Just the other day I was introducing this critical skill to 7 year olds. For safety. And as a progression.
Click PLAY or watch it on Facebook.
Gymneo.com is a sponsor of this site. The best coaching tutorials online.
Category: safety
Kathy Johnson Clarke on victim shaming
Kathy Johnson was team captain for USA at the 1984 Olympics Los Angeles.
At that time she trained at SCATS with the infamous Don Peters, now banned from USA Gymnastics for life.
Read Kathy’s statement on Facebook.
https://www.facebook.com/notes/kathy-johnson-clarke/whats-on-my-mind/1930904166925335/
(via wogymnast)
Aly Raisman on the Today Show
Click PLAY or watch it on Twitter.
should male gymnasts train shirtless?
There’s a good thread on this topic on Gymnastics Coaches Skills & Drills. (Closed Facebook Group. You’d need to apply to join.)
Plenty of pros and cons. Some Gyms discourage training shirtless. Some do not allow it. Most do.
At the end of the day, however, it’s not going to be easy to change the culture. I expect most older male gymnasts will be training shirtless for decades to come.
CEO of British Gymnastics responds
The Guardian posted an article stating British Gymnastics was in crisis.
BBC – Dan Keatings: ‘The climate of fear is real in British Gymnastics’
CEO of British Gymnastics Jane Allen:
NGBs are under increased public scrutiny and we welcome this. We are held accountable by our membership, the public and the government, and our actions must always demonstrate we are worthy of their support and investment. We must operate in a transparent way …
Athlete agreements
We are currently in consultation with elite athletes regarding their athlete agreements …
To date, over fifty-percent of the athletes have already signed the agreement. No athlete has refused to sign and the consultation process is still on-going. We do not believe that there is any serious conflict with our athletes, who are valued members of British Gymnastics.
Safeguarding
Our safeguarding processes are robust and I can assure people that complaints and appeals, regardless of their nature, are dealt with fairly and effectively where we have the authority to act. …
Let’s see if media attention helps the gymnasts and coaches. I do appreciate the personal and forthright response, especially compared with the tepid statements of USA Gymnastics.
That statement is on the homepage of british-gymnastics.org right now not buried as was the USAG response to the Aly Raisman 60 Minutes interview.
Aly Raisman: I am a victim of sexual abuse
We all need thank Aly and her parents for having the courage to speak out on 60 Minutes. Gymnasts look up to Aly for leadership. More gymnasts will be empowered to speak out when they feel uncomfortable in the presence of a groomer. Coaches and parents will be more cautious in future.
I’m disappointed that USA Gymnastics did not have a spokesperson interviewed in this feature.
… We were told he is the best doctor. He’s the United States Olympic doctor and the USA Gymnastics doctor, and we were very lucky we were able to see him. …
About 165,000 athletes and 3,400 gyms are members of USA Gymnastics. Raisman is calling for major changes in personnel, training, and education to keep athletes safe. …
USA Gymnastics has a long-standing policy that adults should “avoid being alone with a minor.” Despite that policy, Raisman says she was alone with Dr. Nassar. He treated her and other athletes in their hotel rooms during competitions abroad. …
It got even harder in the summer of 2015 — a year before the Rio Games — when an investigator hired by USA Gymnastics paid Raisman a visit. A coach had raised concerns about Dr. Nassar’s treatment of athletes. Raisman says she was caught off guard when the investigator asked her about it. …
After she returned from Rio, she says she spoke with FBI agents who had opened an investigation of Larry Nassar. …
Watch it on 60 Minutes – full interview (14 min)
There are two additional Overtime features via that link.
are American gymnasts any safer in 2017?
In the fall-out of the Dr. Larry Nassar scandal, I’m not sure they are.
Robert Andrews posted some recommendations:
• We must educate our athletes …
• We must educate the (silent) parents …
• We must educate coaches …
• We must demand a leadership body that is accountable to creating safe, positive, and empowering environments for our gymnasts. …
USAG Sexual Abuse Scandal Is A Symptom Of Deeper Issues (Sept 2017)
At great expense USAG replaced Steve Penny with Kerry J. Perry.
Are gymnasts safer with a new CEO? If so, how?
Is leadership any more accountable than in the past? If so, how?
Are competitive athletes, parents and coaches actually getting more education? Or are they simply offered more education?
The high priced Daniel’s report recommended ‘cultural change‘ top-to-bottom. Has that actually happened?
What does the new director of SafeSport do day-to-day?
It seems to me USAG is still doing the minimum. Their press releases written by liability lawyers. The goal to protect themselves legally.
Here’s the official response to Aly’s accusations of last week:
USA Gymnastics supports Raisman’s focus on athlete safety, empowerment (Nov 10, 2017)
That statement wasn’t on the usagym.org home page Nov 11th. You needed to click over to NEWS first to find it. Not exactly up front and transparent.
Many will be checking the USAG home page to see the official response to Aly Raisman’s accusations against Nassar … and not immediately finding any response. 🙁
I didn’t see it on the USA Gymnastics Facebook feed either.
related – Robert Andrews is a sport psychologist who worked with the U.S. men as well as Laurie Hernandez and Simone Biles.
related – Tony Retrosi – New USA Gymnastics president needs to clean house
BIG problems for British Gymnastics
British Gymnastics is facing a crisis with its biggest stars, including the double Olympic champion Max Whitlock, refusing to sign World Class Performance Programme contracts and being threatened with having their funding withdrawn.
An internal power struggle between the performance, commercial and management teams about the content of the contract has led to a rebellion among the athletes. The Guardian understands almost all of the team which won a record seven medals at the Rio Olympics last summer have refused to sign the contract. …
There are many more concerns listed in that article. Click through for sure.
via Gymternet Clan
sticking the landing
Aly Raisman accuses Nassar
A second member of the Fierce Five squad that won gold at the London Olympics has said she, too, was sexually abused by USA Gymnastics’ longtime team physician.
Aly Raisman confirmed the abuse in an interview with 60 Minutes, which is to air Sunday night. The three-time gold medalist and captain of the 2012 and 2016 Olympic teams also describes it in her book, Fierce, being released next week. …
Nassar pleaded guilty to federal child pornography charges in July, and he faces 22 to 27 years in prison when he’s sentenced on Dec. 7 …
Three-time Olympic gold medalist Aly Raisman says she was abused by USA Gymnastics doctor
Click PLAY or watch her on Twitter.
