The 21-year-old was one of the youngest British skaters to compete at a senior British Championship when she was 15. But every success needs a sacrifice and in figure skating, it is more than just a sacrifice. All contents 2023 The Slate Group LLC. The costume, the makeup, the body image.. Secondly, even SafeSport, a blessing as it may be, is severely underfunded and overburdened. When I was 14 and going through puberty, I started to struggle with my jumps because I was gaining weight. Well, perhaps its because I dont eat them. Recently, the French Skating Federation has been suspecting 21 coaches of some form of abuse or sexual assault. After many years of suffering from this abuse, Yu decided to come forward and speak out about what many young figure skaters in China have to face. I genuinely believe theres a correlation between the two sports. Setting up independent committees and panels facilitating reporting and investigating infringement of rights mentioned in this Declaration, and giving them the power to accord proportionate penalty will serve to provide another means of protection to female figure skaters. Culture of Bullying and Abuse in Figure Skating | Skate - Skate Perfect This is the closing weekend of the Winter Olympics, which have in many ways been overshadowed by larger concerns, such as China's human rights record and doping allegations. Other countries can also set up similar organisations or committees in their respective jurisdictions. Yuzu will skate in all FaOI shows! This comment, coupled with compliments about how good she looked after dropping a few pounds and her ability to fly faster across the ice, drove Gold to a diet of just one tomato and several cups of coffee per day. Formidable Russian coach and doctor with doping past in focus over Tutberidze has come to be regarded as the worlds leading expert in creating figure skating champions. Report abuse. I was a young skater coming up through the ranks in a judged sport, Wagner told USA Today Sports. She finally got the courage to publicly share what she was going through and how she was raped by a person who she had trusted as her coach and who would guide her to glory. Anitbol wants him to be behind bars, wants him to face the punishment of his misconduct and she is hopeful that other victims will also come out during the prosecution against Beyes. The International Skating Union will raise the minimum age for elite figure skaters to 17 to protect young athletes, but former skating stars say abusive coaches should also face tougher measures. Proper funding channels need to be established to sustain such organisations because their nature of work naturally invites backlash. In an attempt to adhere to skatings unrealistic expectations, Ive seen many skaters develop eating disorders, endure demeaning relationships with their coaches, and sacrifice their identity to be number one. Figure skaters have to train so hard to be perfect their diligence is impeccable. All of the skaters featured in the series are inspirational, but Kristen Spours' story of overcoming injury stands out. This can also take form during coaching, as any girl reaching puberty who gains weight, who then struggles with jumps, is harrassed directly in front of other skaters, a fact mentioned by Jessica Shuran Yu. Figure skaters are often seen as a material with jewels rather than a person with feelings by their parents and coaches. Her inspiration, she shares, came from watching Netflixs documentary series Athlete A which is about sexual abuse in Amerian gymnastics. Yu continues: When I was 14 and going through puberty, I started to struggle with my jumps because I was gaining weight. Click the link below the quote to read the full article. Training in China since she was a young girl, Yu has been brought up under the tutelage of cut-throat Chinese trainers. USA: National Sexual Assault Hotlineat 800.656.HOPE (4673)or USA.GOV. Mark Hanretty, a former ice dancer who works as a coach, calls the triple axel, "an absolute prerequisite" for any male who wants to compete at international competition. Her methods are no secret. With one instructor if we cried too much they would add 10 more seconds. Thrilled by the pace, the skill, the snow and the ice? I even liked him.. if(typeof ez_ad_units != 'undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[250,250],'skateperfect_com-mobile-leaderboard-1','ezslot_20',115,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-skateperfect_com-mobile-leaderboard-1-0'); In the case of Sarah, Beyer never hesitated to do whatever he had done, with a 15-year-old girl. Young skaters are not even safe from fellow skaters. Ashley is a freelance writer, starry-eyed poet, and wandering druid. French Ice Sports Chief Resigns Amid Sexual Abuse Scandal Morgan Cipres, French figure skater, a two-times Olympian, is facing a probe by the US police over sexual abuse of a 13-year-old girl in Dec 2017. A coach in figure skating has every right to do whatever he wants with young skaters. However, the key problem here is the lack of a strong administrative framework to support the Declaration. It involves three-and-a-half rotations mid-air. I will need to prepare for them physically and mentally. Figure skating coach John Zimmerman has been suspended by U.S. Center for SafeSport over charges of an abuse of process, emotional misconduct and failure to report an incident. All rights reserved. He reported to the US Center for Safesport that he was sexually abused and assaulted by Callaghan in 1976 when he was a young skater of only 13 years old. Silent Edge-Sexual Abuse and Harassment Information and stories for Among them is the former French figure skater Sarah Abitbol. The abuse started from the age of 11 when I started being told to reach out a hand whenever I made mistakes, she said. Eteri Tutberidze and the Future of Figure Skating | Medium But in the age of the quad revolution, such longevity is unthinkable. SafeSport, set up by the United States Government under the Protecting Young Victims from Sexual Abuse and Safe Sport Authorization Act of 2017 can be taken as an example. Why do figures skaters under this Russian coach have short careers? Born and raised in China, she describes her experience by being hit with a skate guard if mistakes were made and also being kicked with the toe pick that pierced the skin and left scarring. Coach Eteri Tutberidze said she was certain Valieva was "clean and innocent" in an interview with Russian state television after hugging her figure-skating prodigy, who trained again at the rink . Some skaters, who try to move on and forget the indelible incidents, maintain silence and somehow compromise with the situation. Figure skaters either compete as singles or in mixed-sex pairs. The first episode airs at 21:00 GMT on the new BBC Three Channel on Saturday 5 February, with the first four episodes on iPlayer afterwards. It really hurts me to know that this abuse is still happening. I like sweetschocolate, candy. In my classes, every single person would be sobbing by the end. I was suicidal for months, Gold said. After many years of suffering from this abuse, Yu decided to come forward and speak out about what many young figure skaters in China have to face. But I know now that what I hated wasnt skating, it was the cruelty. JD Richards. It was better to say nothing, she told the outlet. In 2008, the time of the assault against Wagner, the 17-year-olds reputation was more vulnerable than 22-year-old Coughlins. Being a skating partner does not mean in any way that someone has given you consent of doing whatever you want and desire. 2022 Olympics: IOC chief slams Russian skating coach for 'chilling Young girls will put on weight as they reach this stage in their life, its natural. You can manage your newsletter subscriptions at any time. But well before the Valieva case made international headlines, there was reason to believe that Tutberidze presided over a doping program. He knew the girl would not have the courage to speak out and if she would report it, no one would believe her. Women figure skaters are obnoxiously sexualised, to put it mildly. I will also need to lose some weight, something like 3 kilograms, to decrease the risk of injuries, she said before retiring less than a month later. This sport is not for the faint-hearted. Ashley said that we are very far behind in making the sport safe for every young kid who aspires to be a figure skater in the future. Skater Billy Wilson French says it is "not written down" that costumes and hairstyles will be judged, but believes that these things do get taken into account. When world silver medalist Ashley Wagner broke her silence early last month about the sexual misconduct former U.S. figure skating champion John Coughlin committed against her, she perfectly articulated the reason why victims hesitate to come forward. Boitano's Edge: Inside The Real World Of Figure Skating . I havent seen the same for skaters and its not reported to the same extent. One of Tutberidzes students, Yulia Lipnitskaya, was a gold-medal favorite in the 2014 Sochi Olympics. It can be in various forms and on various levels. Sarah Abitbol: French ice skating boss quits amid sex abuse scandal Raising competition age for figure skaters not enough to combat abusive Figure skaters can suffer the same kinds of performance issues. I was called over and kicked on the bone of my shin with a toe-pick of a blade and made to try again. Coaches will also be trained to deliver the CanPowerSkate program. Content warning: abuse, disordered eating (Updated 2/2/2022) For many, the lasting image from the 2014 Olympic Games was of a little girl in a red coat skating to Schindler's List. Now 19, Yu said she decided to speak after watching Athlete A, the Netflix documentary detailing sexual abuse in American gymnastics, and reading claims of widespread abuse in British Gymnastics. We briefly mentioned Wagner was not the only skater who accused him of sexual abuse, Coughlins skating partner Bridget Namiotka also said that she was sexually abused by him when she was only 14 years old and he was four years older.