CRNZ acts to address abuse issues

Canoe Racing New Zealand has contracted two independent people to facilitate a ‘‘restorative process’’ and oversee policy development following allegations of abusive practices in the high performance programme.

But one athlete claims this does not go far enough, saying there should be a completely independent review and a ‘dispute mediation’ process is ‘‘completely the wrong thing’’.

Athletes have also been asked to lodge their interest in engaging with the ‘‘independent’’ process through CRNZ, who will then connect them with the independent facilitator.

This, too, has been questioned by athletes, with one calling it ‘‘contradictory’’.

This follows a Stuff investigation that uncovered allegations of bullying, intimidation and psychological abuse of elite female athletes.

Six of the nine members of the 2017-18 women’s high performance squad have quit the team in the past 18 months, effectively wiping out an entire tier of talent from the sport.

The athletes claim they are broken, burnt out, and some are dealing with serious mental health issues.

They allege they were routinely manipulated, lied to and bullied, and anyone who spoke out was ignored and isolated.

Their claims have been backed by several former management and support staff, and high performance service providers embedded in the CRNZ programme.

CRNZ chief executive Tom Ashley said the organisation took athletes’ wellbeing seriously and had contracted an independent person to engage with athletes who had left the programme.

‘‘Athletes have been invited to co-design and then participate in this process with the independent facilitator,’’ he said.

‘‘We hope that this work will contribute to our understanding of the athletes’ experiences in our programme, let their voice be heard in a safe way and inform our work to optimise our performance environment.’’

He said athletes would have an opportunity to participate in a ‘‘restorative process’’ with the governing body.

The organisation had also contracted an ‘‘independent expert to evolve our processes and policies’’, Ashley said.

‘‘Our aim is to ensure that we have world-class systems in place across our performance programme.

‘‘We know that wellbeing and performance are strongly linked, so this project will include work on how we can better understand, monitor and influence our athletes’ and coaches’ wellbeing.’’

Ashley declined to say who the independent experts were, but Stuff understands Deborah Clapshaw, a disputes resolution lawyer specialising in commercial and family mediation, has been contracted to work with the athletes.

But athletes are still calling for a completely independent review into the culture and practices within the programme.

One athlete, who wished to remain anonymous, said she had been invited to participate with the independent facilitator, including for ‘‘dispute mediation’’, but she is dubious of the process.

‘‘[CRNZ’s] insistence on blaming the athletes and rejecting our concerns and feedback we’ve already given doesn’t give me any confidence that the feedback obtained by conversations with the [the facilitator] will be any different,’’ she said.