Players are not machines

A guest post by @KatLPugh “Players are not machines” https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/54307869 I was lying in bed this morning celebrating Manchester United’s bizarre manner of victory yesterday and struck by reading an article on the BBC where Guardiola was lamenting on the mounting injuries in the Manchester City team. It’s no secret that footballers will often be …

Players are not machines Read More »

Acro Gymnastics Revealed: Toxic, Incestuous, Cult-like

Inspired by others speaking out, an acro parent has written to me with a guest blog that reveals the true nature of Acrobatic Gymnastics: “I’m hearing terrible stories about Acro gymnastics. You’re not hearing them because people are terrified (literally) to speak out, even anonymously. They say acro is so toxic, ‘incestuous’ and cult-like that …

Acro Gymnastics Revealed: Toxic, Incestuous, Cult-like Read More »

The World of Acrobatic Gymnastics: The Lid Starts to Come Off…

The world of ‘acro’ gymnastics is a small and intense one that first came to prominence when Spellbound won Britain’s Got Talent. Very few ‘accro’ gymnasts or parents have dared to speak out publicly even anonymously as they are afraid of the retribution that might follow. Hopefully, with the support of the rest of us, …

The World of Acrobatic Gymnastics: The Lid Starts to Come Off… Read More »

“Show me a way to produce results without using my methods and I’ll listen” says an abusive coach – why didn’t BG show her?

Another harrowing account from a guest. Sadly, I know of many young lives that could have been saved from long-term physical and mental injury had BG acted when they received this complaint. To preface this account – I’ve tried to include rough dates where I remember. Our gym trained in a school sports hall so …

“Show me a way to produce results without using my methods and I’ll listen” says an abusive coach – why didn’t BG show her? Read More »

Abused, humiliated and deprived of your identity

July 25, 2020 / Noordhollands Dagblad, The Netherlands Marco Knippen @MarcoKnippen A tough regime was to yield international success at the top. The harrowing harvest was pure torment. Top-level gymnastics in the Netherlands has come to be synonymous with fear, abuse, repression, humiliation and ultimately trauma, a price no victim wants to pay. The terror …

Abused, humiliated and deprived of your identity Read More »

Renowned gymnastics coach Gerrit Beltman: ‘I was possessed, and I was not alone’

July 25, 2020 / Noordhollands Dagblad, The Netherlands Marco Knippen @MarcoKnippen He is the personification of abuse in Dutch gymnastics. “And quite rightly so,” admits Gerrit Beltman, “because my behaviour simply cannot be condoned in any way.” It is the reason why he now wears a hair shirt, but at the same time, there is …

Renowned gymnastics coach Gerrit Beltman: ‘I was possessed, and I was not alone’ Read More »