Category: safety

T.V. exposé on dangerous Trampoline Parks

CBC Marketplace is an award-winning Canadian television series, broadcast on CBC Television since 1972. The series is a consumer advocacy newsmagazine …

Marketplace visited 12 trampoline parks across the country to see what was being done to mitigate risks to minors in this unregulated industry. Many children were witnessed breaking the parks’ “rules” without employee intervention.

Staff at Energyplex Family Recreation Centre, for example, watched as multiple children belly-flopped into the same foam pit where Chelsea broke her back doing the same stunt. No one intervened.

At other parks, Marketplace documented flips, stunts and double-bouncing — all considered risky behaviour by health authorities. Children were observed jumping head first into foam pits, and at times, areas of the parks had no supervising staff to enforce safety rules.

At one park, a baby crawling across a tumble track collapsed after being bounced by an older child. At another, a mother held her crying toddler after he did a somersault and landed on his neck. …

Hidden camera reveals trampoline parks ignoring dangerous behaviour

Trampoline Parks are TOO dangerous

Kathy Johnson on USAG

The captain of the 1984 Olympic team has been outspoken for decades on what changes are needed in Gymnastics USA.

… They need someone who is an expert in child safety.

Who is that? Well, it’s not some gymnastics person they’ve just put into a position of overseeing safety. …

INSIDE PERSPECTIVE: KATHY JOHNSON-CLARKE | IN SEARCH OF SOLUTIONS FOR THE NEXT ERA OF USA GYMNASTICS

Jordan McNair died practicing football

On May 29, 2018, University of Maryland lineman Jordan McNair ran the last sprint of his life. After a series of 110 yd runs, during which he became disoriented and had trouble standing, McNair collapsed and died of heat stroke. He had a body temperature of 106 degrees in the hospital. He was only 19.

What happened? Why did it happen? Should this have ever happened? Were any individuals negligent and responsible for this tragedy? These seem to be questions that should have been asked by the administration of Maryland, yet were they? Because it was not until an August 10 report by ESPN that the university started holding coaches and staff accountable. …

Changing the Game

Aside from very frequent brain trauma, American football has always had many deaths on the field of play.

One study counted at least 49 deaths related to football in 1931. It’s always been an extremely dangerous sport. 1965 had a similar number.

Bottom line – American football is still too dangerous. 

Thanks @GymCastic

boycotting Qatar

Though I’m planning to attend Worlds in person, many are staying home in protest.

Homosexuality is illegal in Qatar, and prevailing cultural mores view homosexuality and cross-dressing negatively. The Qatari government does not recognize same-sex marriage or civil partnerships, nor does it allow people in Qatar to campaign for LGBT rights. …

Get your couch potato gear from GymCastic.

Though Qatar is one of the more progressive Arab nations, they are still deplorably backwards on human rights.

They do dumb things too. For example Emir Tamim Bin Hamad Bin al-Thani just gifted a $400 million dollar plane to Turkey’s dictator Erdogan.

This is part of the ongoing spat between billionaire dictators in the region.

Democracy is a terrible political system, as we’ve seen. But it’s far better than totalitarian rule as in Qatar.

Still, I’m hopeful that Worlds and the upcoming World Cup further modernize this tiny nation. One bit of good news – Qatar will allow both the flag and national anthem of Israel.  (This has not been the case in the past.)

Katelyn Ohashi on Player’s Tribune

On GymCastic Miss Val mentioned Katelyn’s documentary. The poster girl who was once beat Simone Biles … then quit elite … only to comeback as a viral media superstar in College Gymnastics.

Click PLAY or watch her on YouTube.

GymCastic interviews MLT

My takeaways in advance of responses:

GymCastic founder  Jessica O’Beirne  is the conscience of the gymternet.  I look to her first on all these issues.

Jessica, Mary Lee Tracy and Miss Val are all outspoken, brave individuals. I appreciate all three and often link to things they post.

I love the title – Truth & Reconciliation. Recall when Mandela brought that concept to South Africa? I was skeptical. But it did work.

Obviously MLT is not 100% evil. Miss Val is not 100% good. Both survived the dark ages of USA Gymnastics (Bella, Nunno era) and both improved over the years since. The last time I saw a scale in a Gym was 2002. I refused to use it. We’d figured out it was a bad idea in the early 1980s.

Gymnastics coaches today are more ethical than ever. The few BAD ones under greater scrutiny from parents and colleagues. More and more are being caught and put on the list.

MLT did try to apologize. Multiple times. It wasn’t as heartfelt as I would have liked. Though she might have done a good job in the USAG position, that opportunity is gone. She isn’t the right person for the job.

NCAA (despite the many injuries) is the best training environment in the world. Medical staff makes final decisions on return to play. Coaches do not have much power on those calls. All other programs should look to American College Gymnastics when trying to improve their training programs.

Hopefully we’ll all learn from the embarrassing incident where USAG hired MLT … then fired her days later. That’s a #FAIL. Exactly how NOT to run a NSGB.

It was revealing to hear how uneducated both Miss Val and MLT felt when they started. As always the best plan to improve coaching is …

Educate, Educate, Educate, Legislate.

related – INSIDE PERSPECTIVE: ALYSSA BECKERMAN | IN SEARCH OF SOLUTIONS FOR THE NEXT ERA OF USA GYMNASTICS

Alyssa was a 2000 Olympic alternate who was coached by both MLT and Miss Val.

“I never stopped talking about these things,” she says, “It’s just that people are listening now. I’ve been talking about all of these things for years.”

Hannah England, Kristian Thomas Athlete Ambassadors

2012 Olympians Hannah England and Kristian Thomas have been appointed as British Gymnastics’ Athlete Ambassadors.

Middle distance runner Hannah and gymnast Kristian will act as representatives for our gymnasts and chairs of the Athlete Leadership Group. The new roles will provide a mechanism for our athletes to communicate their views and opinions to British Gymnastics and support the Performance Director and Performance Team in developing a positive and supportive culture within the World Class Programme. …

British Gymnastics

Sae Miyakawa defends her abusive coach

I feel he should be banned AND arrested. This kind of physical punishment was quite common in Japan in the past. But I thought it was no longer tolerated.

Click PLAY or watch it on Twitter.

On August 15, 2018, gymnastics coach, Yuto Hayami, was banned indefinitely by the Japan Gymnastics Association (JGA) from coaching gymnasts. …

On August 29, 18-year-old gymnast, Sae Miyakawa, held a press conference emotionally protesting the banning of her coach …

Miyakawa also said that while her coach, Hayami, did sometimes hit her, she wanted him restored as her coach. …

The Olympians – The Complex Case of Sae Miyakawa and Power Harassment in Japanese Women’s Gymnastics

The story is tied to the suspension of Chieko and Mitsuo Tsukahara.

(via theGymter.net)

Debbie Van Horn arrested

Van Horn, a 30-year veteran of USA Gymnastics, was involved in numerous gymnastics youth development programs and a medical supervisory task force, according to AP.

In January, one of Nassar’s victims said Van Horn was in the room “many of the times” while Nassar abused her, AP reports.

Van Horn was the first person other than Nassar to be charged in the abuse scandal. She is no longer a USA Gymnastics employee …

Time

It’s inconceivable that Van Horn could have been unaware of Nassar’s unnecessary and illegal treatment. Yet she’s pleading innocent.