Casi di abuso verso le ginnaste

"Le ultime due settimane sono state per me montagne russe di emozioni. Con #gymnastalliance in tutte le notizie e sui social media non ho potuto ignorare come mi ha fatto sentire e come l'ascolto delle storie di altre persone abbia iniziato a far emergere le mie esperienze passate.

Adoro la ginnastica ritmica. Lo sport ha il mio cuore e lo avrà per sempre. Ma da quando ho fatto una denuncia a BG (British Gymnastics) l'anno scorso, mi sono trovata in una posizione peggiore e temevo che parlare di nuovo avrebbe davvero posto fine alla mia carriera.

Sto con ogni singola ginnasta, di ogni disciplina, che è stata abbastanza coraggiosa da condividere le sue esperienze e ho sentito, nonostante le mie paure, che avrei dovuto fare lo stesso. Ho avuto così tanto sostegno da parte di familiari, amici e psicologi per arrivare a questo punto e tutto ciò che chiedo è di essere trattata in modo equo e di godermi la ginnastica senza paura.

La cultura della paura è reale ed è stata una decisione incredibilmente difficile mettere in luce la mia storia, ma so che è la cosa giusta da fare. Esorto qualsiasi ginnasta che abbia paura a dire la propria verità a cercare aiuto, NSPCC ha aperto una linea telefonica con cui puoi telefonare e parlare. Non sei sola ♥ ️"

Globo addressed the wide-ranging cultural problems in rhythmic gymnastics in Brazil in a very long, interactive feature (complete with a TV report). Twenty-seven former national team gymnasts (2000-2016) spoke about their experiences to Globo, seven came forward as named in the report.

‼️TW: eating disorders, abuse, self-harm, suicide‼️

Amongst others, Angélica Kvieczynski, Clarisse dos Santos, Nathane Garcia, Natália Eidt and Ana Alencar outlined their struggle with eating disorders, self-harm, depression, psychological problems and how an abusive culture corroborated to that.

The accounts of the gymnasts (especially Angélica Kvieczynski's, who was open about her mental health struggles earlier are really harrowing - proceed with care, if not in a good headspace!

Globo talked to a psychologist and a dietetian as well, as reaching out for the Brazilian Gymnastics Federation (CBG) for comment. CBG replied that cases of abuse did not come to the attention of the federation then. The federation underlined: they have set up an ethics and integrity committee and conducted wide-ranging changes in the last quad. Gymnasts get psychologist, physiotherapist and medical supervision, daily weight control is skipped.

REPORT: Fonte


The weight of beauty
Former athletes from the Brazilian rhythmic gymnastics team report a history of moral abuse, excess weight control and a culture of eating disorders

By Gabriela Moreira, Lorena Dillon and Marcos Guerra - Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo
12/20/2020

I felt like crap, and in my head I needed to die in pain. So I took all the anticoagulants that were left over from my thrombosis treatment. This is the first time that I'm talking. And then I was going to cut my fists. Angelica Kvieczynski
A sport that delights for the beauty of the movements. Each gesture performed by the gymnast mesmerizes by the lightness and delicacy. Rhythmic gymnastics is an easily passionate sport, so it attracts thousands of girls around the world. What many do not know is the painful routine to reach such "lightness" so admired by those who least imagine the backstage of this exclusively female sport.

REPORTS IN THE LAST MONTHS
In recent months, gymnasts from several countries such as Switzerland, England, Australia, the United States and New Zealand have reported cases of moral and psychological abuse experienced throughout their careers. A sport culture that impresses with the amount of scary and common testimonials in different territories.

In Brazil, a post on social media published in August by a former athlete of rhythmic gymnastics encouraged the exchange of experiences lived by other girls in the high performance environment. Among the messages published, without identifying who was willing to talk about the subject, said that they were always seen as "fat" by the techniques, even weighing up to 29 kilos, quoted one of them. They were forbidden to drink water because it could weigh on the scale. They were reduced because of their weight and monitored by what they ate. One of the reports said: "I have already spent 4 days without eating only water-based after the technique says that because of my weight I would never be enough for the sport or anything".

The publication encouraged the Sports Spectacular team to seek athletes and former athletes of rhythmic gymnastics to hear about their experiences. Twenty-seven girls who were under the command of the Brazilian team between the 2000s until the Rio 2016 Olympic cycle were heard. Seven of them agreed to speak revealing their identities.

EATING DISORDERS, DEPRESSION AND PSYCHOLOGICAL PROBLEMS
The reports are a cry of attention for the physical and mental health of several girls who, dreaming of reaching the highest point of their career, the Brazilian team, suffered harsh consequences. The high demand to be in the "standard" required by techniques has led to eating disorders, depression and psychological problems.

I felt it when I joined the Brazilian team, in 2007. That's when I started to understand this greater pressure, the desperation for the balance, to be weighed every day, you cannot increase 100 grams overnight. What are 100 grams? It's a little glass of water. I started to be afraid to eat near the coach. Even though it's healthy, a plate of salad, I was afraid, I was very afraid.
The phrase comes from Angélica Kvieczynski, one of the main gymnasts in the country in the last decade, the first Brazilian to win a medal in the general individual and the only one with four medals in the same edition of the Pan American Games. Angélica's memories during the selection period are similar to those of others.

- I had to try to circumvent everything to do, to lose weight. Until I reached the limit of just having juice all day to try to lose weight because I didn't know what to do - Clarisse dos Santos, individual athlete for the selection between 2002 and 2006.


- I never had a problem with weight in the selection. On the contrary, they used me to pressure girls. "Why is she thin and you are not?", "Why is her arm defined and you are not?" And it hurt me, because it was like the girls needed to feel bad because I was at the weight - Nathane Garcia, athlete of the team selection in 2009.

- I would wake up and then I would run, jump rope, I would spend the whole Sunday doing activity to lose weight and, in that desperation, I would spit, spit on the floor to eliminate, fill me with plastic, turn on the bathroom shower and leave the bathroom all stuffy, and then I stuffed myself with plastic and kept jumping in the bathroom to sweat. I thought: "my God when I'm going to have a Sunday" .... - Natália Eidt, member of the group selection from 2000 to 2004.

- Everyone pretended it didn't happen. The gymnast arrived dehydrated for training, pretending it didn't happen. I couldn't drink water. We were going to weigh, there was a gymnast who, like me, was practically naked. He took off shorts, took off a T-shirt, took off everything that could weigh one gram more, because he knew that if he had put on 100 grams, it would be punishment - Ana Alencar, athlete of the team in 2009.


SELECTION ABUSE REPORTS
With daily training between 6 and 8 hours, weight control is part of the sport's routine, mainly to avoid injuries. However, the exaggeration in charging thin girls was even noticed by the technique Silvia Sacramento, from Bahia, who has already had contact with the work done in the selection.

- When the girls arrived at the gym, they even removed the hair clip. They went to the bathroom to do their needs so that it would not get into the weight scale - he said in an interview with Esporte Espetacular.

Rhythmic gymnastics debuted at the Olympic Games in Los Angeles, 1984. Since the beginning, dominance has been almost complete in Russia and neighboring countries, which account for 37 of the 45 medals distributed in the sport until today. From Sydney, in 2000, all the golds, both individually and as a whole, went to the Russians. It is there that other countries seek inspiration and methods of preparation.

The myth of perfection, inspired by the successful model of Russian and Eastern European gymnasts, brought a reference that does not match the body of Brazilian women, with lower statures and wider hips. However, success has always been in this region of the world. And following this model has led athletes to take drastic measures, under the eyes of coaches.

I even took two packs of six pills. Twelve pills a day of laxative. I spent the night like this with colic from fainting, giving me sweating, I passed out in the toilet seated. The coaches knew. I had no way of not knowing. The athletes passed a series and ran to the bathroom. We were full of dark circles, a purple mouth, trembling, we didn't drink water - detailed Angélica.
Taking laxatives, excessively controlling weight and listening to insults were part of the routine of athletes in different periods of the selection. The memories brought by these girls were lived in environments under the responsibility of the technical committee of the Brazilian Gymnastics Confederation between 2000 and 2017. In 11 of the 17 years portrayed in the report, CBG was under the command of Luciene Resende, who is still president of the entity. Elected for the first time in 2008, the leader was the vice of the previous administration, of Vicélia Florenzano.

Although the report had access to two letters, sent to leaders of the confederation during this period, the president, through legal advisor Paulo Schmitt, denies that the complaints have come to the attention of the presidency.

One of the letters was sent in 2013 to the national team coordinator, Cristina Vital. In it, an athlete who asked for the report not to be identified, complained about the “humiliating” treatment she received from her technique and warned that she was giving up the selection.

Cristina left the team two years later. According to CBG, this message never reached the direction.

Complaints reported by several girls bring insults such as "donkey", "dumb", "fat cow", "incompetent" by coaches. The demand for techniques was accompanied by moral and psychological abuse.

There were girls who had just been selected, in a selective, more than sixty girls, then you get there and you hear “you are the worst in the country”, “you are not going to get anywhere”, “you are not going to the Olympics ”. So, what did you want from us? This has no reason, you know? It is not doing this to demand a good performance. It’s to humiliate, I don’t know, it’s a pleasure to make people feel bad, but there I was a child, I was a teenager, I was 16, today when I look, I see it like that, but at the time fault. What am I doing here? I shouldn't be here - revealed a gymnast from the 2009 team.
For Kátia Rubio, specialist in sport psychology, the naturalization of authoritarian behavior happened with the invasion of a culture of the modality of countries with cold characteristics.

- When you have an invasion of a culture of modality that comes from a country or countries that have this cold, distant, authoritarian characteristic, this imposes itself as something technical and not just as a cultural fact. So, when you start to have Brazilians who are going to do training in these centers where this type of cultural pattern prevails, they return to Brazil thinking that that is to be a good coach. So you have to curse, you have to humiliate, you have to impose yourself as the maximum and unquestionable authority in that specific environment. And it becomes natural. Then the generations begin to succeed, and that previous culture is established as the determining factor, and no one questions it, because it has become natural.

The constant pressures experienced by Angélica almost led her to commit suicide, but fortunately she was saved by the love of her younger sister. Other athletes also commented that they had experienced depression.

I felt like crap, and in my head I needed to die in pain. So I took all the anticoagulants that were left over from my thrombosis treatment. This is the first time that I'm talking. And then I was going to cut my fists. The idea was for me to go into the bathroom and cut my fists. Only I didn't manage to get my little sister to come to the room to take a picture with me. I would never see her again if I cut my fists. He is the person I loved most in my life.

In most cases, athletes preferred not to report abuse to parents out of fear.

WHAT CBG SAYS
In response to the Spectacular Sport, the legal consultant of the Brazilian Gymnastics Confederation Paulo Schmitt said that "cases of this type never came to the attention of the entity, not least because the ethics and integrity committees were created recently". He also stressed that "CBG has no commitment to its mistakes, and if it happened, the entity will not spend anything on it." Finally, Schmitt recalled that CBG implemented a large integrity program with booklets, courses and lectures with clubs and federations to encourage complaints.

- Probably, without knowing details, it is important to say this, without knowing the details of what is being revealed, each speech, at what time, what circumstance, probably, errors must have existed and we apologize for our limitations, but it is kind of general in sports organizations it is not a "privilege" to say so from CBG - argued Schmitt.

In a letter sent to TV Globo, signed by the president of CBG, Luciene Resende, the entity states that "it has a total interest in investigating any facts or circumstances that may characterize a violation of ethical conduct, crime or infraction. And we maintain a rigorous and permanent Program of Integrity precisely to combat harassment, abuse, doping, manipulation, prejudice, fraud or any form of violence. "

According to CBG, the selection currently includes psychologists, physiotherapists, doctors. A total of 17 professionals. And that since 2015 the entity has a partnership with the Federal University of Sergipe to assist with nutritionists.

According to nutritionist Renata Rebello Mendes, today athletes do not undergo daily weight control and have adequate nutrition. The professional assumed direct contact with the gymnasts, effectively, after the Rio Olympics.

- It doesn't make sense to be weighing several times a day, so much so that, today, we took the scale out of the training center. The athletes who are currently with us, since I started this partnership, the university and CBG, they are not prohibited from consuming water, they are not prohibited from eating fruit, quite the contrary, they are encouraged - he concluded.

Gymnast Claudia Jaimez, a former member of the national rhythmic gymnastics team, has denounced on Radio MARCA's microphones the denigrating treatment that she, aged 15, and her partner Carla Vilasánchez (16 years old) have allegedly received from a coach in the CAR of León. According to Claudia, in training "we received insults such as bollicao, marzipan ... And beyond possible problems with weight they also called us useless, they told us we were worthless, they are going to throw you out of the national team , you're worse than little girls ... ".
The gymnast assures that Alejandra Quereda, national coach, was aware of what was happening. "But she never came to our defense," explains Claudia, already a former member of the national team. "A person from the technical staff called my mother and told her that I was out of the team. She came home, told me, and told me that she was going to try to call me Alejandra. She did it and told me that there were no more scholarships and that he had not met the objectives, objectives that to this day I still don't know what they are. "
They told us that we were worthless, that they were going to kick us out of the national team, you are worse than little girls ... ".
Claudia Jaimez, gymnast

The gymnasts, minors, have reported the case together with their parents in the Higher Sports Council. "They answered us that they would put a camera with a microphone in the rooms of the CAR in León. That they felt what had happened to me." About her colleagues, Claudia assures that "there are some who have this normalized situation because you get used to insults and you understand that it is something normal, even necessary to reach the most something. It is an elite sport and there are demands, you are not going to play and they have to demand of us, we know that. But that is one thing and the insults and the lack are another. of respect. And others do not tell it because they believe that it is their only means to reach the top because it is up to these people that they can reach the top ".
When you're inside, you don't say anything because you normalize it or because you know that if you do, they'll kick you out "
Claudia jaimez

The Spanish Gymnastics Federation has not wanted to make statements to the colleagues of Radio MARCA about this complaint. "This is not because I was fired from the team. When you are inside, you do not say anything because you normalize it or because you know that if you count it, they will fire you. But over the years, something like that ends up hurting a gymnast they can be treated badly, regardless of whether they are better or worse gymnasts. "

" We want to show our absolute rejection and rejection of the events and attacks described in the videos published on Instagram and in their interventions in the media reiterating or expanding said defamations. The insults, falsehoods and humiliating treatment that are being imputed to ur coaches and the technical team are completely false, "says the statement signed by the coach of the Spanish team and the Ritmo Club Ruth Fernández, head of the junior national team; Nuria Castaño, technical director of the Castilla y León Technification Center, and by a lawyer who represents them: "We demand an immediate rectification of the insults and attack against honor and image, the withdrawal of all videos from social networks, as well as a public apology with the same means and level of dissemination as the vexations", the statement continues.
The insults, the falsehoods and the humiliating treatment that is being imputed to our coaches and the technical team, are flatly false "
Ruth Fernández - Nuria Castaño