In Britain, gymnastics coaches will no longer be allowed to force their young students to intervene. British Gymnastics introduced the new rules following a report last year revealing abuse in the sport.
According to the new rules, gymnasts under the age of 10 will not be allowed to be weighed, from 11 to 18 years old they will only be able to do so with the consent of their parents or guardians.
Only health professionals will be able to measure the weight of young athletes and they must have serious medical reasons for this, such as monitoring growth.
“It's about seeing them in gymnastics not as gymnasts, but as young people, children. We don't want to put medals ahead of their mental well-being,” said Sarah Powell, the boss of British Gymnastics. , at the BBC.
The new rules, which not only concern weighting but also, for example, the schooling of young athletes, are a response to a commission report led by lawyer Anne Whyte from last year.
Based on 400 complaints, it found that British gymnasts are exposed to widespread physical and psychological abuse in their quest for success.
Gymnast Eloise Jotischky told the BBC the weigh-ins were used as punishment. Jotischky became the first and so far only female gymnast to win a civil case against British Gymnastics over the abuse she suffered between 2016 and 2018 at the hands of coach Andrew Griffiths, who is now banned from coaching.
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