British Gymnastics needs to change its woeful culture
Gymnastics: a Culture of Abuse (ITV1) got off to a punchy start. “Here’s a fact. Today, in a gym right now, some kid is being verbally abused, physically abused, God forbid, sexually abused. Today. Fact.”
The words of Carlton Webster, a gymnastics coach and one of several contributors to a documentary highlighting British Gymnastics’ woeful failure to get its house in order.
The Whyte Review, published in 2022, concluded that physical and emotional abuse was “systemic” in the sport. Meanwhile, former coaches have been convicted of sexual abuse.
David Schadek was convicted of sexually assaulting two children and jailed for four and a half years; on trips to Europe, he would share a bedroom with young teenage girls. A colleague who featured in the programme claimed that he had reported Schadek to the British Gymnastics hierarchy after seeing him ply a child with Bacardi and Coke, but was told: “That’s up to him, don’t get involved.”
Stuart Woods was sentenced to 11 years for sexual activity with a child and sending sexual communications while teaching at a private school in Wokingham. He was also a national gymnastics coach. The impact statements from his victims were devastating. Webster, who had worked
alongside him, said: “I don’t think enough parents in our sport know exactly what this culture is all about.”
Parents whose children want to pursue gymnastics should watch this programme and then decide whether they feel there are sufficient safeguards in place. Organisations should watch it and learn how not to handle corporate communications. Nobody from British Gymnastics appeared to be interviewed, merely submitting a statement saying that it “is half way through an extensive programme of action” to make the sport safe for all, and insisting that “abuse, mistreatment and harm have no place in gymnastics”.
A number of the sexual abuse allegations made here were about Stan Wild, a former Olympian who was banned by British Gymnastics in 2021 for “safeguarding” issues. Wild has denied the allegations and the CPS has repeatedly said there is insufficient evidence to bring a prosecution.
At one point, the contributors were handed a print-out of an email sent by David Kenwright, a senior coach for British Gymnastics, after the successful 2022 World Championships. In it, he criticised the “naysayers” and crowed: “I have always believed that success is the best revenge.” A good insight into Kenwright’s mindset, but the email was made public more than a year ago. The documentary appeared to have been hanging around for quite a while, which only added to the sense that nobody much cares about how this sport is being run.
Avatar: The Last Airbender was a cartoon in the Noughties, and a live-action film in 2010. It occupies a special place in the hearts of millennials, or as someone explained it on social media: “Avatar: The Last Airbender was a cool cartoon for children that an entire generation of adults talks about like Citizen Kane.”
It’s set in a fantasy world divided into tribes according to the four elements. In each, there exist people who can manipulate those elements. Fire seems to belong to the bad guys. The Air kingdom is populated by kindly monks. The Water tribe live in igloos. Not sure about the Earth bit.
One 12-year-old Airbender, named Aang (Gordon Cormier), is an Avatar who has the ability to command the elements and bring peace to the world. Shortly after finding that out, he flies off on a giant sky bison and gets frozen in ice for 100 years. It’s a fantasy series, just go with it. He thaws out and is befriended by Katara and Sokka, siblings from the Water Tribe, and the trio set out on an epic quest.
It’s fast-moving and action-packed, with decent fight scenes and some appealing performances, all done on a generous Netflix budget. Don’t expect subtlety – this is aimed at children so the characters and plot are broadly drawn. The official age rating is 12 and it does launch with some violence, but my under-12s watched it without batting an eyelid.
Generally, though, it’s more light than dark, with Ian Ousley providing comic relief as Sokka, a 16-year-old tribe leader trying to hide the fact that he’s out of his depth. He’s the kind of sardonic teenager who would fit into any US series, whether set in a high school or a world of flying bison.
So it’s no Citizen Kane, but your children should enjoy it. As for mine? “It’s good,” they concluded, “but not as good as Spongebob Squarepants.”
Gymnastics: a Culture of Abuse ★★★
Avatar: The Last Airbender ★★★