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Sport Specialisation in Youth Athletes

The 2026 position statement updates and expands the 2019 Australian Sports Medicine Collaborative/AIS position statement on sport specialisation in youth athletes. It incorporates contemporary evidence and broader considerations for youth athlete development and supersedes the original statement.

The ASC notes that there has been a growing trend toward youth athletes specialising at an early age in a single sport. Within this context, this position statement addresses sport specialisation, including early sport specialisation, across the developmental continuum for all youth athletes. This encompasses athletes with and without disability across Paralympic, Olympic and professional sport pathways.

  • Evidence-informed guidance for sport specialisation decisions that support the health, wellbeing, development and performance of youth athletes.
  • This position statement provides broad guidance to support informed decisions about whether sport specialisation is appropriate for youth athletes at different stages of their development.
  • If complements the AIS Elite Youth Athlete Guidelines released earlier this year, which focus specifically on the wellbeing, development and performance of under-18 athletes already within categorised high performance of under-18 athletes already within high performance pathways.