Can we start with a question which I’m sure is on everyone’s minds – how can we get involved in the review? I’ve seen plenty of information about people’s concerns about the review’s impartiality, which has led to British Gymnastics stepping aside (although I appreciate there are still concerns), I also understand that the logs made through the NSPCC Helpline will feed into the review, but what if an individual club/gymnast/coach (yes I did say coach, there are good ones out there)/parent etc wanted to feed into the review with some recommendations?
It’s been 3 weeks since the review was announced. If this was a Parliamentary review, there would be a written call for evidence, an email address or form, which evidence could be submitted to and a deadline for which the evidence needed to be submitted by. This isn’t a difficult process to organise and if the person at the other end is concerned that they will be overwhelmed with the amount of evidence, they can set a word limit. I’ve worked on a review before, where I supported Parliament, because they wanted to hear from people who were affected by the issue in question. I helped organise a focus group which fed into the final report and many of the recommendations from this group were taken forward.
There was also an oral evidence session where key stakeholders were questioned.
I’m still in favour of a separate Parliamentary Inquiry taking place, however the investigation which is happening with British Gymnastics at the moment should certainly consider some of the above approaches, and in doing so should reflect a cross-sector of the sport and the different disciplines, at all levels – including recreational gymnastics, if it is to put in place some robust measures going forward.
I wanted to share my own thoughts seeing as I had the platform to do so.
Should FIG increase the minimum age to 18 for women?
It’s an interesting question, and begs the question as to whether this should be consistent across all sport and not just gymnastics. Tom Daley competed in diving age 14 and Sky Brown (skateboarder) would have only just turned 12 if Tokyo had gone ahead this year. There is something incredibly wrong throwing such young people into the spotlight before they have had a chance to discover who they really are. Similarly, the amount of missed education, due to extra training and crammed competitions in order to prepare someone to peak in their teens is also problematic.
We are seeing an increase in gymnasts competing at the highest level into their mid-20s. Becky Downie will be 29 next year, and has a realistic chance of medalling if selected for the team. It won’t have escaped any gymnastic fans notice that 2005 world champion Chellsie Memmel has finally announced her comeback – aged 32. A lack of overtraining, rest and pacing oneself is clearly the key to longevity and one wonders what more Becky might have achieved had she been listened to earlier in her career.
I don’t think that increasing the age limit solves the problem of gymnasts not being listened to. Becky mentioned in her statement that only a couple of years ago she didn’t have a voice and here she was in her mid-20s. So we must be careful to think that just because someone is 18 that they will be able to speak up for themselves.
What are your thoughts on the elite pathway?
First off, it’s important to say I’ve never been an elite gymnast, just a recreational gymnast and now I compete as an adult. However I recently looked for interest at the various pathways and my understanding is that if you don’t make it through either the Compulsory Grades or National Voluntary Grades, you sort of have a second go through out of age, but otherwise that’s it and you might as well give up as there’s nothing else for you. As this is all set up to align with getting someone ready for Espoir, Junior and then Senior it doesn’t account for the amount of school work a person will have around the exact same age either, or that a person will go through puberty at different times or may have life challenges thrown at them. The point is, people peak at different points in their life and may have a break but want to return to their gymnastics. They may show immense promise and even be capable of developing the skills of an elite gymnast, but if they haven’t done the grades there is no other route for them except starting from the beginning. This feels wrong.
I also think that additional pathways reduces the pressure at an early age which perhaps reduces pressure on the coaches. It doesn’t solve the problem of bullying and abuse, but we know that stress doesn’t help these things.
What are your thoughts on all these comments about weight shaming?
I’m not surprised, but I’m really angry (and don’t get me started on the latest Government anti-obesity campaign…). Every single gym should ensure they have the details for Beat’s Helpline and coaches should have training on eating disorders and how to spot the signs and symptoms as part of training. The training should also explore approaching changes to the body during puberty and how to manage this sensitively. It’s an incredibly vulnerable time and for me was one of the contributory factors to my own battle with an eating disorder. I ended up moving up a class around the same time as I started puberty and went from being the best to feeling like I was the worst. I looked around the class and felt lumpy, sweaty and like I was bigger than everyone else at gymnastics and that was the reason I couldn’t do the moves. I never told anyone and I ended up quitting. My puberty started relatively early for my age. About a year later we did an acrobatics class at school and we were comparing weights to decide who would be the base. I was horrified how heavy I was. I hadn’t thought about BMI at that point or the fact that other people’s weights were lower because they were pre-pubescent. It’s so important that this time is managed well. Of course there are many other factors involved too, eating disorders are very complex, but these were some gymnastics related points which readers may relate to.
I still don’t think the message has got through enough but at least 1.25 million people in the UK suffer with some form of eating disorder, although that’s the tip of the iceberg because many suffer in silence. Anorexia nervosa has the highest mortality rate of all mental illnesses, 1 in 5 will die. Thankfully I didn’t become one of those 1 in 5 but I came close to it and ended up in hospital. I’m recovered now but it’s taken a lot of treatment to get me to where I am today.
Elite Grades can be taken at any age and three are required to reach the British Champtionships. These 3 grades can be taken over a number of years or indeed all in one year once over 10 years old. So gymnasts can take these at any point in their lives when they feel ready. For those who struggle with the given set moves in grades or simply want a “one hit in” option there is also a second route to the British Championships through scoring out at Challenge cup which is a yearly competition. So the routes are there, gymnasts and clubs are already using them for older gymnasts but maybe these could be advertised and encouraged more for those capable of reaching FIG levels of competition.