Ice Skating Australia stripped of status after abuse allegations

[Dreamer57]

Ice Skating Australia stripped of status after abuse allegations​

Ice Skating Australia has been stripped of its official status as the sport’s national governing body following the shocking allegations of abuse within the sport.

CODE Sports

CODE Sports

www.codesports.com.au

Unfortunately the main Daily Telegraph news article is behind a paywall.

As of July 1, Ice Skating Australia (ISA) will no longer be officially recognised as the national sporting organisation, a rare but serious punishment that will render ISA ineligible for a raft of benefits, including access to public funding and the right to use the Commonwealth Coat of Arms on athlete uniforms.

The decision comes at the same time that ISA is already being investigated by Sports Integrity Australia (SIA) over a series of complaints about alleged sexual misconduct, abuse, death threats, bullying and intimidation within the sport.

[...]

“The Australian Sports Commission (ASC) can confirm that Ice Skating Australia lost their Recognition through the recent national sporting organisation Recognition process,” the [Australian Olympic Committee] spokesperson said.

While the ASC did not elaborate on the specifics, the most common reason that sports lose their status is when they fail to meet the governance standards required of them in relation to constitutional, boardroom and code of conduct matters.

 

[dorispulaski]

Death threats???

 

[FlossieH]

What does this mean for skaters? Does it also mean that ISA is no longer an ISU member and Australian skaters cannot compete in ISU events?

 

[el henry]

Me too ... death threats? How did the Daily Telegraph access that?

Looks like the Australia Sports Commission is none too happy with its skating subsidiary. Does this mean a new organization can take its place.

So many questions...

 

[Diana Delafield]

Me too ... death threats? How did the Daily Telegraph access that?

Looks like the Australia Sports Commission is none too happy with its skating subsidiary. Does this mean a new organization can take its place.

So many questions...

An Australian friend says, in a message she sent me this morning, that the death threats were against the mother/board member who defended her accused son and is the main target of blame for this banishment. However, my friend said this was just changing-room gossip among skaters there who don't know much more than the rest of the world does, and may just be speculative rumour.

 

[Dreamer57]

What does this mean for skaters? Does it also mean that ISA is no longer an ISU member and Australian skaters cannot compete in ISU events?

I think the ISU membership still stands and that the athletes will be able to represent Australia. However, they will lose access to funding.

I feel for the innocent athletes, we know how expensive this sport is and now there is virtually no financial support available for them.

 

[Bluediamonds09]

What is going on in the skating world??? Was there more abuse than what was previously thought? Is this fallout from the accused guy?

 

[el henry]

I believe what is happening in the skating world is what has happened world wide.

Abuse is abuse and has happened forever.

But back in the day, that was considered the victim's "fault", using gendered roles "boys will be boys", "you were stupid to put yourself in that position" and "suck it up and move on, that's what tough people do". So we never talked about it, never disclosed it, and after walking barefoot in the snow ten miles to school, we were so "tough" we in fact did move on.

Thank god that is no longer the attitude as it was when I was a young pup. That, in fact, is progress. Perfect, no, but progress.

 

[dorispulaski]

This is true. I recall a case in my home town in the 1960's where a man raped his 13 year old baby sitter, damaging her, so badly she was in the hospital for some time. He claimed she came on to him, and he was found not guilty at trial.

Nowadays we would know a 13 year old cannot give consent.

The whole thing only showed up in the police blotter in the paper. Most people did not even know about the case.

So terrible things happened then too, but people did not hear about it

 

[saine]

Statement from Ice Skating Australia:

 

[Bluediamonds09]

I'm not sure how a whole continent can be stripped away and unrecognized by the ISU. And over abuse allegations? I was under the impression that abuse in sports was not a top priority for the ISU to address. (Look at who wins coach of the year). Why now?

 

[saine]

I'm not sure how a whole continent can be stripped away and unrecognized by the ISU. And over abuse allegations? I was under the impression that abuse in sports was not a top priority for the ISU to address. (Look at who wins coach of the year). Why now?

It wasn't the ISU. The statement from Ice Skating Australia is that the Australian Sports Commission took away their recognition due to not meeting the Recognition Update required to keep their status. They lost their national status over administrative issues which coincided with the investigation by Sports Integrity Australia.

 

[Skating91]

If alleged sexual misconduct, abuse, death threats, bullying and intimidation isn't enough for a federation to be banned from the sport, then nothing will.

Figure skating exists for the benefit of the cottage industries that have popped up around it (coaches, choreographers, costume designers, dinosaurs with jobs for life and willing to protect them at all costs in skating federations or governing bodies, various "honorary" or "voluntary" positions with on the surface no remuneration or reward ).

It certainly doesn't exist to benefit the skaters in any way.

When you go to a motor racing circuit there's always a big sign saying Motor Racing is Dangerous and can result in injury or death.

Maybe there needs to be similar signs above the entry to rinks.

 

[Skating91]

What is going on in the skating world??? Was there more abuse than what was previously thought? Is this fallout from the accused guy?

It's a sport where the stars of the sport are children or those barely out of childhood (many with a relatively dysfunctional childhood and relationship with parents), so attracts the type of people who are willing to bully children to make a living.

For all the cottage industries that the sport exists to support (coaches, rink owners, costume makers, choreographers, the people who politicked their way into jobs for life), a figure skater is just a disposable product. There will always be another skater on the conveyer belt.

The more athlete turnover the better for the cottage industries. They're just selling a dream to children and parents at the end of the day. It doesn't really matter if the children/parents get anything out of the sport only a few will ever progress to a high level.

For senior competition, there should be no-one under 18 competing, junior competitions should have no-one 18 and over competing, junior competitions don't need to be televised, and remove quotas taking away the power of these federations. Of course they will corrupt the process via judging, but it would be a step in the right direction.

 

[gkelly]

When you go to a motor racing circuit there's always a big sign saying Motor Racing is Dangerous and can result in injury or death.

Maybe there needs to be similar signs above the entry to rinks.

Most rinks do have disclaimers of this sort posted (well, without the "death" part) -- primarily for the benefit of public session skaters.

Rinks may also require skaters/parents to sign waivers when they sign up for rink-run learn-to-skate, figure skating, or hockey programs. (Or speedskating, for those rinks that offer that.)

Situations may vary for programs run by figure skating clubs or schools.

For senior competition, there should be no-one under 18 competing, junior competitions should have no-one 18 and over competing,

Impossible to separate that strictly, because (as I mentioned in another post last week) skaters have birthdays throughout the year and may even turn 18 between the short program and free skate at the same competition.

If you want to have no overlap between skaters who are allowed to compete junior vs. senior in any given season, then you could require that everyone who is under 18 (or 17) as of July 1 to skate junior and everyone who is over 18 (or 17) as of July 1 to skate senior that year. So you would either have some 18-year-olds competing junior, more toward the end of the season, or some 17-year-olds competing senior, more toward the beginning of the season. (The latter is now true in real life for senior competition, but under current rules singles skaters are still allowed to compete junior as long as they were under 19 on July 1, so every singles skater now has 1 year of eligibility for both junior or senior competition. Most often used by skaters, especially boys, who started late, were late bloomers, or come from federations with deep fields so it's easier to qualify for junior than for senior assignments.)

Even with those kinds of rules it would be very difficult for most countries to form pair and even dance teams that can continue to compete at all for several years in a row. And in most countries, they would not be able to find other partners in the same age category. So you would either need a wider overlap of eligibility for pairs than for singles, or you might as well cancel the pairs discipline entirely -- at least at the developmental levels. It could be a seniors-only discipline.

 

[Mathman]

Most rinks do have disclaimers of this sort posted (well, without the "death" part) -- primarily for the benefit of public session skaters.

My impression is that these signs are primarily for the benefit of rink owners and their lawyers in anticipation of law suits when children inevitably slip and fall.

 

[Mathman]

If alleged sexual misconduct, abuse, death threats, bullying and intimidation isn't enough for a federation to be banned from the sport, then nothing will.

Allegations are never enough.

But failing to file the correct paperwork on time... that;s a bone-dry fact.

By the way, does anyone else but me think that the grammar of "Ice Skating Australia" sounds like "Waltzing Matilda"?

 

[CrazyKittenLady]

By the way, does anyone else but me think that the grammar of "Ice Skating Australia" sounds like "Waltzing Matilda"?

Thanks for the laugh