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Gymnastics coaches will no longer be allowed to weigh young athletes under new British Gymnastics rules that aim to end practices that the British Federation says fall “within the margin of abuse”, a BBC report said.
The report said that the new protective rules that gyms must adhere to or face penalties, come after the 2022 White Review – an annual review – revealed the existence of a culture of abuse in the sport.
Any gymnast aged 10 or under cannot be weighed under the new British Gymnastics rules, and athletes aged 11 to 18 can only be weighed with the consent of both the gymnast and his or her parent or guardian.
Only sports science students or practicing physicians are permitted to perform weighing, and it must be based on a scientifically valid rationale for doing so such as monitoring a growth spurt.
Sarah Powell, chief executive of British Gymnastics, said: “This is about making sure that we in gymnastics don’t see them as just athletes, we see them as young people, as children. We have no intention of putting medals before their personal safety.”
“Physical and mental abuse”
The White Review, commissioned by the government and Sport England, received more than 400 reports and found that athletes had been subjected to “widespread physical and mental abuse” in a system where such behavior is tolerated in the pursuit of national and international success.
“The weight was used as a form of punishment,” said gymnast Eloise Gutschke.
In June 2022, Gottschke became the first and only gymnast to this day to win a civil case against the British Gymnastics Federation due to the abuse she suffered between 2016 and 2018 from coach Andrew Griffiths, who is currently suspended from training.
