This message is slowly getting through to mainstream sports media.
But I did see a few during Commonwealth Games coverage. ☹️
Heart this tweet.
Category: ethics
Keeping Gymnasts SAFE
Chalk It Up Buttercup is the YouTube channel of 8-year-old Buttercup.
In this excellent video Buttercup and her coaches talk about keeping gymnasts safe, especially on appropriate and inappropriate touching.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
This is the video I’ll be showing to kids. It’s relatable and balanced. #BurnItAllDown types seem to want to ban all spotting. That’s dangerous, of course.
(via Aimee B)
Australia – gender equality among elite coaches
For the first time the Commonwealth Games will achieve gender equality in the number of medals awarded at the Gold Coast, so sports officials have now turned their attention to a glaring imbalance between men and women in the coaching ranks …
At the previous Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, just 10 per cent of the Australian coaches were female …
The AIS and Commonwealth Games Australia are collaborating on a program designed to accelerate the development of eight female high-performance coaches, by bringing them to the Games for mentoring and education. …
We all need to encourage girls and women to coach all apparatus.
David Ortiz honours Aly’s cause
2 more USAG non-disclosure agreements?
USA Gymnastics reached in December 2016 a confidential out-of-court settlement with an NDA with Olympic champion McKayla Maroney.
But were there others?
We’d believed McKayla was the only one.
After Scott Reid turned up two more cases, here’s the response:
“USA Gymnastics answered specifically and truthfully in its response to Senators Blumenthal and Moran.
USA Gymnastics does not use or require a non-disclosure agreement as part of an investigation.
The Senators asked about investigations, not settlements. To clarify the facts, approximately 10 years ago, mutual settlements were separately reached in two publicly filed lawsuits. As you recited, the settlement agreements included routine language that the plaintiffs would not disclose the amount of the settlement or the terms of the agreement beyond family, accountants and taxing authorities.
The plaintiffs in these cases are not bound by any other confidentiality restrictions, and their allegations have always been a matter of public record. USA Gymnastics encourages them to speak about their experiences if they so choose to help prevent abuse in the sport. …
USA Gymnastics denies using non-disclosure agreements, but two settlements say otherwise
Thanks Jim.
Safe Sport banned 122 people
The United States Center for Safe Sport opened on March 3, 2017. …
In its first year, the center banned 122 people, temporarily suspended 60 and delivered 10 sanctions short of ineligibility. …
The Center for Safe Sport has nine full-time employees and several investigators that work on contracts. Pfohl hopes to double the organization’s workforce this year and increase its budget from its current $4.3 million to about $8 million. …
Safe Sport also receives funding from the private sector and is hoping to work with Congress to identify additional funding sources. …
… organization is not just about investigations and punishment. It wants to improve awareness and education to prevent not only sexual abuse, but bullying, harassment, hazing and physical and emotional abuse.
April is Child Abuse Prevention month
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Do you allow one-on-one private lessons at your Gym?
Better would be two or more gymnasts with one coach for a private. In a Gym with many other adults.
2020 Olympic medals from recycled phones
To produce approximately 5,000 medals, an estimated 8 tons of metal are needed. …
Click PLAY or watch it on Facebook.
Great idea.
But it’s not going well, so far.
why USAG needs independent oversight
UPDATED with input from Goldie.
The United States Olympic Committee (USOC) is the National Olympic Committee for the United States. It’s based out of Colorado Springs.
USOC is the organization recognized by the the International Olympic Committee.
Similarly, USA Gymnastics ( USAG) answers to the USOC.
USOC could decertify USA Gymnastics and indeed they made that threat. As a result the entire board resigned on January 26, 2018
All those organizations are natural monopolies , not much subject to market forces.
You can quit USAG and go to the United States Association of Independent Gymnastics Clubs, but getting to the NCAA will be more difficult. Olympic qualification impossible.
If interested in this topic read a WSJ article by Steven Sexton. Subscription may be needed.
The U.S. Olympic Monopoly Needs Accountability
There can be only one Team USA, so Congress must provide oversight and force changes.
Jim Holt on USAG
This was posted a year ago. But it’s just as appropriate today.
Jim Holt is a former USAG Board member and is widely recognized internationally for his passion for and commitment to the development of gymnastics worldwide.
Gymnastics Coaching.com 