take a trip to the world championships.

But this is not a sightseeing visit. If they don't skate well and get a relatively high placement, it could cost the USA one spot in next year's world championships in Los Angeles. If the placement of the top two skaters from any country sending three skaters to worlds doesn't equal 13 or less — say, a fourth place and a ninth place — that country will be able to send only two skaters to the next worlds.

And the dominoes keep falling. It's a big deal if the USA can send only two women to the 2009 worlds because if young skaters don't get a shot in front of the international judges on the biggest stage the year before the Olympics, it's unlikely they're going to win a medal at the Olympics 11 months later.

Enlarge By Matthew Stockman, Getty Images Mirai Nagasu,14, won the women's short program at the USFS championships on Thursday night in Minnesota.