Category: ethics

FIG “Safe Sport Journey” – Antwerp

More than 150 participants attended the first day of the second symposium of “Our Safe Sport Journey” onsite in Antwerp (BEL) and around 130 joined the event online. They benefited from the knowledge and experience of various inspiring speakers, including safeguarding experts, coaches and gymnasts. …

Carrying on the legacy of last year’s first edition in Liverpool (GBR), the different speakers emphasized the importance of establishing a safe environment for athletes and coaches. Donatella Sacchi, President of the FIG Safeguarding Commission, presented the new Safeguarding Certificate for coaches, which was implemented recently. This mandatory course will help improve the education of coaches and their level of knowledge about safeguarding matters. …

Enlightening second symposium of Our Safe Sport Journey ends on encouraging note

The Safeguarding Certificate is only available for coaches in the FIG database.

Recordings of the first day (3 October), co-organised by the FIG and the Royal Belgian Gymnastics Federation, is now available on the FIG Education YouTube Channel, via this link.

Safeguarding athletes in Italy

This video is in Italian. But you can click the CC button to get it translated to other languages.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Zhang Boheng supports his club

Girls Talk About Growing Up & Sports

We asked girls and all-star athletes like Jordan Chiles, Rayssa Leal, and Bebe Vio how they tackled obstacles that made them want to quit sport. …

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

IOC bans Russian Olympic Committee

As much as I miss the Russian athletes, I would vote to ban them from competing in Paris under any banner.

This small step is a small step in the right direction. The IOC had the guts to make this move. I commend them.

coach fired for calling gymnasts ‘beautiful’

Lindsay Nylund was fired from his role as a high-performance coach … in Sydney (Australia), in May, after he sent an email to parents with a picture of his winning team, describing them as “beautiful”.

“Hi all … Our beautiful FDLC Level 8 Women’s Artistic Gymnasts,” he wrote in the email in February, following a competition win.

… “Parents were outraged [over his termination], the coaching staff were outraged, everyone was outraged … Most people are flabbergasted, they can’t believe it. They think this is ridiculous.” …

Determined to get his job back, Mr Nylund has taken the case to the Industrial Relations Commission. …

According to The Australian, the council listed three other allegations in their termination notice, including that Mr Nylund “showed a lack of respect to management” by allowing a one-week membership fee freeze when it should have been two weeks.

He also allegedly transported athletes without parent consent and attended a social event at a local club, which the council claimed breached Child Safe Practice guidelines. …

A four-day hearing at the NSW IRC has been set for mid-November.

News.com.au

In praise of Gymnastics Unitards

They simply make more sense than the traditional one piece bathing suit.

Read Nancy Armour’s take ➙ How a unitard could help keep women in gymnastics past puberty

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Hashimoto Daiki will compete AA

Hashimoto Daiki will compete in World all-around final despite finishing as the third best Japanese athlete

Only two athletes per country can advance to an individual final at the Worlds or Olympic Games …

Chiba Kenta, who posted the top score in the second of six qualifying sessions, a 85.799. Kaya Kazuma was second at 85.598, followed by Hashimoto’s 85.432.

Only two athletes per country can advance to an individual final in artistic gymnastics at the Worlds or Olympics, but a federation is free to substitute one athlete for another provided they would have qualified without the two athlete limit. …

“We already had a meeting because we decided to compete three gymnasts in the all around, so these kinds of things might happen,” Hiroaki said. “So we predicted it. If Hashimoto didn’t win, like, top three, and then we can just change that.”

Olympics.com

I’m fine with that decision — so long as all 3 athletes had agreed in advance.

I would make the same substitution. Daiki is defending World Champion.

Injuries before Worlds 2023

There are injuries before every major competition.

But Worlds 2023 — the Olympic qualifier — is the very worst time for contenders to be hurt.