Review of gymnastics at the Western Australian Institute of Sport recommends apology to abused athletes

A long-awaited review examining allegations of physical and emotional abuse by coaching staff towards former elite gymnasts who trained at the Western Australian Institute of Sport (WAIS) has found it is "reasonably likely" the abuse or harm did occur.

Revealed today by the ABC, the draft report by Sport Integrity Australia (SIA) - which was circulated to the WAIS board, participating gymnasts and the Western Australian Government last week - makes a number of recommendations, including that an apology be given to gymnasts who suffered the abuse.

The review was commissioned after dozens of women came forward alleging they were subjected to systemic physical and emotional abuse by coaches in the now-defunct elite gymnastics program between 1987 and 2016.

While a confidentiality agreement between Sport Integrity Australia (SIA) and WAIS has been reported as preventing those abused from revealing the contents of the report until it is publicly released, one gymnasts was quoted by the ABC as saying “it's been a very long time coming”.

The review heard from 92 people in total, including former gymnasts, parents, coaches and support staff.

SIA determined it was reasonably likely that some gymnasts suffered abuse and/or harm while participating in the Women's Artistic Gymnastics (WAG) program at WAIS, based on the information and material it collected.

It found the policies and procedures that governed the WAG program did not adequately protect some of the gymnasts, and it was reasonably likely that the conduct and/or omissions on the part of some WAIS and WAG staff, coaches and management contributed to the ensuing abuse and/or harm, either directly or indirectly.

SIA has also made seven reports to police and other agencies in regards to allegations of sexual or physical abuse.

Included in the review are shocking tales of alleged abuse, most of which were not reported at the time due to a culture of fear that prevented athletes from speaking up.

One participant noted “if you had a little whinge to your parents about something, you know, and then if they then went and relayed that to the coaches, you'd spend the next two weeks being given the cold shoulder from the coaches or you would be, you know, ‘Oh, are you going to cry to your parents again? You're a baby’. And you would cop it so much if you spoke up from the coaches that we just learnt it was easier to shut up and just get on with it."

The report makes four recommendations based on the "information and insights" gleaned from the review, including that:

WAIS adopt the National Integrity Framework, including the independent complaint handling process

WAIS ensure that all sport programs involving children are child-focused and age appropriate

WAIS continues to embed athlete wellbeing into policies, procedures, and practices into all sport programs

WAIS, in collaboration with the impacted gymnasts, engage in a restorative and reconciliatory process, and include an apology to gymnasts who were subjected to behaviours identified in the review.

The fourth recommendation is particularly significant given an apology WAIS issued last year in the wake of a human rights review into the sport of gymnastics in Australia was seen by some as tokenistic and disingenuous.