Australia is very proud of its record of sporting achievements in the world of sport and many parents dip deep in their pockets to help their children attain the fame and fortune that success can bring. Success is usually the result of professional coaching and training and now a report from the Human Rights Commission has revealed a systemic disfunction awaiting those that take this training method.
The report noted the handicap of a fragmented national structure, leading to friction in leadership and pressure to perform for the sake of funding. This pressure trickled down and led to a toxic culture which created a haze around people's judgments on what were ethical and healthy ways to achieve these goals.
Sadly, this report makes it plain that there exists constant instances of abuse, misconduct and bullying, and that this includes sexual abuse. Some instructors were known to have " wandering hands " when positioning their charges to obtain the best results and students devised signs and signals to give warning to others.
Young sports people have an urge to succeed and contend that this abuse is simply part of the system and necessary if they are to achieve their ambition. In reality, it delivers risk and harm to athletes and the report contains twelve recommendations to bring training under control.
Gymnastics Australia, which last year commissioned the report said it was " confronting " and that it would adopt all recommendations. It is quite obvious that strict oversight is necessary to clean up abuse that should not have been allowed to happen.
It seems that the coaches have been able to instill a culture of fear and control which one submission detailed as " archaic and authoritarian " and which relied on guilt as a key driver. The driving force was focussed on perfection.
What seems to be missing is the reality that not everyone in a class is going to become a champion. It will quickly become obvious that unrelenting harsh indocumentation of all will not attain for many the pinnacle necessary for outstanding sporting success.
Honesty is the best policy. Pushing a person beyond their best ability without hope of ultimate success is actually harmful. They will be better physically and mentally if they choose a new goal and that this is one in which success is possible.
That depends on which is deemed more important. The success of the coach and trainers, or the development of a champion from those being trained.
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