Safeguarding in British Gymnastics – An Update

In August 2022, Patrick Williams, Associate in the specialist abuse team at Keoghs, considered the Whyte Review, which was a UK Sport and Sport England co-commissioned thorough and impartial review by Anne Whyte QC into the allegations of physical, emotional and mental abuse by gymnastic coaches. A copy can be viewed here: Abuse in gymnastics: The Whyte Review and lessons learned in sport | Keoghs.

Recommendations made in the Whyte Review

While a number of important recommendations were made, one of those recommendations related to hydration, weighing gymnasts and academic education. The Whyte Review recommended that:

“BG [British Gymnastics] must review the types and level of support provided to non-Olympic disciplines and ensure these are improved in light of the findings of this report.”

New BG safeguarding policies

On 17 November 2023, at their first-ever National Welfare Officer Conference, British Gymnastics (BG) unveiled the #BeTheChange campaign, created to help keep gymnastics a safe and fair sport.

As part of the campaign and in response to the recommendations set out in the Whyte Review, BG has introduced the first of its series of newly implemented safeguarding policies focusing on the protection of the welfare of gymnasts in regards to hydration, weighing gymnasts and academic education. BG aims to introduce further policies over the next 12 months.

In regard to the newly introduced policies relating to hydration and weighing gymnasts, BG aims to build on and strengthen the initial position statements they released in 2022, while the academic education policy has been introduced to make clear that BG does not believe that a child missing regular formal education for gymnastics club training is necessary in the pursuit of achieving their gymnastics ambitions.

While a copy of the full policies can be viewed here, a summary of each of the newly introduced policies is as follows:

Hydration policy:

1. Gymnasts must be provided with opportunities to drink regularly throughout a gymnastics session or activity, with gymnasts encouraged to consume fluids as they feel comfortable to.
2. If a gymnast requires the toilet during a gymnastics session or activity, they must be able to go at the earliest available opportunity.
3. Appropriate supervision must be put in place within clubs and venues to ensure gymnasts are not denied access to fluids or the toilet throughout a gymnastics session or activity.

Weighing gymnasts:

1. It is always the gymnast’s choice whether they are weighed. Their decision must always be respected and acted upon.
2. Coaches must not weigh gymnasts. Gymnasts can choose to self-report their weight in a gymnastics setting. Other than self-reporting, in a gymnastics setting only qualified sports science or medical practitioners are permitted to weigh gymnasts.
3. The gymnast must be over the age of 10 to be weighed in a gymnastics setting.
4. The weighing of gymnasts must only be undertaken with the gymnast’s optimal long-term development in mind and with a clear, scientifically valid rationale. A gymnast must only be weighed for growth/maturation or performance purposes.
5. Written consent must be gained from the gymnast and parent/carer (in the case of minors) every year by the qualified sports science or medical practitioner, outlining the reason for weighing.
6. Verbal consent must be gained from the gymnast and this must happen each time a gymnast is to be weighed.
7. Qualified sports science or medical practitioners must not share the gymnast’s weight data with anyone other than the gymnast. 

Academic education policy:

1. British Gymnastics does not believe that a child missing formal education for gymnastics club training is necessary for the pursuit of achieving their gymnastics ambitions.
2. Gymnastics clubs and coaches must ensure that missing formal education for gymnastics club training must not be a mandatory requirement for any child.
3. Gymnastics clubs and coaches must not schedule gymnastics club training during school hours for children under the age of 12.
4. Gymnastics clubs and coaches must only schedule gymnastics club training during school hours under exceptional circumstances for a child who is over the age of 12, but it will always be at the discretion of the child’s school.

Comment

The introduction of the new and amended BG policies above will no doubt be welcome news for all BG clubs and their coaches, and any other gymnastics organisation which, while they might not be BG members, may choose to adopt BG policies to help keep children safe in gymnastics. Further, BG’s transparent approach to the current and future improvements to their safeguarding policies will likely provide parents/carers of children in gymnastics perhaps much-needed confidence to allow their children to continue to train and compete in a BG environment.

While this is just the first in a series of new/updated safeguarding policies by BG, we will wait with anticipation of the further planned developments throughout the year.

For more information, please contact Patrick Williams, Associate