Deprive children of water, food and toilet visits.
It is he who breaks to tears and becomes infected with the coaches sitting on them.
A new report shakes British gymnastics.
This is unacceptable, says Sarah Powell, CEO of the Gymnastics Federation.
A review based on more than 400 testimonials between 2008 and 2020 from people in the sport shows an unacceptable culture in British youth gymnastics.
The report warns that young gymnasts have been forced to starve and even mock their bodies – all in the pursuit of success.
The report, which the bouncer, among others, read about, also contains stories about how gymnasts collapsed in tears and injured coaches sitting on them as they stretched. Someone testified about not being able to understand how not to break the legs while stretching.
Find food in bags
In order to control the gymnasts’ weight, coaches also searched for food in children’s bags and rooms, forcing gymnasts to hide their food.
More than 40 percent of the testimonies described abusive behavior from coaches, and there are also about 30 testimonies of sexual assault.
The chair of the British Gymnastics Association, Sarah Powell, has apologized for what appeared in the report.
– I spoke to the gymnasts this morning and said sorry. this is unacceptable. It’s touching for me, I’m a mom and the sport isn’t supposed to go like this. But she says gymnastics will be different thanks to the courage of the young people who have spoken.
Are there good coaches?
Powell doesn’t know if the worst coaches will stay in the system, but he adds:
– It’s not like that everywhere. There are good coaches and hundreds of thousands of young people who enjoy this sport every day.
Following the report’s findings, the British Gymnastics Association opened a helpline, where anyone infected can call.