G4C’s response to the whyte review
In July 2020, a significant number of gymnasts made public allegations about mistreatment within the sport of Gymnastics in the UK following the release of the film Athlete A, on Netflix. In response to the issues raised, UK Sport and Sport England (the commissioning organisations) appointed Anne Whyte QC to undertake an independent review into the culture of gymnastics in all four home nations.
In October 2021, Anne Whyte confirmed that she had almost completed the evidence-gathering stage of the review and has since been preparing her report. Between July 2020 and October 2021, Anne Whyte stated that she had received over 400 submissions and conducted 230 meetings with current and former gymnasts, coaches and parents.
Submissions to the review covered over 90 clubs and 100 coaches, confirming the scale of the problem in gymnastics and the urgent need for the swift and meaningful reform of the sport. In her interim report published in February 2021, Anne Whyte identified that she had received information relating to ‘bullying, belittling, extreme weight management, regular over-stretching, use of excessive force, training on serious injuries, gas-lighting, coercive control and a lack of opportunity to raise concerns.
Furthermore, ‘In a significant number of cases, the individuals sharing their experiences with the review continue to be impacted by their experiences in gymnastics, in some cases many years later. In anticipation of the imminent release of Anne Whyte’s final report and following considerable delays in the publication, Gymnasts for Change believe it would be inconceivable if the Whyte Review did not now make a series of highly specific, actionable recommendations in its forthcoming document.
The context for the Whyte Review, published today, is well known but recent allegations of abusive coaching practices in British Gymnastics (BG) have merely lifted the lid on decades of suffering as a result of poor processes, practices and inadequate enforcement of existing policies. It should not have been left to the campaign work of athletes and parents to expose a culture of catastrophic safeguarding failings.
Gymnasts For Change welcome the Whyte Review, which recognises that there has been an unacceptable culture of failing by BG and gymnasts’ welfare and wellbeing has not been a central feature. Indeed, the Review found that management of complaints and concerns have not been consistently appropriate or rigorous and that BG failed to recognise that negative coaching techniques had the potential to cause physical and emotional harm. Ultimately, medals were prioritised over athlete welfare.
Therefore, we welcome the recommendations around improvements to the complaints handling process, training for coaches and updated welfare policies. We urge British Gymnastics to adopt the recommendations set out without delay.
However, ultimately the recommendations fall far short of what is needed, with reform needed beyond British Gymnastics at national and international governing body level.
But after two years of waiting, this is too little too late to change a culture of mistreatment. Every day without holistic and wholesale change another gymnast is put at risk and these recommendations fall far short of the change needed.
Delivering a new standard for athlete welfare won’t risk our success on the world stage, but naturally create the conditions for success at every level. More happy and healthy gymnasts will lead to more individuals being attracted to the sport, members remaining participants for longer, and talented gymnasts reaching greater heights, as they are able to be helped to their full potential.
Over the past two years, Gymnasts for Change have conducted a significant number of focus groups and policy sessions, allowing us to identify key legislative areas that must now be overhauled to prevent the further abuse of child athletes.
We’ll be sharing our full thoughts on the Review and our top ten calls for change soon, but there are three standout areas which we believe must be front and centre.
First, we call on British Gymnastics to implement a new maximum limit on training hours for child athletes. Overtraining can have a significant impact on a child’s mental and physical wellbeing, and can lead to children missing their education. Simone Biles has previously said she trained 32 hours a week running up to the Olympics. This begs the question, why are coaches still pushing young gymnasts to train for an unsafe number of hours each week? This must not continue.
Second, we call on BG to support the recommendation from the House of Lords Select Committee on a National Plan for Sport and Recreation to move responsibility for elite sport from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport to the Department for Health and Social Care. The Government must introduce this change to the overarching structure of elite sport, without which BG will continue to fail.
Third, change cannot rest with BG alone. We call on the Government to introduce new legislation on child abuse including mandatory reporting of known and suspected child sexual abuse. Mandatory reporting already exists in the majority of European jurisdictions, but does not yet exist in UK legislation.
This needs to be supported by a new initiative to begin a comprehensive collection of data relating to child sexual abuse referrals and outcomes alongside reform of the Disclosure and Barring Service so it becomes a competent prosecuting authority for the non-return of mandated referrals as prescribed by the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006.
Until these recommendations are fully enacted, we strongly advise parents to consider whether they should place their children in British Gymnastics clubs.
It’s time to reform the sport we love and ensure the future of gymnastics is a safe and well-governed one.
Gymnasts for Change support Mandate Now’s call for Mandatory Reporting of Child Sexual Abuse in regulated settings. For more information on the legislative changes to UK law required to make UK child protection practices in sport fit for purpose please visit: https://mandatenow.org.uk