2023-11-30 19:32:40
After years of abuse strongly criticized in a damning report, the British Federation plans to put in place from next year a set of measures aimed at preserving the “well-being of gymnasts”.
A pirouette to escape from trouble or a real saving development? Nearly a year and a half after the explosion of a resounding scandal, the British Gymnastics Federation has finally presented a plan to try to put an end to “systemic” violence within it. Starting next year, a series of changes should be applied to protect young gymnasts from the harmful influence of certain coaches. And the measures will be as basic and fundamental as now having the right to drink and go to the toilet during training, according to a document published Wednesday November 29 by British gymnastics.
For their part, coaches will be prohibited from weighing athletes in the absence of written and verbal consent. In addition, only gymnasts over the age of 10 will be able to be weighed, and “only by qualified doctors or sports scientists”, with “a clear and scientifically valid justification”.
These measures were adopted with the aim of “better protecting the well-being of gymnasts”, according to the new recommendations of the federation. Abuses had been reported by the 400 testimonies collected within the framework from a report by lawyer Anne Whyte. Published on June 16, 2022, this document of more than 300 pages reported a relentless quest for medals, to the detriment of the health of athletes. According to the lawyer, the British federation allowed a climate of mistreatment to flourish between 2008 and 2020.
Food Checks
Between dietary restrictions and humiliation, all the testimonies spoke of an environment governed by heavy constraints: “I heard extreme testimonies from gymnasts who hid food, for example in the ceiling tiles or under their bed. chamber, Whyte wrote in his report. I’ve had reports of coaches checking hotel rooms ‘army style’ and duffel bags for food.”
For some victims, these long years of training have even generated trauma. For example, Claire Heafford, a former gymnast who left the sport in 1995, told CNN that she had suffered physical and emotional abuse, which triggered post-traumatic stress disorder. “I was trained by the first Russian who was brought to the United Kingdom in the 1990s,” she explained to the American channel in 2022.
“The recruitment of a significant number of coaches from countries previously influenced or occupied by the former Soviet Union has had negative cultural consequences,” noted Whyte’s report. “The technical skill and experience of these coaches, while formidable, was sometimes accompanied by an autocratic attitude toward the gymnasts. The imported training style tended […] to demand unreserved obedience […]», criticized the text.
After the publication of the lawyer’s damning report, the British federation apologized: “I looked[the gymnasts]in the eyes and told them I was sorry,” Sarah Powell, director of the British Federation. It’s not acceptable. It’s emotional for me, I’m a mother and sport is not supposed to act like that. But gymnastics will be different thanks to the courage of the young people who spoke out.
“Grace, discipline and determination”
This violence in sport is unfortunately far from being a British specificity. Some French gymnasts also suffer from mistreatment in this environment. As recently as October, the French Gymnastics Federation announced the suspension of Elan Gymnique Rouennais coach, Eric Demay, until September 2024. He was accused of physical and psychological attacks against former gymnasts.
“Gymnastics is a sport of grace, discipline and determination. These values, which we cherish so much, are incompatible with any form of violence or mistreatment,” the French Federation then insisted.
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