Here we go again: another report revealing toxic behaviours and “cultures of fear”. It’s tempting to scroll on and simply wonder which sport will be next. But the report last week on swimming in England goes to the heart of the role of sport in our lives, asks questions about the experiences we want to create for the next generation through sport, and the sort of society to which we want to belong.
Importantly, the report from the “Heart of Aquatics Listening Research” was commissioned by Swim England itself, not imposed like the Whyte review into British Gymnastics or the Phelps review into British Cycling. Of course, the more cynical may see that as jumping before being pushed. But it’s still progress when a national governing body takes an interest in its impact on people’s lives and seeks feedback from those who should matter most but traditionally have never had a voice.
Swim England’s leaders can now be held accountable by a much wider audience who will be watching what they do next. Hopefully, a broader network of swimmers, divers, water polo players, coaches, volunteers, welfare officers and parents will also start to recognise their agency in shaping the future of the sport they love.
One problem needs sector-wide and government attention: Swim England joins a long list of sports failing to provide satisfactory processes to uphold high standards of integrity and safeguarding, and manage complaints. British Gymnastics, struggling with a huge backlog of complex cases, called last year for an independent body. This report reaffirms the fact that national governing bodies are simply not cut out to manage the volume and complexity of complaints at the standard required. There has been a void for too long in this area that needs addressing urgently by leaders in government and public sports bodies.
There are then three themes in this research that show opportunities for positive change: the need for thriving performance environments; redefining the relationship between performance and participation sport; and lengthening the timeframe in which we envisage sport in our lives.
A damagingly narrow focus on performance comes across loud and clear: “‘performance first’ is a dangerous approach when applied to young people”. The stories of “tunnel vision” about medals and selection, the experience of not being treated as a human on the talent pathways, the misery of “a constant failure game” and the parental comment – “we’re not here to have fun, we’re here to win” – speak volumes. I remember being told early on in my Olympic journey that performance sport is deadly serious and I shouldn’t expect to have fun – that would only come if and when I reached the top step of the podium. At the time, I lapped it up naively, desperate to learn how to become an Olympian. But over time, I realised the need to challenge so much of this “high performance” mythology that can threaten both performance and any chances of thriving through it.
This is a point where fresh thinking is urgently needed. One weakness in the report is its assumption that there’s an either/or choice: either you go all out to win medals and accept toxic cultures and abuse of athletes as collateral, or you back off from performance. This is where we keep going wrong.
It seems such a limiting, unambitious view of the world to believe that abusive environments are essential to performance. If only we could invest as much in exploring how a competitive advantage can come from positive cultures as we have in finding other marginal performance gains. Advances in psychology and neuroscience bring new insights into how to create environments where people can thrive under the greatest of pressures. There are increasing examples across sport, from athletes such as Roger Federer who excel without using fear or aggression, self-denigration or overtraining methods; to coaches such as Gareth Southgate and Sarina Wiegman who create environments characterised by fun and flair, support and compassion as part of preparing for world-class performance.
The report contains a lovely case study of a young person who contrasts experiences of a former coach who made no concessions for exams, with a new coach who offered as much flexibility as needed. “From being ready to stop swimming altogether at his previous club two months earlier, he had recently chosen to go to training on the morning of exams under the new coach; feeling that training helps to manage exam stress rather than adds to it.” This is the win-win reframing that is needed, firmly stepping away from abusive, disempowering, damaging environments. At first glance, this may look, through the old prism, like disengaging with performance sport – but it enables a different, deeper and more meaningful approach.
A related point highlights how a “myopic performance focus” filters down to the grassroots, gazing upwards to copy the “elite”. We need to disrupt this engrained hierarchy that puts elite performance as sacred at the top of sport with everything else lower down and of less value. Why have we created barriers between performance and participation in sport?
Yes, it’s great to win Olympic and Paralympic medals and it gives us a lovely boost for a couple of days. But it’s also life-affirming and inspirational to see committed Masters swimmers training and pushing their capabilities in middle age or simply exhibiting joy through sport. Isn’t that a far more powerful and socially useful message for young people, for whom a tiny fraction will get to the Olympics but who could all actively enjoy sport throughout their lives?
The report invites us to consider, through a long-term lens, how sport can support us while growing up, sustain us through the ups and downs of adult life, and play its role in the crucial shift needed across the country to think preventively about our health. And sport’s ability to connect between generations shone out from stories of “older swimmers consoling and reassuring younger athletes when disqualified in races”.
We mustn’t see this as “just another culture review”. It’s a call for better leadership within swimming with echoes across sport, education, health and local government, to reimagine and redesign the role that sport could play in our lives. It’s also a call to action to the swimming community and all of us that we can and should all be part of the solution, too.
Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here.
