Latest news with #athleteSafety
Washington Post
03-07-2025
- Sport
- Washington Post
Clemson fired gymnastics coach following athletes' complaints, emails show
After a review of its gymnastics program following complaints, Clemson fired coach Amy Smith this spring for failing to ensure the safe and responsible treatment of athletes, according to documents obtained by The Washington Post. In April, just after Clemson's gymnastics team finished its season, a university employee informed athletic department staff members that an anonymous hotline had received a 'complaint regarding possible emotional/mental abuse within the gymnastics team,' according to a copy of the email obtained through a public records request. The details of the report were redacted.
BBC News
03-07-2025
- Climate
- BBC News
Carsington Water triathlon cancelled due to water levels
A triathlon set to take place at a reservoir in Derbyshire has been cancelled due to the water levels being lower than normal following "prolonged hot weather".The event on 13 July would have seen participants swim, cycle and run a course at Carsington Water, near Severn Trent and Pacesetter Events have called it off, claiming the water levels are "dropping quickly", leaving thick mud and weeds along the Marshall, visitor engagement manager at Severn Trent, said: "We are disappointed to have to make this decision, but the safety and experience of participants is paramount." According to the latest data from Severn Trent, Carsington Water is 80.8% full, compared to 96.4% at this time last year. 'An exceptional year' Pacesetter, which said cancelling the triathlon was the "right thing to do for athlete safety and experience", claimed the region had just 39% of its usual rainfall between March and added: "Looking at the current water levels and predicting what this might be like by the event day we feel like the event would be unpleasant at best and potentially dangerous at worst, therefore this extremely difficult decision has had to be made."Over the past 30 years the triathlon and swim event would have been able to run at this time of year as water levels have been typically good, unfortunately this year is an exceptional year and levels are dropping quickly."Pacesetter said anyone signed up to take part in the triathlon would be able to get a full refund, defer entry for next year's event or choose credit against a new event Marshall said watersports and sailing activities would still be able to run at the site as normal and reminded visitors they should only swim in "reservoirs as part of a properly organised and safely held event".She added: "We fully intend to host events again next year when we hope for more favourable conditions."At the end of May, England's reservoirs were at their lowest combined levels for the time of year in records going back more than 30 levels in the North East and North West were exceptionally low - an important factor for drought being declared in Yorkshire and the North also rained less than normal across almost all of the UK between March and May, the UK's sixth driest spring since records began in 1836.
Associated Press
30-06-2025
- Sport
- Associated Press
SafeSport annual report outlines progress in wide-ranging changes that went into play last year
DENVER (AP) — The U.S. Center for SafeSport's annual report updates progress on changes it has made in several areas, including its handling of complaints involving minors and the way it categorizes a wide-ranging set of outcomes called 'administrative closures' that sometimes create more questions than answers. The report, released Monday, comes as the center searches for a new leader in the wake of the firing of CEO Ju'Riese Colon, whose tenure was marred by the hiring and dismissal of an investigator who was later arrested for sex crimes allegedly committed before he worked at SafeSport. Part of the reset for the center also includes an increased push for community engagement. The center held seven outreach meetings in June involving sports leaders, athletes and abuse survivors. 'Robust engagement with stakeholders and a deep commitment to continuous evolution are fundamental to the Center's work to advance athlete safety,' said April Holmes, the center's interim CEO. 'Shifting sport culture is about more than catalyzing change, it's about building a community that makes change inevitable.' The center brought in around $25 million last year, most of which is funded by American sports organizations that fall under the umbrella of the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee. It opened in 2017 to become the clearinghouse for abuse cases involving Olympic sports in the United States. It has been beset with complaints about reports that can take years to conclude and an opaque resolution process that could leave both accusers and accused frustrated. In April 2024, the center responded to those complaints by instituting changes in the way it dealt with cases. 'The process improvements and Code revisions strengthen the Center's ability to more efficiently adjudicate cases fairly, consistently, and with trauma sensitivity,' the report read. SafeSport's handling of reports involving minors, some of whom saw their high school careers plunge into uncertainty while under temporary measures for allegations that might never be proven, now includes an 'alternative track.' Part of that introduces an interactive course that can be offered instead of sanctions for what the center deems to be 'low-level' violations. The center is also offering more information about administrative closures — cases that critics complained ended up in a 'black box' from which no details could be found and, thus, could prevent sports organizations from taking steps of their own to curtail abusers. Now, those cases have been divided into two categories — 'closures' and 'holds' — and those have subsections that explain the reason for the action. There are, for instance, holds for cases where a claimant didn't participate in the case, and closures where respondents are issued a 'letter of admonishment' or where no policy existed at the time of the alleged offense to pursue the case. The report also offered an update on numbers that reflect the fast-growing nature of the 8-year-old organization. It received an average of 155 reports a week in 2024, which marked a 2780% increase over 2017, when it opened. As of the end of last year, it had placed 2,224 people in its Centralized Disciplinary Database. The center had delivered nearly 7.5 million online training courses by the end of last year. Also in 2024, it debuted a mobile app that provided access to training and reporting guidance, as well as the disciplinary database. ___ AP Summer Olympics:
