Meet the Team
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CLAIRE HEAFFORD
CO-FOUNDER & CEO
I experienced physical and emotional abuse myself as an elite gymnast training in the UK in the 1990s. Not only was I abused as a gymnast, but when I went back to compete in the sport I loved as an adult, I was witness to a horrific physical assault on a 10-year old child and subsequently became a whistle-blower for the abusive coaching I’d seen. Although the case was investigated, the coach in question was reinstated - leading me to realise that the safeguarding and child protection measures the governing body had put in place were ineffective at best.
I therefore set up Gymnasts for Change, and the UK’s 40 strong group legal action against British Gymnastics, as a way to support gymnasts who have been brave enough to speak out and ensure that this time - collectively - our voices are heard. It’s time for change and we have the power to act. Please join me in helping to end the exploitation and abuse of gymnasts in our sport by sharing our resources and educating those around you on how abuse shows up. Now is the time to take back our sport from the authoritarian coaches who currently dominate elite coaching cultures around the world.
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Dr Natalie Barker-Ruchti
DIRECTOR OF RESEARCH
As Associate Professor at the Division of Sport Science at the School of Health Sciences, Örebro University, Sweden - my research has, since 1999, focused on Women’s Artistic Gymnastics.
In 2016, following 15 years of research into WAG, I founded the International Socio-Cultural research group on WAG (ISCWAG) - a consortium of sociologists and pedagogues who conduct research on the sport.Over 20 years I have sought to understand the gymnasts’ individual realities, and have conducted studies on the history, governance, and media representations of the sport. During this time, my goal has always been to enhance gymnasts’ wellbeing and ensure future safeguarding.
In 2020, my research came to align with the voices of gymnasts who were speaking out around the world, following the release of Athlete A on Netflix. Since this time, I have spent the past two years setting up & running the research project #gymnastalliance: An international study on women’s gymnasts speaking out about abuse.
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Jennifer MvIlveen
CO-FOUNDER & GYMNASTS FOR CHANGE UK AMBASSADOR
Watching documentary Athlete A, there were moments that felt far too close to home for me and many of the gymnasts I know and trained with in the UK. The film not only champions the courageous survivors who experienced devastating treatment at the hands of Larry Nassar, but also demonstrates the shocking culture that allowed it to happen – where athlete voices were silenced, and results were given more importance than individuals’ mental and physical wellbeing.
In response, I drafted a statement for the Gymnastics community to share, taking a stand against abusive practices. Through this and the subsequent use of the Gymnast Alliance hashtag, we have been able to raise awareness of the problems that need solving worldwide, as well as validate and support one another.
Gymnasts for Change is the next step on this journey to a brighter future. Together, we will ensure that the events of 2020 are not forgotten about or marked down as a fleeting media moment, but instead are translated into tangible actions with a lasting impact. I believe Gymnastics is the most beautiful and incredible sport in the world. Let’s ensure every gymnast, from the recreational to the Olympian, experiences it that way.
INTERNATIONAL WORKING GROUP
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ALISON QUIGLEY
AUSTRALIAN CAMPAIGN MANAGER
For decades I said nothing about the sexual abuse I suffered at the hands of my gymnastics coach. Everything changed in 2016 when the radio began streaming Australia’s Royal Commission testimony - stories of abusers across all sports hurting children who had been trapped in the same position as me. I spoke to police, our team was amazing, and we secured a conviction in 2017. These days I’m a doctoral candidate in law studying child-safe policies in Australian gymnastics, president of Owls for Justice Inc, an accountability agency, and a director of Athlete Rights Australia. I have a keen interest in organisational change, transparency, accountability & redress and I am outspoken on the issue of gag orders. I believe athlete voices should be the central pillar of safeguarding advocacy and must play a vital role in enacting reforms and solutions for the future wellbeing of the sport..
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DR Georgia Cervin
NEW ZEALAND CAMPAIGN MANAGER
I’m a former elite gymnast and for the last ten years I’ve been a gymnastics researcher examining socio-cultural issues in Women’s Artistic Gymnastics. I use this knowledge to advocate for transformative change in the sport. In 2020, I was part of a group of scholars that developed eight actions organisations can use to protect gymnasts from abuse. That year, I also drafted a letter from the gymnastics community in Aotearoa New Zealand calling on our leaders for change. This began a journey of connecting generations of gymnasts to share their experiences and demand better from the sport. My advocacy has focused on raising awareness of harm in gymnastics and shaping public discourse on how to address it. I’m passionate about the need for institutional responses to abuse to be re-empowering for those who’ve been harmed (which draws on my experience working in state reconciliation). I’ve written newspaper articles, appeared on podcasts, and met with government Ministers and sports leaders. I contributed content to the International Olympic Committee’s Safeguarding Officer in Sport Certificate and was a panellist at the 2021 Sporting Chance Forum. I was also part of the FIG Safeguarding Working Group that developed a new Code of Conduct for gymnastics. I love gymnastics and I want to ensure it is a safe sport that everyone can enjoy.
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JULIA MURCIA
GYMNAST ALLIANCE AUSTRALIA
I was an elite gymnast in the 1990s who experienced abusive coaching practises at the Western Australian Institute of Sport (WAIS). Following the release of Athlete A, and the brave gymnasts who spoke out about the abuse they experienced, including in Australia, the Australian Human Rights Commission undertook a cultural review of gymnastics Australia-wide, and the results were damning. Around this time, we formalised the group Gymnast Alliance Australia (GAA), and initiated a Sport Integrity Australia (SIA) Review into the WAIS Women’s Artistic Gymnastics program. The Review substantiated allegations of abuse, but was not intended to investigate individual allegations, as that was not within SIA’s power. GAA believes accountability is one of the most important drivers for change and we continue to work towards that goal. We hope the steps we have taken, and continue to take, will contribute to improved child and athlete safeguarding, not just in gymnastics, but all sports. -
Amelia Cline
LEAD ADVOCATE GYMNASTS FOR CHANGE CANADA
I am a lawyer and former elite gymnast. I experienced psychological and physical abuse in the last three years of my competitive career. After watching the Athlete A documentary and hearing the stories of other brave gymnasts, I shared my own story in 2020, which set me on an incredible journey into survivor advocacy. Since publishing my blog, I have had the opportunity to connect with current and former gymnasts with similar stories of abuse across the country. Together, we have helped create a survivor network in Canada of over 500 people that is calling on our sports and government leaders to demand change. I am now the lead plaintiff in a class action lawsuit against Gymnastics Canada and six provincial federations, aimed at demanding accountability for the sport institutions and achieving justice for survivors of abuse in this sport. I am also a founding director of the Canadian Athlete Advocacy Alliance, a non-profit organization that offers support and resources to athlete survivors. I have been privileged to draw on my professional experience as a lawyer to continue to advocate for wholesale culture and policy change that will prevent abuses from happening in the future. I am a proud partner of Gymnasts for Change and remain hopeful that, together with our international survivor community, we will see transformative, meaningful change come to the sport of gymnastics around the world.
Gymnasts for Change Worldwide
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An Independent Voice for Gymnasts in Canada
Gymnasts for Change Canada is a grassroots movement, led by survivors and supporters, to eliminate abuse and maltreatment from the sport that we love.
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Former WAIS gymnasts fighting for positive changes in gymnastics in Australia.
The Gymnast Alliance Australia is a 40 strong group of gymnasts in Western Australia who formally trained at the Western Australian Institute of Sport
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Athlete Rights Australia
Athlete Rights Australia was founded by 3 elite ex-gymnasts from Australia, each survivors of various forms of abuse, neglect, intimidation and harassment.