(London) Coaches must allow gymnasts to drink and go to the toilet during training, and they are now prohibited from weighing athletes, the British federation announced on Wednesday, singled out in 2022 for “systemic” violence.
British Gymnastics unveiled on Wednesday some of the “new practices” put in place to “better protect the well-being of gymnasts”, more than a year after the conclusions of an independent investigation which highlighted multiple cases of mistreatment.
Based on 400 testimonies, lawyer Anne Whyte denounced “systemic” physical and psychological violence in a report of more than 300 pages.
Ms. Whyte had pointed out a quest for medals at all costs which led leaders to serious breaches of their responsibilities, in particular a strong reluctance to intervene against well-known practices of controlling the weight of athletes.
On the one hand, “coaches must not weigh gymnasts,” the federation underlined on Wednesday. This practice must be done on a voluntary basis, “only by qualified doctors or sports scientists”, and with “clear and scientifically valid justification”.
On the other hand, “only gymnasts over 10 years old can be weighed” as part of their practice, “and the weight data must always be combined with another measurement,” it is written.
British Gymnastics also recalls the right of every gymnast to be able to “drink regularly throughout a gymnastics session or activity”. The report had described children being deprived of food and water by coaches as punishment.
During training, gymnasts can also go to the toilet whenever they want, reminds the federation.
