By: Nina Huang

Have you ever watched or heard of the sport gymnastics? Do you ever wonder what it took for the gymnasts to get where they are today? Well, it isn’t as easy as it looks, especially for British gymnasts. You won’t believe what these gymnasts have to do in order to succeed in their gymnastics careers.

Coaches Abusing Gymnasts

Here are some of the ways that the British gymnasts are being mistreated. First of all, coaches put their gymnasts under way too much pressure. Gymnasts must be able to do certain moves or else the coaches will punish them. Even if she is only one inch off the ground in a split, a gymnast will still be facing a cruel punishment. Another example is that these gymnasts even get punished for needing the bathroom! Yes, even using the bathroom is illegal here! Other kinds of mistreatment and abuse include forcing athletes to practice when they’re injured, coaches who sit on their gymnasts, and instructors who call their students mean names and shout at them.

Taking Action

Fortunately, people have noticed this unacceptable behavior and have decided to take action. A lawyer decided to investigate this case and found out that it is true and that people needed to act up!

The British gymnastics community decided to look at four key areas that need improvement: 1) ways that complaints are handled; 2) education; 3) increasing supervision; and 4) figuring out what the community’s next move should be.

Well, now you know that becoming a professional gymnast doesn’t happen effortlessly in the blink of an eye. Instead, becoming a good gymnast takes many years of practice, practice, and practice—not to mention hardships and challenges caused by misguided or even cruel coaches.