Since beginning this blog I have had numerous parents and gymnasts reach out to me as some of my posts have resonated with their own experiences and I have been asked on a few occasions to post a narrative on their behalf. I believe all lived experiences are valuable and add knowledge to the growing …
Does the gymnastics sports subculture create an environment for abuse in elite level sport?
This piece was written in 2016 shortly after the Indianapolis Star broke the Nassar abuse story. The troubling issue of sex abuse within youth sport has been prominent within the media over the past few months. The abuse of youth football players in the UK from grass roots level to professional clubs has emerged with …
What about the parents?
'What about the parents?' I hear this so often when athletes come forward with abuse narratives and this is a valid question. What about the parents? Why have they allowed these abhorrent acts to happen to their children? Are they so invested in an Olympic medal that they ignore the abuse? Why don't they remove …
Where do we go from here?
A former elite gymnast recently announced the reasons for their retirement citing the normalisation of mental, emotional and physical abuse. This is not something new to sport or even gymnastics yet is often the elephant in the room. A social media post relating to the retirement announcement referred to the alleged abuse as an 'open …
Reflections from a gymnast
The aim of qualitative research is to acquire culturally specific information, it enables subjective description as to ‘how a person has been constituted in a particular form of life’ (Packer, 2011). Taylor, Bogdan and DeVault (2016) suggest to understand behaviour and values it is essential to understand ‘people from their own frames of reference’. Narratives …
“Geddert is not the only Geddert in the coaching world”
For far to long the only abuse to be taken seriously in sport has been sexual abuse. That is the abuse the media focus on, that seems to be the only abuse people consider crosses the line. This post is not to diminish the devastating effects sexual abuse can have on it’s victims, rather it’s …
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Parents perceptions of pain and injury
Part of my research has considered how parents become socialised into the gymnastics culture. One such paper looked at parents perceptions of their daughters’ pain and injury experiences. Parents of elite level British gymnasts participated in interviews to help gain some insight into how they came to accept pain and injury as part of their …
