Last year, legendary Olympic swimmer Kieren Perkins took over as CEO of the Australian Sports Commission which will oversee both high-performance and participation sport (the two remain firmly split in the UK). Photograph: Ryan Pierse/Getty ImagesĪustralia is reimagining its approach to sport in preparation for Brisbane hosting the Olympics in 2032. The ball-tampering scandal in cricket hit the Australian public hard, alongside public disclosures of mental health struggles and depression from sports stars such as Olympic swimmers Ian Thorpe and Cate Campbell.Ĭate Campbell, winner of four Olympic gold medals, has been open about her issues with mental health. Looking in a different direction, Australia has been working through its spate of high-profile cultural troubles for some time. As much as there is a need for a better response to poor cultures and abusive behaviours, something to fight for, not just fight against.” Jennifer Walinga, a Canadian rowing world champion and professor of culture at Royal Roads University decries the focus on “too much prevention, not enough positive vision. Canada’s equivalent organisation called Own the Podium – a name that crudely exposes the shallowness of its approach – is struggling to set out a credible vision for the future. Understanding and rectifying that is proving difficult. UK Sport’s “no compromise” approach and funding for medals policy played a role in enabling damaging cultures. As one mental health expert said: “An hour with a wellbeing adviser almost makes it worse when you then go back into the unchanged performance environment that is causing extreme stress the rest of the time.”Ĭhange is required to the ethos and values underpinning these systems. For example, more wellbeing advisers are useful but alone do not address the root causes of the problem. Setting up better complaints procedures or welfare policies won’t work without changing the way sport is actually experienced and led. But questions as to whether there is sufficient independence in such structures abound in both countries where trust in the sport system is at an all-time low.īoth countries are trying to respond but risk reacting superficially, neglecting the deeper cultural issues that lead to athlete abuse, coach burnout and damaging experiences all round. The scale of the crises has proven that sports are unable to scrutinise and course-correct themselves, as Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson highlighted in her 2017 Duty of Care review, which called for a sporting ombudsman.
The Canadian government recently set up the Office of the Sport Integrity Commissioner and UK Sport piloted an independent investigation service, Sport Integrity. Greater mental health support is offered, though in Canada it lasts beyond sporting retirement. Changes are happening on both sides of the Atlantic.
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