In the light of “Athlete A” and “In the Heart of Gold” documentaries, as well as the statements of all the brave gymnasts all around the world, I decided I could no longer be silent about my own little gymnastics trauma.I seemed to be born to be a gymnast. I was tiny but muscular. I …
For a long time, when asked what sport I was doing, I would reply proudly “I’m a gymnast”. I grew up, thinking I would go to the Olympics. Because that is the goal, right? The one you dream about, the one that gets you going to the gym with a smile on your face. How …
Marco Knippen @MarcoKnippen At her practice, sports psychologist Karin de Bruin counsels gymnasts who have fallen victim to transgressive behaviour and sexual abuse. She obtained her doctorate in 2010 on the subject of eating disorders among athletes. “I’ve now been working in sports counselling for 20 years and basically, nothing has changed. What went on …
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 »
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 »
This is common. Parents write letters of complaint but don’t dare send them. Another I know of details how a primary school boy was not only thrown out of the gym, but out of the building in winter, in the dark, in a dangerous area and told to ring his father to come get him. …
A horrific complaint to BG that a parent wrote but didn’t dare send Read More »
Has it ever occurred to you that our top gymnasts have succeeded DESPITE the way they have been coached and not because of it? A few months ago, I noticed this tweet from a senior sports psychology lecturer: I was astonished. Here she was, a grown, highly-educated adult, yet her conditioned beliefs, moulded by an …
The ‘Fine Line’ Between Tough Coaching and Abuse Read More »
I have taken a great deal of consideration as to whether I should share some of my information. After seeing @EllisOReilly1‘s harrowing story on ITV last night and the subsequent response from Europa Centre, I feel I have no option but to respond. In a statement to ITV News Europa Centre denied any wrongdoing & …
A response to Europa Gymnastics Centre’s Statement Read More »
Dear Jane, I understand that you are coming under considerable pressure concerning your role in the current crisis embroiling British Gymnastics. I would like to take this opportunity to explore the reasons for that. Broadly, I see two possible explanations. For the first, I will take you at your word, which is that “athlete welfare …
A letter to Jane Allen MBE, CEO British Gymnastics Read More »
G Gymnast@g_gymnast on Twitter has bravely spoken out, she says “Writing down some of my story feels like a weight has been lifted, I had no idea. The gymnastics community truly is supportive and I myself can’t thank you enough. If any others feel like they need to talk to someone with similar experiences please …
Bullying, Humiliation and Abuse: A Gymnast’s Story Read More »
What follows is a complaint letter sent to the Ethics & Welfare Officer at British Gymnastics in 2015. It paints a vivid and disturbing picture of life in an abusive gym. It was written within days of the children being withdrawn. Further incidents were provided in follow up emails along with the full contact details …
Emotional & Physical Abuse in a BG Gym: The Complaint That Achieved…Nothing Read More »
Gymnastics starts early. Often children start a gymnastics class before they even start school. If the child shows promise, the hours increase. Gymnastics becomes as much a part of life as school, sleeping and eating. Unfortunately, in too many gyms, both child and parent are slowly but surely groomed; inculcated into a culture of abuse …
Coaching Abuse: The Dirty, Not-So-Little Secret In Gymnastics Read More »
Below is letter sent March 6 2020 to MP, Emily Thornbury, detailing the need for both an independent investigation into the culture at British Gymnastics and the establishment of a similarly independent sports ombudsman. Currently, parents (remember that many victims in sport abuse are young children) and athletes have nowhere to turn when the system …
Call for an Independent Investigation into British Gymnastics Read More »
We’ve been talking a lot about gymnastics the past few days and I asked one of my daughters what her worst gym memory was, wondering which of the awful things that I knew she’d endured she might choose. She surprised me though, and immediately picked something that happened not to her, but to her teammate. …
Gymnastics: Physical Abuse, Witnessing Abuse and the Futility of Complaining Read More »
So I really didn’t think I would end up doing this and was honestly ready take it all to my grave but because of recent events I have decided to speak up about my experience as an elite gymnast and the bullying as well as verbal, emotional and sometimes physical abuse I was either subjected …
Thanks to campaigning groups such as Women’s Aid, domestic abuse in the form of coercive control was made illegal in 2015. This legislation brought adult women, suffering in emotionally abusive relationships, greater recognition, protection and potentially the opportunity for redress. The campaign and subsequent legislation highlighted the fact that abuse needn’t be overtly physical in …