Allegations of abuse in Australian figure skating and related issues

[Sylvia]

Creating a GSD thread separate from the Australian & New Zealand skating news thread (ETA that the 5/14/24 ESPN article on Brendan Kerry is linked/initially discussed in the SafeSport Suspensions thread here):

Another article has been published in a Brisbane paper. This guy [Julian Linden] is on a vendetta. The headline is appalling. I managed to get behind the paywall.

https://www.couriermail.com.au/spor.../cebf6347fcf2181c65be34711cbbc570#share-tools

The article begins: "Police in at least three states have received formal written complaints about alleged misbehaviour of senior ice skating coaches and officials that is being covered up by adults wielding all the power."

I was able to read the entire article by clicking on the link in this post: https://x.com/cmail_sport/status/1796644608958661059

 

[MacMadame]

@Aussie Willy: authors of articles do not pick their own headlines. Editors do that.

 

[Aussie Willy]

@Aussie Willy: authors of articles do not pick their own headlines. Editors do that.

There have been a few articles by that same journalist. It is a News Corp publication.

Regardless of the headlines, there are issues with how the reports are being written and the type of language being used.

 

[MacMadame]

So horrible things are happening to young skaters and your complaint is over what language is used to describe it. My complaint is that something that could be a positive experience for young people is being used to hurt them.

 

[Karen-W]

So horrible things are happening to young skaters and your complaint is over what language is used to describe it. My complaint is that something that could be a positive experience for young people is being used to hurt them.

Precisely. But some people would rather criticize the message and kill the messenger instead of confronting the actual problem which is the abusive behavior happening in the first place.

 

[her grace]

From the article linked from Twitter in @Sylvia’s post: skater Haylee Lucock reports emotional abuse, inappropriate touching, and lewd texts. She’s very brave for going on the record.

“I feel like if they had maybe stood up and done something, it wouldn’t have happened to all of these other girls in a row, and it wouldn’t have happened to me. So I’m trying to stop it from happening to more girls because it’s not right.”

 

[Aussie Willy]

So horrible things are happening to young skaters and your complaint is over what language is used to describe it. My complaint is that something that could be a positive experience for young people is being used to hurt them.

I have no problem with it being reported as a story of interest. But just state the facts. There have been inaccuracies with the reporting which concerns me. Putting a slant like this

adults wielding all the power.

is making a judgement value.

I pretty much know all the people involved or have access to those involved, including victims, coaches, officials and anyone else. But I want to see it reported fairly from all sides.

You are more than welcome to message me and ask me questions about what is going on. But I have also reported as much as I am able to in the other SafeSport thread about what is going on.

 

[Karen-W]

I have no problem with it being reported as a story of interest. But just state the facts. There have been inaccuracies with the reporting which concerns me. Putting a slant like this

adults wielding all the power.

is making a judgement value.

No, it is not. There is no judgment in stating the relationship power balance. Do you really believe that the students/minors wield power over the adults?

I'm sure many of us could share stories of situations where we've seen kids embellish stories to get someone else (peer or teacher/coach/adviser/chaperone) in trouble but that is fairly uncommon. There is almost always something unhealthy in the adult's behavior that triggers chatter or actual reports of abuse amongst the kids. And, sadly, more often than not, we adults tend to try to downplay and dismiss those concerns. We don't want to believe the worst of our own peers, we don't want to deal with the fallout of removing that other adult from the group (for a variety of reasons - could create extra work for the rest of us, may affect us socially or personally, etc). I've seen this happen myself, more times than I care to count, and, much as it pains me, the adults in charge DO wield all or most of the power in most aspects.

I pretty much know all the people involved or have access to those involved, including victims, coaches, officials and anyone else. But I want to see it reported fairly from all sides.

Been there, done that. You may not realize it in this moment (or maybe ever, though I hope with some time, distance and perspective you will) but right now, you're falling into the classic trap of circling the wagons and protecting people you know. It's hard to resist the temptation to not make waves or make things more difficult for the accused - you interact with these people frequently and will be iced out if you're perceived to not be a team player in dealing with this mess and the fallout - and everyone not accused really just wants this to all go away because it's a massive threat to something all of you are very passionate about.

You are more than welcome to message me and ask me questions about what is going on. But I have also reported as much as I am able to in the other SafeSport thread about what is going on.

Well, you have me blocked so you wouldn't see my DMs but I wouldn't send you one asking for details anyway because you've made it clear in this thread and in the other one that you are far from impartial. You have a stake in the outcome and, clearly, part of your "job" as an ISA team player is to minimize the fallout and manage the public perception.

 

[MacMadame]

Well, you have me blocked so you wouldn't see my DMs but I wouldn't send you one asking for details anyway because you've made it clear in this thread and in the other one that you are far from impartial. You have a stake in the outcome and, clearly, part of your "job" as an ISA team player is to minimize the fallout and manage the public perception.

Word.

We know that these things happen in skating. We know that TPTB tries to minimize them and cover them up. I have no sympathy for them and I believe every one of the victims in these cases.

 

[Tangoer]

So brave for the skaters who have gone on the record! Hopefully this helps bring change.

Edited typo

 

[kwanfan1818]

We know that TPTB tries to minimize them and cover them up.

We also know that TPTB use every method to stall and manipulate, exploit, and effectively neutralize people who want to enable positive change.

 

[Mezzy09]

I think the worst part of the Kerry issue is that he was also a coach in the US.

Anyone know if he has challenged the ban?

Apparently his mum and step dad are coaching at another rink now.

 

[Aussie Willy]

No, it is not. There is no judgment in stating the relationship power balance. Do you really believe that the students/minors wield power over the adults?

I'm sure many of us could share stories of situations where we've seen kids embellish stories to get someone else (peer or teacher/coach/adviser/chaperone) in trouble but that is fairly uncommon. There is almost always something unhealthy in the adult's behavior that triggers chatter or actual reports of abuse amongst the kids. And, sadly, more often than not, we adults tend to try to downplay and dismiss those concerns. We don't want to believe the worst of our own peers, we don't want to deal with the fallout of removing that other adult from the group (for a variety of reasons - could create extra work for the rest of us, may affect us socially or personally, etc). I've seen this happen myself, more times than I care to count, and, much as it pains me, the adults in charge DO wield all or most of the power in most aspects.

Been there, done that. You may not realize it in this moment (or maybe ever, though I hope with some time, distance and perspective you will) but right now, you're falling into the classic trap of circling the wagons and protecting people you know. It's hard to resist the temptation to not make waves or make things more difficult for the accused - you interact with these people frequently and will be iced out if you're perceived to not be a team player in dealing with this mess and the fallout - and everyone not accused really just wants this to all go away because it's a massive threat to something all of you are very passionate about.

Well, you have me blocked so you wouldn't see my DMs but I wouldn't send you one asking for details anyway because you've made it clear in this thread and in the other one that you are far from impartial. You have a stake in the outcome and, clearly, part of your "job" as an ISA team player is to minimize the fallout and manage the public perception.

I decided to read this post because it is in a thread about Australian skating. Yes I have you on ignore because you make things very personal, not just to me but others. But you also make a bunch of assumptions and conclusions in your post which I should address. And it was exactly the kind of thing that at the back of my mind someone was going to eventually raise because of association. Not because you actually know anything about the actual situations but just perception. And funny how some people perceive impartiality as a problem in these situations.

All I have commented on is the way it has been reported and the media outlet this stuff is coming from, nothing more, nothing less. I have not made comments about any individual cases because it is not appropriate for me to do that, whether they be victims or perpetrators. I also understand about the processes involved here in cases and that there is more going on being dealt with than you would ever know. Maybe read about what I reported from the ISA AGM. Anyone involved has to be very careful. I can tell you the rumour mill is flying around Australia and most people by now have been able to figure out those involved.

Yep I can have personal opinions about situations but it is absolutely not appropriate to comment and cast a judgement one way or another. Particularly on social media and forums like this. But heaven help I choose to be impartial when it comes to commenting on an international forum because maybe that is not just morally but legally what I should do.

I sit in my little bubble in the southern most part of Australia without even a local rink. I am pretty much an outlier and there are many like myself who do our jobs and are not even aware of all this stuff going on until it blows up or we get the gossip when we come together at skating comps or meetings. We hear the information third hand and not directly involved. So how does that then lead to the conclusion that somehow we all fall into the same pot and have a degree of culpability by association?

 

[Willin]

I'm not going to be one of the people piling on @Aussie Willy on this.

While reporting on cases like this is very important, it's often without nuance. These days reporting on negative events is less about finding the truth and more about ragebait.

I saw multiple of these stories shared on reddit with the post titled something about the downfall of Australian Figure Skating. In response to these articles people jump on the hate train and talk about how awful all of Australian Figure Skating is and yada yada yada. And yet, so often, there are a lot of dedicated athletes, officials, and volunteers that are not involved in the situation but get hurt by the blowback anyways. Plenty would've been happy to report if they knew, but they didn't. They would call for change if they knew. But they didn't. Many feel very not empowered for fear of retaliation - as far as I know Australia doesn't have a SafeSport to protect whistleblowers within a sport.

I think the best articles have been Christine Brennan's. They tend to focus on specifics of situations and individuals involved (Mitch Moyer reporting Brendan Kerry for Gracie, that one nepobaby defending John Coughlin getting hired at HQ, etc) for a more focused attack on what exactly is going right and wrong - not simply piling on them. Okay, sure, if it was Nassar like, but we know these cases of abuse are unfortunately prevalent in kids activities. So let's focus on the specifics: are these cases independent - just unfortunate cases of the abuse we frequently hear about in kids activities? Are there people in the organization impeding the investigations - intimidation, retaliation, etc? Is this a case of those at the top protecting their own at the cost of others? Is there no system or protocol in place to stop this sort of thing?

Whatever it is, I'd like to hear the details of why we should be calling for Australian Figure Skating to die when all I've heard so far is allegations I've heard many times over in many settings. And a lot of the time it isn't some conspiracy but rather incompetence, lack of ability to deal with this sort of thing, or ignorance of the situation. With how I've seen Australia's figure skating set up, I could definitely believe this was less cover up (at least in most cases) and more just a mostly volunteer organization in way over its head.

USFS is trying to make the appearance of a change - and while there's still problematic people there, they have made attempts to do a better job. SafeSport in general is working to stop this sort of thing in the US. Even for much larger and worse scandals, it's not like things haven't been fixed by removing the problems: we've seen USAG make a huge change simply by removing the problematic people at the top and empowering the dedicated but less problematic people lower down the food chain.

So do things need to be changed? For sure. No one can deny that. But do I think this is the type of death worthy extraordinarily exceptional incident the papers are making it out to be? No. This is a widespread issue youth sporting, arts, service, etc. organizations all over the world are facing, and many are struggling with it.

 

[Aussie Willy]

I'm not going to be one of the people piling on @Aussie Willy on this.

While reporting on cases like this is very important, it's often without nuance. These days reporting on negative events is less about finding the truth and more about ragebait.

I saw multiple of these stories shared on reddit with the post titled something about the downfall of Australian Figure Skating. In response to these articles people jump on the hate train and talk about how awful all of Australian Figure Skating is and yada yada yada. And yet, so often, there are a lot of dedicated athletes, officials, and volunteers that are not involved in the situation but get hurt by the blowback anyways. Plenty would've been happy to report if they knew, but they didn't. They would call for change if they knew. But they didn't. Many feel very not empowered for fear of retaliation - as far as I know Australia doesn't have a SafeSport to protect whistleblowers within a sport.

I think the best articles have been Christine Brennan's. They tend to focus on specifics of situations and individuals involved (Mitch Moyer reporting Brendan Kerry for Gracie, that one nepobaby defending John Coughlin getting hired at HQ, etc) for a more focused attack on what exactly is going right and wrong - not simply piling on them. Okay, sure, if it was Nassar like, but we know these cases of abuse are unfortunately prevalent in kids activities. So let's focus on the specifics: are these cases independent - just unfortunate cases of the abuse we frequently hear about in kids activities? Are there people in the organization impeding the investigations - intimidation, retaliation, etc? Is this a case of those at the top protecting their own at the cost of others? Is there no system or protocol in place to stop this sort of thing?

Whatever it is, I'd like to hear the details of why we should be calling for Australian Figure Skating to die when all I've heard so far is allegations I've heard many times over in many settings. And a lot of the time it isn't some conspiracy but rather incompetence, lack of ability to deal with this sort of thing, or ignorance of the situation. With how I've seen Australia's figure skating set up, I could definitely believe this was less cover up (at least in most cases) and more just a mostly volunteer organization in way over its head.

USFS is trying to make the appearance of a change - and while there's still problematic people there, they have made attempts to do a better job. SafeSport in general is working to stop this sort of thing in the US. Even for much larger and worse scandals, it's not like things haven't been fixed by removing the problems: we've seen USAG make a huge change simply by removing the problematic people at the top and empowering the dedicated but less problematic people lower down the food chain.

So do things need to be changed? For sure. No one can deny that. But do I think this is the type of death worthy extraordinarily exceptional incident the papers are making it out to be? No. This is a widespread issue youth sporting, arts, service, etc. organizations all over the world are facing, and many are struggling with it.

Thank you for your post. You explain it so much better than I could and have made some excellent points.

There are so many issues why we have problems that you could write a thesis on them.

 

[overedge]

So let's focus on the specifics: are these cases independent - just unfortunate cases of the abuse we frequently hear about in kids activities? Are there people in the organization impeding the investigations - intimidation, retaliation, etc? Is this a case of those at the top protecting their own at the cost of others? Is there no system or protocol in place to stop this sort of thing?

Whatever it is, I'd like to hear the details of why we should be calling for Australian Figure Skating to die when all I've heard so far is allegations I've heard many times over in many settings. And a lot of the time it isn't some conspiracy but rather incompetence, lack of ability to deal with this sort of thing, or ignorance of the situation. With how I've seen Australia's figure skating set up, I could definitely believe this was less cover up (at least in most cases) and more just a mostly volunteer organization in way over its head.

This is an aspect of systematic abuse in sport that doesn't get a lot of attention - but should. So many sport organizations rely on volunteers at most levels, and IME the responsibilities assigned to volunteers have increased over the years. For example, executive/boards at a lot of sports clubs now have to be familiar with SafeSport or its equivalent, and administer how complaints are dealt with at the club level. More awareness of abuse is something that should have happened a long time ago, but adding oversight of that to the work of running the club, its events, and its operations is another layer of responsibility that usually gets put onto volunteers.

Too many sports, and skating is one of them, rely on volunteers to administer very important functions, such as HR and sport safety. Some volunteers have work experience or other experience with this kind of administration, and some learn through doing it (hopefully without making too many mistakes along the way), but many don't, and it's a huge learning curve. I don't know what the solution is, but I honestly do wonder how much longer sport organizations can expect volunteers to take on increasing amounts of work and increasingly more sensitive work.

 

[Karen-W]

This is an aspect of systematic abuse in sport that doesn't get a lot of attention - but should. So many sport organizations rely on volunteers at most levels, and IME the responsibilities assigned to volunteers have increased over the years. For example, executive/boards at a lot of sports clubs now have to be familiar with SafeSport or its equivalent, and administer how complaints are dealt with at the club level. More awareness of abuse is something that should have happened a long time ago, but adding oversight of that to the work of running the club, its events, and its operations is another layer of responsibility that usually gets put onto volunteers.

Too many sports, and skating is one of them, rely on volunteers to administer very important functions, such as HR and sport safety. Some volunteers have work experience or other experience with this kind of administration, and some learn through doing it (hopefully without making too many mistakes along the way), but many don't, and it's a huge learning curve. I don't know what the solution is, but I honestly do wonder how much longer sport organizations can expect volunteers to take on increasing amounts of work and increasingly more sensitive work.

I think the same is true not just of sports organizations (though they're obviously the most high-profile) but also for places of worship/religious organizations and various youth groups (the Masonic youth groups with which I'm most familiar are entirely volunteer-run, but at the local level the same is true for scouting groups, 4-H, and, I suspect, the dance/pageant scene).

 

[Aussie Willy]

This is an aspect of systematic abuse in sport that doesn't get a lot of attention - but should. So many sport organizations rely on volunteers at most levels, and IME the responsibilities assigned to volunteers have increased over the years. For example, executive/boards at a lot of sports clubs now have to be familiar with SafeSport or its equivalent, and administer how complaints are dealt with at the club level. More awareness of abuse is something that should have happened a long time ago, but adding oversight of that to the work of running the club, its events, and its operations is another layer of responsibility that usually gets put onto volunteers.

Too many sports, and skating is one of them, rely on volunteers to administer very important functions, such as HR and sport safety. Some volunteers have work experience or other experience with this kind of administration, and some learn through doing it (hopefully without making too many mistakes along the way), but many don't, and it's a huge learning curve. I don't know what the solution is, but I honestly do wonder how much longer sport organizations can expect volunteers to take on increasing amounts of work and increasingly more sensitive work.

Totally agree. Volunteer run organisations while having the best intentions are usually overwhelmed with the amount of work they have to do. And that is just dealing with the day to day administration. Having situations like these types of cases arising adds another level of workload and pressure because as Overedge suggest these are very sensitive situations.

In Australia there are certain professions that require those employed to be mandatory reporters of child abuse.

Mandatory reporting of child abuse and neglect

Information about who is required by law to report suspected child abuse and neglect to government child protection authorities

aifs.gov.au

I have asked the question about volunteers. They do not have a mandatory reporting requirement in their roles (that is generally in all associations). There are the requirements that those volunteering in any capacity have working with children cards (like a police check) and it is something that I have been involved with in administering in the past.

 

[Theatregirl1122]

I think the same is true not just of sports organizations (though they're obviously the most high-profile) but also for places of worship/religious organizations and various youth groups (the Masonic youth groups with which I'm most familiar are entirely volunteer-run, but at the local level the same is true for scouting groups, 4-H, and, I suspect, the dance/pageant scene).

It’s true for robotics as well.

 

[Mezzy09]

I think parents are also part of the problem, a lot may be aware of the poor behaviour or abuse by the coaches but while their child is still skating they choose to ignore it as they have aspirations for their child to reach the dizzy heights in skating and don’t want anything to stand in the way.

I have noted a couple of parents of former skaters now complaining loudly (on social media and in the media) about issues ranging from drunk coaches, mixed gender rooms at comps, coaches abusing and or touching skaters etc.

Why did the parents not report it when they saw it? As someone involved at local level these issues are rarely reported. Minors rely on their parents to do the right thing by them and i believe some parents are really letting their kids down.

The way the media is spinning it now, are local clubs etc meant to be mind readers. You can’t investigate what you don’t know.

 

[parkence]

I think parents are also part of the problem, a lot may be aware of the poor behaviour or abuse by the coaches but while their child is still skating they choose to ignore it as they have aspirations for their child to reach the dizzy heights in skating and don’t want anything to stand in the way.

I have noted a couple of parents of former skaters now complaining loudly (on social media and in the media) about issues ranging from drunk coaches, mixed gender rooms at comps, coaches abusing and or touching skaters etc.

Why did the parents not report it when they saw it? As someone involved at local level these issues are rarely reported. Minors rely on their parents to do the right thing by them and i believe some parents are really letting their kids down.

The way the media is spinning it now, are local clubs etc meant to be mind readers. You can’t investigate what you don’t know.

I both agree and disagree with this. I've definitely seen things where parents should have made reports, but I think that writing it off as parents not wanting anything to stand in their child's way is a somewhat unfair over-simplification. You learn pretty quickly as a parent that if your coach can't (or won't) solve the problem, no-one else will. This might happen through trying to escalate small things and having them swept under the carpet, or hearing what happened when someone else tried to make a report, or even just becoming aware of the alliances and concentrations of power. In my case it was watching other coaches look on in horror and then turn their backs and skate away as my child was being verbally abused by their coach (who held a position of influence and had a powerful network). In that moment they showed us that no-one would have our back. We left the sport.

While these issues may appear to be rarely reported, it doesn't mean they aren't happening. What it does mean is that skaters are either suffering through them, or they are leaving the sport, and that they don't trust the local clubs etc to do the right thing by them. It would be a terribly sad outcome if the sports' administrators were to take the perspective that "if it isn't being reported it isn't happening". I think instead it would be worth reflecting on why people are turning to social media instead of making official reports, and what can be done to make people more confident to make an official complaint.

That being said, there are definitely parents who are a part of the problem and are effectively abusers themselves. They also are enabled by a system that doesn't do enough to safeguard skaters. We ideally should have systems that allow us to report all abuse witnessed in the sport.

Also, in the spirit of fairness, while I'm no fan of the Murdoch press its difficult for them to report "fairly" when ISA isn't making any comment to them. By staying silent they are creating a void for speculation about why this is. Actually explaining the volunteer nature of the sport and the pressure of everything they are grappling with may be a more constructive way to handle the issue than refusing to say anything and looking like they are trying to protect themselves.

 

[PRlady]

I’ll only address the last part above.

Reporters are people, curious and ambitious people. Stonewalling them is going to have predictable results, especially if your fellows are leaking unauthorised information. Media handling isn’t for amateurs either and all-volunteer orgs are going to be at a disadvantage unless they have someone experienced at media relations around.

 

[Trillian]

Also, in the spirit of fairness, while I'm no fan of the Murdoch press it’s difficult for them to report "fairly" when ISA isn't making any comment to them. By staying silent they are creating a void for speculation about why this is. Actually explaining the volunteer nature of the sport and the pressure of everything they are grappling with may be a more constructive way to handle the issue than refusing to say anything and looking like they are trying to protect themselves.

IMO the biggest problem with these articles is that they are poorly written and use the kind of language, structure, and clickbait headlines that many people associate with tabloid journalism. This is not a pop singer’s feud or a Kardashian’s fifth divorce, and reporting on this issue as though it is entertainment for the masses is insulting to the seriousness of it. I’m guessing this is part of what @Aussie Willy was trying to convey.

The media absolutely needs to report on this story appropriately, including challenging the narrative put forth by the organizations. (I wouldn’t generally consider speculation to be part of responsible journalism, though.) They can play a valuable role in that sense. Aside from raising awareness, though, I’m not sure how much value the Murdoch articles are adding to the conversation. It would be nice to see some in-depth research and real reporting.

 

[Coco]

Group lessons would help improve soooooooooo many problematic situations.

 

[gkelly]

Group lessons would help improve soooooooooo many problematic situations.

Unless it's Russian-style group lessons?

 

[Coco]

Unless it's Russian-style group lessons?

I don't want to derail the thread, but I assume by Russian you mean with a verbally abusive coach who requires daily weigh-ins? Sadly, those issues aren't limited to Russia.

My point is simply that group lessons 1) tend to be cheaper, 2) teach skaters how to compete / attract skaters who like to compete, 3) lessen the volume of private 1:1 conversations/interactions and 4) change the dynamic between coach and pupil.

I'm sure they bring their own problems, like parents being more aware of their child's competition and perhaps trying to sabotage them. But I do think at the youth level, they might improve the dynamic between coach and skater.

 

[MacMadame]

I both agree and disagree with this. I've definitely seen things where parents should have made reports, but I think that writing it off as parents not wanting anything to stand in their child's way is a somewhat unfair over-simplification. You learn pretty quickly as a parent that if your coach can't (or won't) solve the problem, no-one else will.

There are other issues too. Many times there are rumors at the rink. Do you make a SafeSport report or call CPS based on rumors? Even if you see stuff, it's not always 100% clear what is going on.

And, yes, some parents only care about results and will turn a blind eye to just about anything.

 

[overedge]

IME some skating organizations don't do a great job of training volunteers at their clubs, especially in legally-regulated areas like HR. Literally anyone can be elected onto a board with no experience whatsoever in the function they're responsible for.

It would be sensible for the parent organization to at least offer an "Introduction to [area]" course or seminar, and make it mandatory for board members to take that training as soon as they are elected. But when so many boards are struggling just to get people to fill positions on the board, that might also discourage people for running for a board position - not because they don't want to take the training, but that they don't have the time to do it. So that would create another set of problems.

 

[Aussie Willy]

IME some skating organizations don't do a great job of training volunteers at their clubs, especially in legally-regulated areas like HR. Literally anyone can be elected onto a board with no experience whatsoever in the function they're responsible for.

It would be sensible for the parent organization to at least offer an "Introduction to [area]" course or seminar, and make it mandatory for board members to take that training as soon as they are elected. But when so many boards are struggling just to get people to fill positions on the board, that might also discourage people for running for a board position - not because they don't want to take the training, but that they don't have the time to do it. So that would create another set of problems.

Over the last couple of years myself and others have been mentoring a new association who have started from the ground up but have also had their fair share of dramas. Thankfully we can guide them through processes but also point them in the right direction of who else can help them. They have been given support and help and they know they are not alone. Really it saves the reinventing the wheel because everything they need to do has already been done by others.

However I don't know many times over the years I have seen people take on positions on committees because they get asked. You may tell someone that you have done a basic bookkeeping course and the next moment you are Treasurer (which was the start of my skating committee journey). Or people become President because there is no-one else to do it and they need the position filled.

Then there are the individuals who make up committees. I have seen some committees that work incredibly well together (like my current association here in my state). But I have seen control freaks or dominants create such a toxic environment that the committee is doomed to failure. You either have a mutiny or everyone leaves.

And the other issue that happens is a committee get burnt out and fed up and they resign en masse. So a group get together to take on the roles to try and get things back on track. They have no training and all of a sudden they are dealing with a bunch of issues they are not trained to handle and they don't know where to turn to.

There are so many variables that it is impossible to predict how successful or not a committee will be.

 

[Sylvia]

"Sport Integrity Australia (SIA) boss David Sharpe has confirmed that the national agency will deploy one of its top integrity managers to Ice Skating Australia (ISA) following a flood of complaints..." - I'm able to read Julian Linden's latest article (June 4) by clicking on the link in this post: https://x.com/cmail_sport/status/1797877391156711929
Excerpts:

Sharpe said some brave whistleblowers had started directly reaching out to SIA, which in part prompted the federal agency to intervene because it wasn’t able to act on the allegations it read in the press.
“I can confirm we have received a small number of complaints,” Sharpe said.
“However, the extent of media coverage does not match the number of complaints received.
“We are concerned about the issues raised in the media and we will work with the sport to ensure an appropriate response to protect the safety of all participants.
“Any complaint reaching a criminal threshold will immediately be referred to the relevant law enforcement or child protection agencies.”

SIA’s involvement is a massive game changer for the many skating participants who have been pleading for help because they were frightened of going public because they might face repercussions.
SIA said it had offered a confidential reporting system in which people could speak up and know they wouldn’t ever be identified.
Unable to comment on any of the specific allegations, Sharpe said SIA would work with the national skating body to understand the issues and provide advice and guidance on how to manage complaints, and criminal matters would be forwarded to police.
A former cop himself, Sharpe did confirm that SIA had requested more information from the US Centre for SafeSport after it banned Australia’s triple Olympic figure skater Brendan Kerry for life in the US for sexual misconduct involving a minor.
“However, we have been advised that US legislation prevents the sharing of information surrounding the case,” SIA said.
“As this matter is subject to appeal, it is inappropriate to comment at this time.”

More articles on this topic that I can open (at least the first time):

By Carla Jaeger, sports reporter at The Age:

Sport Integrity Australia intervenes in ice skating scandal

Sport Integrity Australia has appointed its own integrity officer to the peak body for ice skating to oversee a spate of complaints plaguing the sport.

www.smh.com.au

By Zachary Grant, the Olympic and Paralympic Games Reporter for Channel 9's Wide World of Sports:

Spotlight on Australian ice skating after 'concerning' claims

After Olympian's blacklisting

www.nine.com.au

Reuters: https://www.reuters.com/sports/australia-watchdog-receives-complaints-about-isa-2024-06-04/