A group of Canadian gymnasts presented on Wednesday a lawsuit against the national federation (Gymnastics Canada) and the provincial organizations of this sport to tolerate a climate of abuse and mistreatment for decades.

“This action stems from the physical, sexual and psychological abuse of gymnasts in Canada while in the care and control of the provincial gymnastics organization in their jurisdiction and Gymnastics Canada.

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“Globally, the sport of gymnastics has come under intense scrutiny for its culture of cruelty,” plaintiffs’ attorneys pointed out, noting that “a culture of control” and “a behavior abuse have led to the creation of an environment in which abuse and mistreatment of athletes is common,” points to a copy of the document obtained by AFP.

The lawsuit was brought in the Supreme Court of British Columbia, Canada’s westernmost province, where the main plaintiff, former gymnast Amelia Cline, resides.

After giving up the sport as a teenager, Cline said he was taking legal action to “hold these institutions to account” for their abuses.

In an interview with AFP, Cline says he suffersr “Persistent long-term effects…of such abuse,” including chronic physical and psychological pain.

The lawsuit names the national gymnastics federation, as well as the federations of six of Canada’s ten provinces: British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec.

This legal action comes just over a month after a group of more than 70 gymnasts, many of whom have already left the competition, published an open letter denouncing a “Toxic culture and persistent abusive practices in Canadian gymnastics”.

The letter, which has already collected more than 400 signaturescalls on the federal government to order an independent investigation after the group responsible for the campaign Gymnasts for Change said he had “done nothing” in trying to get Gymnastics Canada to conduct an internal investigation and address his concerns.

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“All disciplines – rhythmic, acrobatic, artistic, tumbling and trampoline – are, to some extent, affected by this culture…and the mastery that coaches have developed over decades. Accounts of the discount system should to change”, stress. said group spokesperson Kim Shore.

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