The aftermath of DG's resignation - what next for the FFSG?

[okokok777]

I'm in two minds from what I've read about Pechalat's plans so far. I do think that her point about building up the other ice-sport disciplines that Didier shorted (both financially and in other ways) in order to build up figure skating is excellent and very necessary, and getting those sports on board as allies with bigger voices will help with the housecleaning project. But unless all she really expects to have to do is wind things up, not sweeping the structure clean and changing the management is a big problem, because soon enough it'll be business as usual. I know that not everyone in the FFSG management is/can possibly be corrupt and/or intentionally complicit with the abuses that have occurred - it's just statistically hugely unlikely - but unfortunately even just proximity can end up getting you tarred with the same brush in situations like these, because people make assumptions about what you knew and when you knew it, and the project of repairing the organisation might need more than a few such people to be let go along with the bad apples in the name of rebuilding trust.

On the other hand, some of the criticism I'm seeing of Pechalat putting her name forward has a kind of 'How dare the woman strike out on her own to do this, doesn't she know her job is to support the men?' undertone to it. We all know that Candeloro, for example, has long-standing grudges against Didier - very valid ones, to be sure, but it raises the question of his own motivations too. If I were a French skater right now I think I'd rather have someone who was motivated by some form of objective desire to contribute well in charge than someone whose interest might possibly drop off after they 'won' their personal fight. Peizerat I'm more inclined to trust; maybe Peizerat and Pechalat working as a team would be best...

And I think a lot of female skaters might respond positively to the idea of having a woman in charge, especially one who's tried to intervene on behalf of sexual abuse victims before. It may feel safer for them.

I think you bring up some very valid points, especially your comments on how proximity can impact image.

Pechalat is on the steering committee of Français Volants figure skating club - the same club that Gilles Beyer worked at until January of this year. She has received some criticism for a perceived lack of action against Beyer due to her connection to the club (I don't personally agree with the criticism but that's a conversation for another post). I would imagine that criticism would be amplified with scandals related to FFSG officials. Here is a machine translation of some of her comments regarding Beyer:

There were rumors, however, about Gilles Beyer ...
There are little things scattered in time, which did not predict what Sarah experienced, what other girls might have experienced. That's why at the time there was no emergency. Even if we had suspicions, who are we talking to? And how to put things right, is it heavy drag, a little bit too much in the nose, is it potentially serious, we don't know anything about it. But that's why you have to take responsibility at all levels. We can't pretend that it doesn't exist or that we are someone clean. We all on our scale may have missed things. Now that it comes out, the important thing is to become aware of it and move forward with real solutions.

Gilles Beyer was general manager of the flying French. You train and belong to the steering committee of this Parisian club ...
He was excluded on Friday, and we confirmed this exclusion Tuesday evening. We took the problem head on, we didn't want to suffocate. Although the president (Alain Beyer) is Gilles' brother. Tuesday night he said to us, "I assure you I didn't know anything."Afterwards, we trust him or not. It was a real crisis meeting, we didn't know if we should trust Alain Beyer for a few more weeks. We wondered what we would like to do to go and fetch the confidence of the licensees. And this is how we said to ourselves that Alain should not resign immediately but that we absolutely had to anticipate the elections. It will be before June, maybe end of March. And then we wanted to bring concrete solutions. We set up a listening cell to collect testimonies. "Colossus with clay feet" (prevention association) will intervene on February 26 with flying Frenchmen, first with children by age group and then in the evening with coaches, leaders, volunteers and parents who wish.

I have my own issues with Philippe (specifically his history of racist & sexist commentary) and he wouldn't be my first or second choice for FFSG president. I also think that some of his frustrations with Pechalat are tied to his own personal issues with Didier and future goals. However, in response to your comments on some of the criticism of Pechelat's campaign, I would like to add that I've heard that several members of the "resistance group" were surprised and a bit uneasy about Nathalie's candidacy - men and women, alike. Also, I think it's important to note that the candidacy was first reported by L'Equipe on February 12 and then confirmed by Pechalat through a statement to AFP later that same day - so I'm not sure if she even planned on announcing the campaign at the time that she filed all of the paperwork.

Also, while I agree that having a woman as FFSG president could have some great benefits , the first priority should be policy. Maryvonne del Torchio, the current interim president, is a woman who ardently defended Gailhaguet - I think she would be an awful choice for elected president (fortunately, she is not running). I'm waiting to hear some direct statements from Nathalie before making a final decision, but if the statements in L'Equipe are representative of her actual plans, then I would much rather have someone like Gwendal lead in the event that the FFSG is not decertified.

 

[Immortelle]

With regard to Surya Bonaly, I’m not keen on the idea of her being in a decision making position in the FFSG. However, I think it would be good to see a woman of colour or from an ethnic minority background in some role in the FFSG to help promote diversity and trust.

 

[canbelto]

Every candidate mentioned actually seems to have deep ties within the FFSG. I think that's a big problem but on the other hand it's like cleaning up USAG -- it's hard to when everyone is connected in some way.

 

[Orm Irian]

I would like to add that I've heard that several members of the "resistance group" were surprised and a bit uneasy about Nathalie's candidacy - men and women, alike.

Yes, I've heard similar comments in media stories. The criticism of Pechalat's candidacy that I've reacted badly to was more commentary across various social media platforms, especially from people who were strongly behind Candeloro and Peizerat - sorry, I should have specified that.

 

[MsZem]

I pick Surya Bonaly, Philippe Candeloro or Brian Joubert.

Joubert wants to coach and live in Poitiers. He likely has zero interest in the management of any organization and I don't think the skillset needed is in his wheelhouse. It's been mentioned that he's also had a hard time criticizing DG, though on the plus side he's also said after Gailhaguet resigned that more people needed to be dealt with in order to make things right for the athletes (paraphrasing here), so hopefully he will support any positive steps the new president takes.

Pechalat has a master's degree in management and works as a consultant and in sports media, so in terms of academic and professional background she's a good candidate. She probably doesn't need the money, and it's been mentioned that the position is not well-paid.

I think Peizerat has a similar educational background and he's run for the position before, so I am sure he has ideas and plans for the FFSG's future ready to go.

 

[sykr]

I find it super interesting to see, how everybody is so keen to support Peizerat....I mean, I always loved Gwendal. Actually, A/P are the reason I started watching figure skating, Gwendal always seemed to me like an ideal man, but... I can't help myself, but I'm extremely disappointed by the way he's acting now. When this all started, my first reaction was "wow, what an aggressive approach, Gwendal clearly feels his chances for presidency improve again"...and sadly, this feeling got confirmed and worse with time. Based on my perception of numerous tv shows, where he participated and journals, which I'm lucky enough to read in the original version, as French is actually my first foreign language, my problem is
1) for Peizerat, this is not so much about making things better or taking care of victims, this is about his hate towards Gailhaguet and personal revenge. (and kudos to that Pascal Girardot, who mentioned it) He almost never mentions Beyer or anybody else, but Gailhaguet, Gailhaguet and Gailhaguet. His declaration "everybody knew it" was extremely unfortunate. I'm not defending Didier at all, but he's right when he questions such declarations....everybody knew what exactly? And why nobody talked? Gwendal had a fabulous opportunity to use "everything he knew" in 2014 to prepare a strong project for his presidency candidature. He could talk about the protection of minors, about abuse, about how he will pick people who will work with children, about cooperation with associations and so much more...

For example here https://www.lci.fr/autres-sports/vi...eizerat-contre-didier-gailhaguet-2144536.html he says that according to the French system, the federation should be supervised by "directeur technique national" (and ministry), but he suggests "you can ask these people, it is not easy to supervise figure skating and live next to Gailhaguet".... so these "poor people" failed to do their job, but it is fine because the "horrible Gailhaguet" made their life more difficult? In this same interview, he's asked about young skaters and their parents and their confidence towards the system...he starts with "no worry, there are many great coaches" to continue in the same sentence "but all the great coaches who didn't listen to Didier's dictate have actually left our country or gave up, they're frustrated"....so what is the point? The ones who stayed are weak puppets with no moral principles? ...a great way to promote this sport...

2) Also, Gwendal mentions all the time he's not alone, he's a part of a group of people working together...so, who are these people? He screams all the time about Gailhaguet being already eliminated once, but somehow forgets that it was because of machinations which brought him his OGM. I find this a bit hypocrite...

3) here https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x7roekf , Gwendal gives a very clear reply: He will not become a candidate again. In a few days, it is "maybe", in a few more days, he's surprised Nathalie presented her candidature, as they should organize it together....

4) Gwendal attacks Brian when he has a different opinion. Gwendal shares with the public a story about Surya being a victim of assaults and aggression of her mother (her coach at that moment). https://www.gala.fr/l_actu/news_de_...lations-effarantes-de-gwendal-peizerat_442959 This happens just after Surya publishes her support message for Gailhaguet. And I doubt he had her agreement to share it. Gwendal mentions in L'Obs (printed version of 13/02) that "Gailhaguet made Marina (Anissina) believe she owes him their OGM". Marina clearly doesn't wish to participate in all of this and didn't support either side. Yet, Gwendal shares these stories, as if he wanted to make any other opinion less valuable.

5) Gwendal was already in politics and I think it shows a lot. Very often, he tells something, than changes it a bit to fit his purpose more, he's switching the topic just to repeat again and again how Gaihaguet is horrible and how everybody is suffering. I remember reading his program in 2014 (or at least what was published on his facebook). Sadly, as his big fan, I was not convinced at all. It was all about "let's be happy and friends and support each other...blablabla" Very nice, but nothing specific, no solutions....just political speech.

I'm sorry for the very long post, I just wanted to share my thoughts, as I think the unconditional support for Gwendal here is based on a lack of information. All in all, I would love for the future president somebody, who will be completely neutral....not a figure skater, not a well know person. I don't even want to make Gwendal look bad. He's not a bad guy. Maybe, he even has the best intentions. But he's way too much engaged for somebody, who doesn't even coach, choreograph or skate for many years and sadly, the ways he's using are not "ideal".

 

[okokok777]

I find it super interesting to see, how everybody is so keen to support Peizerat....I mean, I always loved Gwendal. Actually, A/P are the reason I started watching figure skating, Gwendal always seemed to me like an ideal man, but... I can't help myself, but I'm extremely disappointed by the way he's acting now. When this all started, my first reaction was "wow, what an aggressive approach, Gwendal clearly feels his chances for presidency improve again"...and sadly, this feeling got confirmed and worse with time. Based on my perception of numerous tv shows, where he participated and journals, which I'm lucky enough to read in the original version, as French is actually my first foreign language, my problem is

1) for Peizerat, this is not so much about making things better or taking care of victims, this is about his hate towards Gailhaguet and personal revenge. (and kudos to that Pascal Girardot, who mentioned it) He almost never mentions Beyer or anybody else, but Gailhaguet, Gailhaguet and Gailhaguet. His declaration "everybody knew it" was extremely unfortunate. I'm not defending Didier at all, but he's right when he questions such declarations....everybody knew what exactly? And why nobody talked? Gwendal had a fabulous opportunity to use "everything he knew" in 2014 to prepare a strong project for his presidency candidature. He could talk about the protection of minors, about abuse, about how he will pick people who will work with children, about cooperation with associations and so much more...

For example here https://www.lci.fr/autres-sports/vi...eizerat-contre-didier-gailhaguet-2144536.html he says that according to the French system, the federation should be supervised by "directeur technique national" (and ministry), but he suggests "you can ask these people, it is not easy to supervise figure skating and live next to Gailhaguet".... so these "poor people" failed to do their job, but it is fine because the "horrible Gailhaguet" made their life more difficult? In this same interview, he's asked about young skaters and their parents and their confidence towards the system...he starts with "no worry, there are many great coaches" to continue in the same sentence "but all the great coaches who didn't listen to Didier's dictate have actually left our country or gave up, they're frustrated"....so what is the point? The ones who stayed are weak puppets with no moral principles? ...a great way to promote this sport...

2) Also, Gwendal mentions all the time he's not alone, he's a part of a group of people working together...so, who are these people? He screams all the time about Gailhaguet being already eliminated once, but somehow forgets that it was because of machinations which brought him his OGM. I find this a bit hypocrite...

3) here https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x7roekf , Gwendal gives a very clear reply: He will not become a candidate again. In a few days, it is "maybe", in a few more days, he's surprised Nathalie presented her candidature, as they should organize it together....

4) Gwendal attacks Brian when he has a different opinion. Gwendal shares with the public a story about Surya being a victim of assaults and aggression of her mother (her coach at that moment). https://www.gala.fr/l_actu/news_de_...lations-effarantes-de-gwendal-peizerat_442959 This happens just after Surya publishes her support message for Gailhaguet. And I doubt he had her agreement to share it. Gwendal mentions in L'Obs (printed version of 13/02) that "Gailhaguet made Marina (Anissina) believe she owes him their OGM". Marina clearly doesn't wish to participate in all of this and didn't support either side. Yet, Gwendal shares these stories, as if he wanted to make any other opinion less valuable.

5) Gwendal was already in politics and I think it shows a lot. Very often, he tells something, than changes it a bit to fit his purpose more, he's switching the topic just to repeat again and again how Gaihaguet is horrible and how everybody is suffering. I remember reading his program in 2014 (or at least what was published on his facebook). Sadly, as his big fan, I was not convinced at all. It was all about "let's be happy and friends and support each other...blablabla" Very nice, but nothing specific, no solutions....just political speech.

I'm sorry for the very long post, I just wanted to share my thoughts, as I think the unconditional support for Gwendal here is based on a lack of information. All in all, I would love for the future president somebody, who will be completely neutral....not a figure skater, not a well know person. I don't even want to make Gwendal look bad. He's not a bad guy. Maybe, he even has the best intentions. But he's way too much engaged for somebody, who doesn't even coach, choreograph or skate for many years and sadly, the ways he's using are not "ideal".

I think you bring up some very interesting points - my personal responses to each are:

1. Gwendal has mentioned Beyer - specifically how Beyer's deviance was common knowledge and how Gailhaguet undermined the decision of the then-Minister of sports to reinstate Beyer:

Sarah Abitbol explains in her book, Un si long silence , having been raped by her trainer, Gilles Beyer, when she was a teenager. Guest of RTL, the skater Gwendal Peizerat confides: " We were all aware of the deviant side of Gilles Beyer. Even the minister Marie-George Buffet had removed him from the technical frameworks because of complaints turned against him."

According to Gwendal Peizerat, "this decision by Marie-George Buffet, Didier Gailhaguet (the current president of the French Ice Sports Federation, editor's note) overruled and brought Gilles Beyer back into the federation's management."

Source: RTL

He also talked about Beyer's relationship to Gailhaguet in an interview with franceinfo:

franceinfo: Could Didier Gailhaguet not know what was going on in his federation?

Gwendal Peizerat: Didier Gailhaguet is omnipotent in the federation. Everything goes through him. He knows everything. Didn't he know it went as far as rape? Possible! Now he knew that Gilles Beyer had very questionable attitudes towards girls and young girls, since this same Gilles Beyer, who had been a national executive, had been struck off by Minister Marie-George Buffet who had urged that the federation separates from Gilles and especially that it is no longer in contact with young people because of its predatory side. Didier Gailhague brought Gilles Beyer back to this executive, and even appointed him responsible for the tour of the France team. So with us, on buses, in hotels, for more than a month, almost behind closed doors, in absolute proximity. In 2011, Gilles Beyer was even "team leader" of the junior team which left for South Korea for the Junior World Championships.

Is there a form of complicity on the part of Didier Gailhaguet?

What is certain is that he did not prevent these acts. They are very, very close with Gilles Beyer. They have always been very close. He's a friend. He always put it in his business.

In regards to the "everybody knew it" statement - it reminds me of how people talk about Richard Callaghan in the US figure skating community. Saying "a lot of us knew" would be more accurate, however, I think it's important to remember that Peizerat was competing internationally (i.e. deeply involved in figure skating) at the same time that Beyer was removed from his position as technical adviser in 2001 following an investigation by the Ministry. Most, if not all, of the major competitors at the time knew about the investigation & decision.

2. I'm pretty sure that he was talking about the resistance group. It's also important to know that the investigation and massive media reveal of sexual abuse in figure skating has been going on for a while - according to my sources, Pechalat and Peizerat were heavily involved in that process.

Also, I completely disagree that Peizerat's statements are inherently "hypocritical" because Didier cheated on his behalf. Let's say that I'm a senior applying to college. My parents, unbeknowst to me, end up cheating to get me into school. I later find out and I'm furious. Would I be a hypocrite because they "helped" me against my wishes? The decision to cheat was Didier's - A/P just so happened to be the team with the best chance for a gold medal.

3. IIRC Peizerat said that he wouldn't be a candidate and then stated that he wouldn't run for president in the next election since it would be useless without a massive overhaul. He's been publicly pushing for decertification and a complete overhaul of the FFSG. As I stated earlier, Pechalat's campaign to be president of the organization that they're trying to defund & overhaul confused everyone in the group - because it doesn't really seem to fit with the original goal.

4. I don't actually have a big problem with Peizerat's criticism of Joubert (Source). I was also disappointed by Joubert's defense of Gailhaguet & it felt a bit political to me. I also don't think his sharing of the story about Marina is particularly problematic since he shared the aforementioned OGM with her.

I agree with your comments on Bonaly, however. Survivors of abuse have the choice to share their story whenever and wherever they please - even if that choice is to never share it. I think he should have just given a generic comment and stated that he and his peers witnessed parental abuse at the rinks and not named a specific person. IMHO sharing that type of information about Bonaly was very problematic.

5. I agree that he's very political. Generally, anyone running for a position like NGB president is very political LOL

6. I agree that having someone removed from figure skating would be ideal - which is why, once again, I'm a huge proponent of decertification and transferring control to the French National Olympic Committee. However, if the Ministry of Sports decides against decertification, then the election will occur & with the current makeup of the FFSG, it will probably be someone who is well-known and connected to figure skating.

 

[PRlady]

I'm very grateful to all of you with insights (and understanding of French language and federation politics) for educating the rest of us, please keep us updated.

I have no idea what I think of Nathalie's candidacy other than that the optics of having a woman CEO under these circumstances are good.

 

[kwanfan1818]

And I doubt he had her agreement to share it. Gwendal mentions in L'Obs (printed version of 13/02) that "Gailhaguet made Marina (Anissina) believe she owes him their OGM". Marina clearly doesn't wish to participate in all of this and didn't support either side. Yet, Gwendal shares these stories, as if he wanted to make any other opinion less valuable.

If he didn't have permission to share information about Bonaly, or specific victims, how was he supposed to take a

fabulous opportunity to use "everything he knew" in 2014 to prepare a strong project for his presidency candidature.

 

[Eleanor2]

Well, I'm not sure Péchalat would make a great president. She seems quite arriviste and I'm not sure she has a great project for the federation. If anything, the ideas she puts on the table are exactly what you expect to hear. Not sure how she managed to prepare a serious candidacy in such a short time....Sounds very populist.
Peizerat, on the other hand, ran against DG. He had to prepare a serious program for the fed in order to dethrone the old man. Despite the current scandal, he probably has ideas on how to run the federation. Nathalie sounds short term while Peizerat is probably long term.
Besides, I am sure Gwendal has a network he could use to raise money and help develop FS.

I'll also add that I read the list of victims. I could not believe it. Decades of suffering and silence. I hope these coaches rot in hell (and in prison before would be ideal). They used their position of power and the proximity with the athletes to abuse them. Truly disgusting, despicable pieces of turd. I read today that there are testimonies emerging against ski coaches. I hope we will take this opportunity to go after all these dangerous and sickening individuals and enable today's kids to be safe. We must not back down or move on to the next scandal medias will find to sell.

 

[PRlady]

On the theory that misery loves company, news for the French people here. The US Boy Scouts declared bankruptcy today after thousands of now-grown men sued them because of sexual abuse by scoutmasters. This is our largest national youth organization. For shame.

 

[millyskate]

I find it super interesting to see, how everybody is so keen to support Peizerat....

I'm sorry for the very long post, I just wanted to share my thoughts, as I think the unconditional support for Gwendal here is based on a lack of information. All in all, I would love for the future president somebody, who will be completely neutral....not a figure skater, not a well know person. I don't even want to make Gwendal look bad. He's not a bad guy. Maybe, he even has the best intentions. But he's way too much engaged for somebody, who doesn't even coach, choreograph or skate for many years and sadly, the ways he's using are not "ideal".

I totally agree. I don't think Gwendal is a bad person but the way he has handled the crisis in the aftermath of Sarah's book has left many feeling uncomfortable.
I find it quite ironic that it's Nathalie who is being accused of opportunism in the circumstances.

I may be wrong but my feeling is Gwendal was angling for president, then when he and Candeloro realised they were after the same job they knew they wouldn't be able to compete against each other so tried to create a committee that couldn't lose. I don't think either has the skills for the job.

Nathalie is not perfect but she is organised, less prone to making emotional statements and taking rash decisions than either Candeloro or Peizerat, and fully capable of leading. It's democracy - she probably spent 3 minutes in that "committee", thought it was going nowhere and knew deep inside she could do better. So went solo.
She also has been trying to convince the FFSG to do work with a sexual abuse prevention charity for a number of years. That alone indicates that her interest in trying to help is the opposite of opportunist.

I also wish it could be someone external, but in light of the symbolic compensation for the position, it's not going to attract quality candidates.

 

[kwanfan1818]

I don't think they need a skater or a skating insider. It's hard to imagine that the Sports Minister doesn't have some chits to call in, and that she couldn't find a young and ambitious person who would be amply rewarded after cleaning house and setting a new course, especially if she gave them a big enough cudgel. The only reason you'd need an insider is to finesse the politics of the status quo at the clubs.

This isn't rocket science, and there aren't that many plots to training. Skating isn't so precious that superb administrative and management skills aren't applicable.

If I had to choose anyone to ride shotgun, I'd hire the former Paris Opera Ballet dancer who was Benjamin Millepied's admin during the five minutes he was in charge of the Company. She rocked.

 

[millyskate]

I don't think they need a skater or a skating insider. It's hard to imagine that the Sports Minister doesn't have some chits to call in, and that she couldn't find a young and ambitious person who would be amply rewarded after cleaning house and setting a new course, especially if she gave them a big enough cudgel. The only reason you'd need an insider is to finesse the politics of the status quo at the clubs.

This isn't rocket science, and there aren't that many plots to training. Skating isn't so precious that superb administrative and management skills aren't applicable.

If I had to choose anyone to ride shotgun, I'd hire the former Paris Opera Ballet dancer who was Benjamin Millepied's admin during the five minutes he was in charge of the Company. She rocked.

@kwanfan1818 I don't know if you saw earlier in the thread, but this position is barely paid. Based on reports from last year's general assembly, it seems likely that the take home pay for the president of the FFSG is around 2000 euros a month.
The only reason that a person would apply is that they feel incredibly passionately about figure skating. Federations are completely independent from the sports ministry, the leaders are elected by the members - the sports ministry can't appoint a budget for the position.

 

[sykr]

If he didn't have permission to share information about Bonaly, or specific victims, how was he supposed to take a

Well, of course, what I mean was not personal, unpublished stories of individual skaters. I was talking about "everybody knew it" facts, which were officially investigated, such as Beyer's case and then Gailhaguet bringing Gilles Beyer back to this executive,... You can make a strong program just based on this - how will you choose your executive? How will you determine who will accompany minors to the competitions (Beyer to JWC in 2011,...), but also which associations you will work with? How will you support the clubs, which educative programs will be used,... ? You don't even have to mention people by their names, if "everybody knew it", it would be easy to associate the proposed improvements with the specific people and situations.

 

[sykr]

Thank you very much for your reply as well. It is great to discuss with somebody with good knowledge of this sad, complicated topic

I think you bring up some very interesting points - my personal responses to each are:

1. Gwendal has mentioned Beyer - specifically how Beyer's deviance was common knowledge and how Gailhaguet undermined the decision of the then-Minister of sports to reinstate Beyer:
Source: RTL
He also talked about Beyer's relationship to Gailhaguet in an interview with franceinfo:

In regards to the "everybody knew it" statement - it reminds me of how people talk about Richard Callaghan in the US figure skating community. Saying "a lot of us knew" would be more accurate, however, I think it's important to remember that Peizerat was competing internationally (i.e. deeply involved in figure skating) at the same time that Beyer was removed from his position as technical adviser in 2001 following an investigation by the Ministry. Most, if not all, of the major competitors at the time knew about the investigation & decision.

Of course, Gwendal mentions Beyer from time to time. My impression (based on his many interviews) was his main interest was not this situation in itself, but using this situation as a reason to get rid of Gailhaguet. At least this is how it felt to me and I feel it is somehow inappropriate, first of all towards the victims. Also, I really don't get why Gwendal didn't use all these facts during the elections in 2014.

2. I'm pretty sure that he was talking about the resistance group. It's also important to know that the investigation and massive media reveal of sexual abuse in figure skating has been going on for a while - according to my sources, Pechalat and Peizerat were heavily involved in that process.

First of all, it is great if Gwendal and Nathalie both contribute to revealing sexual abuse cases. And yes, I also understand he's talking about this "resistance group". I'm just genuinely interested, who is part of it. The only people we heard about are Peizerat, Candeloro and Pechalat...

Also, I completely disagree that Peizerat's statements are inherently "hypocritical" because Didier cheated on his behalf. Let's say that I'm a senior applying to college. My parents, unbeknowst to me, end up cheating to get me into school. I later find out and I'm furious. Would I be a hypocrite because they "helped" me against my wishes? The decision to cheat was Didier's - A/P just so happened to be the team with the best chance for a gold medal.

To continue your example...no, you're not hypocrite because they helped you, but in such a case, you probably keep it quiet... 1) You probably won't continue going to this same school, screaming in the corridors "my parents cheated to get me here" 2) If you use this argument over and over, you might imply your title is not very clean? 3) in that case you might wish not to be associated with this title?...
Btw., just to be clear, I absolutely agree A/P deserved to win in SLC. And if Marina is gratefull to Gailhaguet for this win? You know what, I think she's much more realistic than Gwendal. We all probably know figure skating (and ice dancing in particular) is not only about sport. This is sad, this is unfair, but this is the reality. And if Gwendal thinks he would win in SLC without any support...well, if he somehow becomes president, he can try to apply this with P/C. It is going to be very interesting

3. IIRC Peizerat said that he wouldn't be a candidate and then stated that he wouldn't run for president in the next election since it would be useless without a massive overhaul. He's been publicly pushing for decertification and a complete overhaul of the FFSG. As I stated earlier, Pechalat's campaign to be president of the organization that they're trying to defund & overhaul confused everyone in the group - because it doesn't really seem to fit with the original goal.

This is something I also don't get from Gwendal. If you're elected as a president, then it is your choice who will be part of your team. Either you keep the same people or you pick different ones. I don't understand why he should need this overhaul from some official higher instance.

4. I don't actually have a big problem with Peizerat's criticism of Joubert (Source). I was also disappointed by Joubert's defense of Gailhaguet & it felt a bit political to me. I also don't think his sharing of the story about Marina is particularly problematic since he shared the aforementioned OGM with her.

I agree with your comments on Bonaly, however. Survivors of abuse have the choice to share their story whenever and wherever they please - even if that choice is to never share it. I think he should have just given a generic comment and stated that he and his peers witnessed parental abuse at the rinks and not named a specific person. IMHO sharing that type of information about Bonaly was very problematic.

To me, the most interesting was the timing (right after Surya published that Instagram post and after Marina actually liked it) and the fact he wasn't actually asked about these ladies or any related question. He just shared these stories. I don't think it was a coincidence, but I may be wrong as well.

5. I agree that he's very political. Generally, anyone running for a position like NGB president is very political LOL

6. I agree that having someone removed from figure skating would be ideal - which is why, once again, I'm a huge proponent of decertification and transferring control to the French National Olympic Committee. However, if the Ministry of Sports decides against decertification, then the election will occur & with the current makeup of the FFSG, it will probably be someone who is well-known and connected to figure skating.

 

[VarBar]

I wouldn't be surprised to hear that Nathalie has the endorsement of Gailhaguet to be the next FFSG president. Since Nathalie plans to retain all the federation officials, she is perfect for the position at stake.

Funny how some label Gwendal an opportunist but view Nathalie as the most disinterested person in the world.

 

[MsZem]

I don't actually have a big problem with Peizerat's criticism of Joubert (Source). I was also disappointed by Joubert's defense of Gailhaguet & it felt a bit political to me.

The the comments from Joubert that I paraphrased in an earlier post appear here, among other places. I'm not crazy about his support for Gailhaguet, but he's not wrong that there are people who did worse and problems that still need to be dealt with.

I wouldn't be surprised to hear that Nathalie has the endorsement of Gailhaguet to be the next FFSG president. Since Nathalie plans to retain all the federation officials, she is perfect for the position at stake.

Again: has anyone actually heard Pechalat say this, or express this intention in writing? All the coverage I've seen has attributed this plan to her but I've seen nothing from her directly.

 

[VarBar]

I admit I am not very familiar with the French media. Should I suspect l'Equipe of putting words into Nathalie's mouth? Then why do we read those articles at all?

But if she did say that, I can fully understand her. You can't antagonize the entire System and then expect them to vote for you. It would be plain stupid if you ask me.

 

[MsZem]

I admit I am not very familiar with the French media. Should I suspect l'Equipe of putting words into Nathalie's mouth? Then why do we read those articles at all?

L'Equipe is a credible source. They also didn't claim that they were quoting Pechalat directly, so I'm curious as to the source of the information. There are a lot of people and agendas involved in this matter.

 

[Alli84]

Again: has anyone actually heard Pechalat say this, or express this intention in writing? All the coverage I've seen has attributed this plan to her but I've seen nothing from her directly.

But didn't that article come out several days ago? If it weren't true, she would have denied it by now.

 

[kwanfan1818]

@kwanfan1818 I don't know if you saw earlier in the thread, but this position is barely paid. Based on reports from last year's general assembly, it seems likely that the take home pay for the president of the FFSG is around 2000 euros a month.
The only reason that a person would apply is that they feel incredibly passionately about figure skating. Federations are completely independent from the sports ministry, the leaders are elected by the members - the sports ministry can't appoint a budget for the position.

I did read that, several times. That is why I said that someone young and ambitious for whom this would be a relatively short stepping stone, having internal, well-placed support and connections for their next job.

I don't know enough about funding in France to know if the government would subsidize the position temporarily, under the guise of (re) building a new one, or if the NOC would, especially if the FFSG was de-certified and the athletes fell in their lap until there was a solution.

Well, of course, what I mean was not personal, unpublished stories of individual skaters. I was talking about "everybody knew it" facts, which were officially investigated, such as Beyer's case and then Gailhaguet bringing Gilles Beyer back to this executive,... You can make a strong program just based on this - how will you choose your executive? How will you determine who will accompany minors to the competitions (Beyer to JWC in 2011,...), but also which associations you will work with? How will you support the clubs, which educative programs will be used,... ? You don't even have to mention people by their names, if "everybody knew it", it would be easy to associate the proposed improvements with the specific people and situations.

Have we seen this from any candidate? Is there some reason only he doesn't meet your standard?

Until now, when he spoke, he was just seen as beating a dead horse against insurmountable obstacles. He also is part of a committee, and committees usually are working for some kind of platform consensus.

As I posted earlier, I don't think they should have to choose from anyone connected with figure skating. I don't think anyone mentioned is a particularly good choice.

 

[millyskate]

Right. I do like the idea of an external candidate but the fact it’s an election does somewhat limit that prospect. I suspect that the skating clubs would be unlikely to choose someone they don’t know.

 

[kwanfan1818]

This would require a clean-up where FFSG is decertified, and the skating clubs don't get to choose. I think after a lot of strong talk, the federation is going to be allowed to continue with a few public sacrifices and some extra lipstick.

 

[millyskate]

This would require a clean-up where FFSG is decertified, and the skating clubs don't get to choose. I think after a lot of strong talk, the federation is going to be allowed to continue with a few public sacrifices and some extra lipstick.

If my understanding of French law is correct, what would happen if the FFSG was decertified would be that clubs would be allowed to form a new federation which could after some time request accreditation as the national federation from the ministry of sport.
I don't think there's any provision for a scenario where a federation has a hired or appointed leader, or any involvement from government.

However, if there's an interim period where there is no federation, the ministry of sport or olympic committee could substitute itself in nominating skaters for international assignments.
Maybe @Nmsis or @MarieM understand this better than me.

 

[attyfan]

Would the minister lose the option of de-certification by allowing the Federation a chance to clean its own house? If not, it may be smart for the minister to allow an elected person to try ... and decertify later, if the minister thinks the steps are insufficient.

 

[okokok777]

Thank you as well, @sykr ! Like you said, it's a very complicated situation.

Of course, Gwendal mentions Beyer from time to time. My impression (based on his many interviews) was his main interest was not this situation in itself, but using this situation as a reason to get rid of Gailhaguet. At least this is how it felt to me and I feel it is somehow inappropriate, first of all towards the victims. Also, I really don't get why Gwendal didn't use all these facts during the elections in 2014.

Gwendal's first priority seemed to be to push for Didier's resignation and now to push towards decertification/an overhaul of the system. Here's my take on it: the most effective way to help survivors is to remove Didier & his supporters and then to completely rework the system. So he is "using" the survivor's stories to achieve the aforementioned goal which may in turn create a system to protect athletes.

First of all, it is great if Gwendal and Nathalie both contribute to revealing sexual abuse cases. And yes, I also understand he's talking about this "resistance group". I'm just genuinely interested, who is part of it. The only people we heard about are Peizerat, Candeloro and Pechalat...

Sarah Abitbol is also part of the group according to L'Equipe. There are other members in the group that I've heard of but I'm guessing that weren't named publicly for a reason.

To continue your example...no, you're not hypocrite because they helped you, but in such a case, you probably keep it quiet... 1) You probably won't continue going to this same school, screaming in the corridors "my parents cheated to get me here" 2) If you use this argument over and over, you might imply your title is not very clean? 3) in that case you might wish not to be associated with this title?...
Btw., just to be clear, I absolutely agree A/P deserved to win in SLC. And if Marina is gratefull to Gailhaguet for this win? You know what, I think she's much more realistic than Gwendal. We all probably know figure skating (and ice dancing in particular) is not only about sport. This is sad, this is unfair, but this is the reality. And if Gwendal thinks he would win in SLC without any support...well, if he somehow becomes president, he can try to apply this with P/C. It is going to be very interesting

1. I'm a bit confused by this comparison. Is "going to the same school" being compared to being involved in skating? Running to be the president of the federation? I don't think it would be fair to respond without understanding what you mean LOL

2 and 3. I think it's out of (understandable) frustration. Yes, politicking is very real in figure skating. But there is a big difference between "plausible deniability" cases and a proven case of cheating. His gold medal will be forever tied to this scandal - even though there is a pretty good chance that he & his partner could have won without this type of blatant cheating. That was out of no fault of his own. He and Marina are two different people who have the right to have different reactions - I understand them both.

This is something I also don't get from Gwendal. If you're elected as a president, then it is your choice who will be part of your team. Either you keep the same people or you pick different ones. I don't understand why he should need this overhaul from some official higher instance.

It's a bit more complicated than that.

There are three main branches within the FFSG: the President, the Executive Bureau and the Federal Council. The Federal Council has the ability to end the mandate of the President and the Executive Bureau by a two-thirds majority vote of its members. In this scenario, or in the scenario where the President resigns prior to the end of their term, a General Meeting is convened to elect a new President of the FFSG and a new Federal Council. The President of the FFSG nominates potential members of the Executive Bureau and the Federal Council has to elect them through simple majority (Source: Internal Rules of the FFSG)

In other words, the President doesn't just have a choice of who they work with. They can nominate people that they want to work with, but it's down to the Federal Council to approve of those choices through an election.

 

[Impromptu]

Surya Bonaly lives in Las Vegas in the US. I'm pretty sure she doesn't want to move back to France in order to take on this headache.

Actually, Surya lives in Minneapolis and coaches at a couple of rinks.... but otherwise, yes, your point remains.

 

[okokok777]

L'Obs has just released a new article titled "EXCLUSIVE: Sarah Abitbol, Philippe Candeloro and Gwendal Peizerat challenge Nathalie Péchalat on her candidacy"

EXCLUSIF. Sarah Abitbol, Philippe Candeloro et Gwendal Peizerat interpellent Nathalie Péchalat sur sa candidature

Un collectif d’une quinzaine de sportifs réagit à la candidature en solo de Nathalie Péchalat à la fédération des sports de glace. Dans un communiqué, ils n’excluent pas de proposer une candidature alternative s’ils n’obtiennent pas des garanties sur un grand ménage à la fédération.

www.nouvelobs.com

Here is a machine translation of part of the article:

In this press release, these athletes "athletes, coaches, licensees and volunteers" recall having "formed a collective dedicated to the creation of a new model for the French Federation of Ice Sports" with the objective of "putting an end to the abuse of power , to violence in all its forms and to make disappear the reign of silence and fear ”.

The solitary approach of Nathalie Péchalat, who is also a member of the steering committee of the "Flying Frenchmen", the skating club of which the alleged rapist Gilles Beyer was a member, surprises the collective:

“We want this press release to make our voice heard, for the sake of clarity and transparency for the campaign for the presidency of the FFSG. We take note of the candidacy of our fellow athlete Nathalie Péchalat. The latter did not wish to join our think tank, and we regret it. She preferred to present herself individually. We are convinced that ice sports cannot suffer an ego fight. Our fight is that of ideas not that of power. "
The sportspeople who sign this press release hope that Nathalie Péchalat has "taken full measure of the demands [of the Ministry of Sports], in particular that of carrying out the fight against all forms of psychological, physical and / or sexual violence against a licensee (e) of the federation, whether he / she is practicing, athlete, volunteer, official (s) or employee (s) within it.

One way to express their doubts about a minimum cleaning within the federation? The collective does not go that far. For the time being, they declare that " they do not propose any candidacy against Nathalie Péchalat to date, without excluding the possibility of doing so later".

I'm interested to see how this story continues to develop. The Ministry of Sports should be releasing their decision about decertification shortly.

First of all, it is great if Gwendal and Nathalie both contribute to revealing sexual abuse cases. And yes, I also understand he's talking about this "resistance group". I'm just genuinely interested, who is part of it. The only people we heard about are Peizerat, Candeloro and Pechalat...

According to the new article, the signatories on the press release (i.e. the "resistance group") are:

Sarah Abitbol
Laurent Boch
Fabienne Brec
Philippe Candeloro
Isabelle Delobel
Vanessa Gusméroli
Stanick Jeannette
Matthieu Jost
Lesa Mayes-Stringer
Gwendal Peizerat
Vivien Rolland
Olivier Schoenfelder
Jean-Christophe Simond
Bruno Thomas

 

[okokok777]

Le Parisien has released another article about the collective's reaction to Pechalat's candidacy.

Patinage : pourquoi la candidature de Péchalat crispe Candeloro ou Abitbol

Un collectif d’une quinzaine de sportifs a publié un communiqué pour critiquer l’initiative de l’ancienne patineuse, candidate à la présiden

www.leparisien.fr

Here is a machine translation of the reaction of certain members of the aforementioned resistance group (a group of 14 former athletes):

In private, part of the collective fears the presence in the shadow of Didier Gailhaguet...."He may be behind her or behind the people who support her, they slip in, without forgetting to recall that Nathalie Péchalat was on the board of directors of the Club des Français Volants, where Gilles Beyer - accused of rape by Abitbol - was general delegate at the beginning of the year. Or just use her influence to spoil any attempt at change and come back as a saviour for the next election in two years' time."

Here is a machine translation of information regarding Nathalie Pechalat's plans:

According to a source close to Nathalie Péchalat, who will speak on Saturday, it is assured that there is no contact between the former skater and Gailhaguet. The former partner of Fabian Bourzat, who would not look unfavourably on another bid to boost the campaign, has plans to bring new faces into the FFSG decision-makers. But without throwing the entire old team out of the game.

The final lines of the article is a quote from Gwendal Peizerat:

"An extraordinary general assembly is needed to change the statutes of the FFSG," says Peizerat." And to get rid of all the people who have plunged our sport into this slump."

If I'm reading this correctly, Nathalie will be speaking publicly on Saturday. TBH I share the same concerns as members of the resistance group and I really hope that the Ministry chooses to decertify. With that said, I'm looking forward to listening to her responses & plans for the futures.

Note: *Specifically, my concern is that Nathalie's candidacy wouldn't really change anything & that she's being supported/pushed by people who support Didier . I don't think that she's colluding with Didier directly.