Skiers abused By coach speak out
Victims asked for lift of ban on their identities
MONTREAL • In an old photo projected at a news conference Monday, Gail Kelly has her ski goggles pulled up on her toque and is beaming. “I was someone who was cheerful, very sociable,” Kelly said of her 16-year-old self.
But the former national alpine team member and three teammates were in front of the microphones for the first time to recount how their love of skiing was stolen from them by a coach who was a sexual predator.
Bertrand Charest’s abuse left her hating herself, feeling “like less than nothing,” Kelly, now 38, said. “This has had an impact on my life up to this day,” she said. “Whereas sport should be an environment to build confidence and resilience, for me it was the complete opposite.” Until last week, the identities of the four women had been confidential, protected by a court-ordered publication ban. But Kelly, Geneviève Simard, Amélie-Frédérique Gagnon and Anna Prchal had the ban lifted so they could tell their stories and advocate for change.
Charest was convicted last year and sentenced to 12 years in prison on charges including sexual assault and sexual exploitation against a total of nine victims. Twenty years have passed since Alpine Canada was informed of Charest’s abuse and removed him from the team, but the women say young athletes remain vulnerable.
Kelly, a mother of three small children, said she has a perverse feeling of unease when she sees her children delighting in sport. She said she would never let them compete on a national or provincial team until safeguards are improved.
“That is why I decided to speak openly about my story,” she said. “In short, I do not want anyone in the world to have to experience what I did, to be manipulated, denigrated, belittled.”
Simard, 37, the first to file a police complaint against Charest in 2015 after learning he had returned to coaching youngsters at a Quebec ski resort, said her childhood was stolen. “Skiing was my passion. I had great hopes and dreams, and skiing was my life. I invested all my time and energy in it,” she said. “The sexual abuse I suffered completely destroyed my self-confidence. My selfesteem was crushed and my daily relationships were greatly affected.” Gagnon, 41, said she has struggled with lack of confidence, anorexia and suicidal thoughts as a result of the abuse.
“How is it possible for someone who was so happy, healthy and active with so much determination and talent, that had dreams of becoming an Olympian, to suddenly lose it all — my dreams, my happy face, my love of ski racing, my joie de vivre?” she asked.
Prchal, 39, said competitive skiing had allowed her to blossom as a teen. She said Charest crushed her, but others also let her down. “I found myself abandoned by the very people who were supposed to be taking care of me. Worst of all, they made me feel like I had done something wrong,” she said.
The women joined forces Monday with B2ten, an organization of businesspeople supporting elite amateur athletes, and the Coaching Association of Canada to call on the provincial and federal governments to protect athletes.
They say government funding of sport organizations should be dependent on the federations having an accredited safety program to prevent abuse. The program would include mandatory training, a rule that young athletes are never alone with just one adult and an independent officer to handle complaints. Kirsty Duncan, federal Minister of Sport, said in a statement that the government intends to strengthen its funding policies “to ensure that organizations continue to promote healthy and harassment-free environments.” She said changes would be announced in the coming weeks. After Charest’s sentencing in December, Alpine Canada said it had failed the victims. “Instead of being there for the athletes, instead of providing support when these activities were discovered, Alpine Canada put itself first, not the victims,” Martha Hall Findlay, chair of the Alpine Canada board, said at the time.
In a statement Monday, Hall Findlay and Alpine Canada president Vania Grandi, thanked the four women for their courage in going public and said it is ready to work with them. “We want to ensure no one ever suffers like these women have suffered,” their statement said.