Whyte Review

We welcome the publication of the Whyte Review and thank Anne Whyte QC and her team for their commitment. Our thanks to everyone who came forward and contributed to the review.

Scottish Gymnastics has received the report today, on publication, and therefore we will read the report thoroughly and implement any recommendations regarding wellbeing and protection in Scotland. 

The Whyte Review was commissioned by Sport England and UK Sport in August 2020, following allegations of mistreatment within the sport of gymnastics.

Scottish Gymnastics was not originally included in the terms of reference as we have responsibility for safeguarding in Scotland under sportscotland’s Standards for Child Wellbeing and Protection in Sport. 

CEO Doc McKelvey wrote to the review at the start, underlining Scottish Gymnastics’ support and intention to look closely at any recommendations before agreeing that any submissions from Scotland should be included in the review, which Anne Whyte announced in her interim report. 

Doc said: “We will consider all the recommendations which affect members across the UK as we take every opportunity for improvement to benefit our members, especially around wellbeing and protection.

“We also commissioned an independent review into safeguarding in Scottish performance programmes in November 2020. We are implementing all the recommendations made by the report author Chris Smart who continues to advise us as a member of our newly formed wellbeing and protection committee. 

“There are thousands of people across Scotland enjoying gymnastics every week coached by fantastic coaches however we realise not everyone has the same positive experience.  We are working with our partner governing bodies to create a new culture and future for gymnastics across the UK. Everyone deserves to have fun and feel safe in gymnastics. Abuse or bullying of any kind is unacceptable and will not be tolerated. We thank those who had the courage to speak up and we continue to ask everyone to speak up if they see something that concerns them.”

Safeguarding in Scottish Gymnastics

 Everyone deserves to have fun and feel safe in gymnastics  

• Every Scottish Gymnastics club has a trained safeguarding officer
• Please make sure you know who this person is and how to contact them
• If you do not know, please ask a coach or official at your club
• If you have a concern, or see something that concerns you, you can speak to your club safeguarding officer
• You can contact the Scottish Gymnastics safeguarding team confidentially at safegym@scottishgymnastics.org

We recognise that sometimes you’d like to speak to someone independent who understands and who can offer support or guidance. We have website links and phone numbers for support organisations across different sectors.

If you have been impacted by the Whyte Review, the NSPCC has set up a dedicated helpline support service for people affected by issues in gymnastics. You can call this for free on 0800 5876696