British Gymnastics is bracing itself for a damning 300-page report into its abuse scandal. The document is expected to strongly criticise the governing body’s previous leadership when it is published on Thursday afternoon.
Anne Whyte QC’s independent review, which is being published nine months later than originally planned, is said by those who have seen it to be a comprehensive and wide-ranging investigation into allegations of mistreatment of gymnasts at all levels of the sport.
In her interim report last year, Whyte revealed she had received submissions from nearly 400 people, with 39 cases considered so serious they have been passed to local authorities because of child safeguarding reasons or concerns of ongoing criminal conduct.
Whyte also wrote that British Gymnastics received 300 complaints a year on average between 2015 and 2020, and that she had received information concerning more than 100 coaches and 90 clubs.
The full Whyte review is understood to make a number of recommendations to fundamentally change the culture in the sport. However it is said to accept that British Gymnastics has already undergone significant reforms since the report was commissioned in 2020 and acknowledging that a new leadership team is already making a difference.
The report, which was delivered by Whyte to UK Sport and Sport England last week, was passed on to British Gymnastics on Monday. Since then the organisation has held a series of meetings with coaches, gymnasts and parents and has already promised to implement its recommendations.
This year British Gymnastics pointed to the “significant changes” that it has put in place, including a new chief executive, Sarah Powell, better complaint-handling systems and a larger integrity team.
Publication of the Whyte review comes just days after it emerged that a former national acrobatic gymnast has become the first to win a civil case against British Gymnastics for the abuse she endured in the sport. The governing body admitted full liability and reached a settlement with Eloise Jotischky, who alleged that between 2016 and 2018 she was left “physically exhausted” after being subjected to inappropriate weight-management techniques at her local club.
- Download the Guardian app from the iOS App Store on iPhones or the Google Play store on Android phones by searching for 'The Guardian'.
- If you already have the Guardian app, make sure you’re on the most recent version.
- In the Guardian app, tap the yellow button at the bottom right, then go to Settings (the gear icon), then Notifications.
- Turn on sport notifications.
The 19-year-old is one of more than 40 gymnasts to make a claim against British Gymnastics, saying they were victims of systemic physical and psychological abuse.
A joint UK Sport and Sport England statement said the full review would be published on Thursday afternoon. “We recognise the courage shown by everyone, including gymnasts, parents and coaches, who shared their experiences, and thank them for their contributions. We would also like to express our thanks to Anne Whyte QC and her team for their work in preparing the review.”
