@tryingtohunter I suspect that they had not changed their web site to reflect the rules and specs for the classes they were offering this season. I get the impression that they either borrowed the copy from someone or they once did hold VHSA approved classes.
good luck on pursuing this tangled issue.
A more thorough report on the recent USA Gymnastics settlement is out from ESPN. I found this portion particularly interesting and worth taking note of…
A source with knowledge of the mediation talks said a committee of survivors of Nassar’s abuse, which included former Olympians Aly Raisman, Kyla Ross and Tasha Schwikert as well as attorneys Rachael Denhollander and Sarah Klein, had rejected earlier settlement offers.
“This settlement occurred because of a five-year, bare-knuckled legal fight the USOPC and USA Gymnastics decided to initiate against me and 500-plus sister survivors,” Klein, who served as co-chair of the survivors committee, told ESPN Monday. “After thousands of hours of this survivors committee’s time, blood, sweat and tears, today we prevailed.”
Denhollander, the first woman to publicly accuse Nassar of sexual assault in late 2016, commented on the historic settlement on Twitter.
“This chapter is finally closed. Now the hard work of reform and rebuilding can begin. Whether or not justice comes, and change is made, depends on what happens next,” Denhollander tweeted.
Monday’s settlement includes litigation against former USA Gymnastics CEO Steve Penny and former national team coaches Bela and Marta Karolyi, who for decades led Team USA gymnasts to gold at multiple Olympic Games. Penny, who led USA Gymnastics from 2005 through 2017, was charged with evidence tampering as part of the Nassar investigation. He pleaded not guilty, and his case is pending.
“USA Gymnastics is deeply sorry for the trauma and pain that Survivors have endured as a result of this organization’s actions and inactions,” USAG president and CEO Li Li Leung said in a statement. "The Plan of Reorganization that we jointly filed reflects our own accountability to the past and our commitment to the future.
“Individually and collectively, Survivors have stepped forward with bravery to advocate for enduring change in this sport. We are committed to working with them, and with the entire gymnastics community, to ensure that we continue to prioritize the safety, health, and wellness of our athletes and community above all else.”
As part of the settlement, USA Gymnastics agreed to set up a restorative justice program that will give survivors significant influence over how the organization addresses sexual assault issues in the future.
“The restorative justice process that’s part of this plan, you can’t buy that,” said attorney Mick Grewal, who represents more than 100 women in the case. “It will be the gold standard for every institution that has a sexual assault problem.”
Even though she made lengthy posts about how she wouldn’t be doing the shows there??? Is she that desperate for business?
The Equestrian Voices podcast just posted their most recent episode, titled “If We Can’t Talk About It, We Can’t Prevent It: Sexual Abuse in Horse Sport”. It’s a wonderfully timely, relevant and transparent discussion. I highly recommend finding an hour in your schedule and listening. Here’s the synopsis:
"Host Caroline Culbertson is joined by two women who have witnessed and experienced the devastating fallout that sexual abuse of minors can have on young men and women, their families, and their communities. Carrie Kehring, creator of the #weridetogether campaign to end sexual abuse in sport, and Kendall Bourgeois, a professional equestrian who experienced grooming and abuse as a junior, discuss:
If you are in need of help, resources, or want to read stories of abuse survivors from horse sport and beyond, go to www.weridetogether.today"
Perhaps we need tp start talking about sex.
Sadly, too many children have no concept of it at all, and no words to describe it.
And too many adults want to keep it hush-hush and shameful, so when children get abused they feel unworthy. (somebody pointed that out with those dreaded Duggars and their purity culture)
I have two kids that are in public school. There are good programs that introduce the idea of private parts, personal space, good touch bad touch, and who are trusted adults - and all was introduced gradually in age appropriate ways. We reinforced these discussions at home.
We talk more forthrightly with our kids now that they are older. But mostly, to emphasize the idea that intimate contact/sexual activity is tied to caring for another person. And there should be mutual respect between two people if they are engaging in these activities. And such activities should happen between peers, not adults and kids or teens. And above all, if the kids feel pressured by someone in any respect, they can come to us and talk to us, and we will love them and help them, no matter who or what is involved in the situation.
We still keep these talks basic, and low key… the kids are just entering their teens. But the message is repeated over and over, that they can talk to us, no matter what, and we will be there for them, accept them, support them, and help them. We also tell them if they are worried about anything going on with one of their friends… or confused by it, or if something seems weird, they can come to us and talk to us. We not only care about them, but we also care about their friends, and we emphasize the message that trusted adults in life are supposed to look out for kids, and help keep them safe and support them. Sadly… the issue about concern for one of the kids friends has already come up. At a really young age. Really sad. Multiple friends of a child who was in a bad situation came home from various play dates and talked to their parents about things their young friend had shared with them… and then various parents who were part of a larger circle compared notes, and one stepped forward and contacted a school counselor to talk about it anonymously and voice concerns, and an investigation was commenced. The school counselor was an excellent resource in that situation.
It seems incredible to think how much has happened in the span of the last five years. Not just with that group of gymnasts, but with sports in general and the rest of society as well.
A major course correction was so long overdue that once they got the ball rolling, it gained momentum in a huge way. Props to all of them for standing up in the first place.
So will the huge settlement make USEF consider how it implements and enforces Safe Sport?
It should also be taught that sex can be used as a manipulator or abuse tactic. Sometimes these children admire their coaches/teachers etc and so telling them its only for people who you love or care about etc doesn’t give a clear enough picture, that sex can also be used as a way to control someone. Create secrets, etc.
The people who want to keep it hush-hush and shameful in my experience are the same ones who blame the victim, or say the victims are liars if they tell.
Of course.
it benefits the predators: the purity cult grooms (mostly) girls to become victims.
The ‘conservative’ set suppresses sex-ed at every turn, regardless of the evidence that comprehensive education in the matter reduces risk for children and young adults.
Even material pertaining to the subject is under fire at every turn!
As volunteer in youth organizations, you have to teach kids how to spot transgressions without telling them what transgressions are!
You can’t use the appropriate terms, because they don’t know them, or their parents will have your head.
I know child sexual abuse happens everywhere, but I wonder how the numbers scale compared to the US in countries with a more well-rounded education of sexual matters.
of course. the consent thing, the secret thing…unless you are talking about surprise gifts, kids don’t keep secrets for adults!
kind of like talking about how much money you make: silence only helps the boss.
secrets only help the abuser!
what I still don’t understand is why SS isn’t taught to kids. It’s the kids who need to understand what grooming looks like, where they ca report and what’s normal and not. Yes, as parents we need to teach this too, but I think SS is doing our teen riders a disservice by not teaching them. Even if they just talked about grooming and bullying and didn’t get into sexual contact, it would help IMHO.
In my opinion… no. The people that are already onboard with the need for SafeSport, and committed to enforcing it? This only reinforces their pre-existing opinions.
The people who are against SafeSport, but did do their training and agreed to abide by SafeSport code? Well… this won’t change their minds. These people care deeply about the legacy of George Morris and Jimmy Williams, they consider SafeSport to be a sad and damaging thing that they have been forced to abide by if they want to continue participating in organized sport in various capacities.
Maybe if one of the lawsuits by GM and JW victims naming USEF or Flintridge is successful, and millions are paid out, some of the current folks who are bashing SafeSport right now, because they think it’s a threat to professionals in the sport… well… maybe that will wake them up. The cynical truth is, on some level, SafeSport was created to be a liability shield for the USOPC and the various NGBs. I still think it can play a constructive “house cleaning” role in many sports… but there is no denying that it is also intended to shield the organizations from liability with respect to potential future claims.
They are trying. https://www.usef.org/media/press-releases/us-equestrian-has-partnered-with-us-center
to talk about this means to talk about S E X.
and we would not want to do that to kids! /s
What are you even talking about?
This is good news 
I think it’s more, if adults are having this much angst over SafeSport why would they sit their kids down in front of a CBT to learn about it.
Maybe the parent’s on here, @Virginia_Horse_Mom, can enlighten us all on how exactly one would approach grooming with young kids. I think parents struggle with sex in general and this, to my mind, seems insurmountable. Please know I ask this genuinely.
Thank you so much! I was thrilled when I listened to the conversation Kendall and I had with Caroline on the Equestrian Voices podcast when I listened to the podcast today. What I would love for everyone to understand is that over the past year and a half I have lived through, read about, listened to and watched and tried to understand grooming as best I could. It’s a very hard thing to concisely communicate what it looks like and how it feels and what we all need to be doing differently with our understanding of the sexual misconduct that is happening within and around the children and young adults growing up in our sport and all sports for that matter, because it’s not just our problem. It is a problem that runs deep in all youth sports. I would encourage anyone and everyone to listen. It’s a discussion that needs to be happening with parents, young adults, amateurs and professionals in our sport. Please listen, please forward it, please share it and encourage others to listen to it as well.
Thank you ChestnutMare1 for bringing this up on this thread. Once again, we can argue about SafeSport and law enforcement and the mess at the end and how to clean it up until we are blue in the face, but that’s not addressing the issue at the root and that’s where we need to start. You can’t repair something if you can’t talk about it. Please listen.
Thank you!
Carrie
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