More than 500 Canadian gymnasts are calling on Canada's Sport Minister to freeze funding to their national sport organization.
In a public letter Thursday to Minister Pascale St-Onge - and after four months of “sharing devastating stories” of years of abuse - Gymnasts for Changes, which represents 508 athletes, are repeating their calls for strict measures.
The letter comes a week after a coach in Lethbridge, Alta., was charged with sexually assaulting a seven-year-old girl. GymCan announced recently it had commission McLaren Global Sport Solutions to do a “culture review” of the sport's national governing body. But the gymnasts have rejected the review, since it's “bought and paid for by the very organization to be investigated.”
Thursday's letter noted that GymCan and Sport Canada had been aware of potential for widespread maltreatment claims. GymCan CEO Ian Moss told Sport Canada's director general Vicki Walker in August of 2020 - in a communication recently published by TSN - “there could, very soon, be a wave of historic athlete complaints.”
“According to this timeline, GymCan and Sport Canada have had knowledge of, and the opportunity to act on, suspected systemic abuse in gymnastics for at least two years and have done nothing, allowing abuse to continue against Canadian child athletes without intervention,” the letter said. “We had hoped for a better, more urgent response from you.
South Africa Latest News, South Africa Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Canadian gymnasts ask sport minister to suspend government funding to their sport - Sportsnet.caMore than 500 Canadian gymnasts are calling on Canada’s Sport Minister to freeze funding to their national sport organization.
Read more »
Canadian gymnasts ask sport minister to suspend government funding to their sportAfter four months of “sharing devastating stories” of years of abuse, more than 500 Canadian gymnasts are calling on Canada’s Sport Minister to freeze funding to their national sport organization.
Read more »
Ottawa must halt federal gymnastics funding, athletes tell sport minister - National | Globalnews.caIn April of 2021 and again in December, GymCan's board of directors was urged by survivors to initiate an independent, third-party investigation into the sport.
Read more »
Podcasts National PostIn the latest episode of True Crime Byline, reporter Jason Magder reflects back on what it was like to cover the ultra-Orthodox Jewish sect as they fled authorities. Download Episode 5 today on your favourite podcast app here: truecrime Canada
Read more »
Gymnasts wonder if recent abuse case could have been prevented had they been heardGymnasts for Change, a group that has grown to over 500 current and retired gymnasts, has been calling on Sport Canada for an independent investigation into their sport for months. And while they applaud the swift measures taken against Hockey Canada around an alleged sexual assault of a woman in 2018 by members of its junior men's team, they wonder why no-one is hearing their own cries for change.
Read more »