Has anyone seen the new Body Positive Guidelines set out by Australian Gymnastics?
You can read them if you go to this link, then scroll down the page to open up the document.
http://www.gymnastics.org.au/GA/Athl...6-1b2f7e858979
I was pleasantly surprised to find they were really well thought out. They talk about trying to avoid body-shape comments in general, whether positive or negative, and instead focus on praising an athlete's strength or technique.
They set minimum ages and maximum frequency for body assessments being done, require athlete and parent permission for body assessments to be done, and require athlete and parent permission for that info to be shared with coaches.
They discourage coaches from discussing nutrition plans with athletes, instead recommending that coaches bring in qualified nutritionists.
They recognize that any nutritional or body concerns should be done privately, not in front of others, and they discourage making comparisons between other athletes.
I realize you can type out all the nice, healthy sentences in the world, but you can't ensure coaches actually follow them. However, if you make guidelines like this a requirement for your members, it does give athletes, parents, and the gym organization some teeth in the event a coach fails to follow them.
I don't know if the USA has put out anything like this in any of their new policies, but these would be good ones if they haven't.
Body Positive Guidelines
You can read them if you go to this link, then scroll down the page to open up the document.
http://www.gymnastics.org.au/GA/Athl...6-1b2f7e858979
I was pleasantly surprised to find they were really well thought out. They talk about trying to avoid body-shape comments in general, whether positive or negative, and instead focus on praising an athlete's strength or technique.
They set minimum ages and maximum frequency for body assessments being done, require athlete and parent permission for body assessments to be done, and require athlete and parent permission for that info to be shared with coaches.
They discourage coaches from discussing nutrition plans with athletes, instead recommending that coaches bring in qualified nutritionists.
They recognize that any nutritional or body concerns should be done privately, not in front of others, and they discourage making comparisons between other athletes.
I realize you can type out all the nice, healthy sentences in the world, but you can't ensure coaches actually follow them. However, if you make guidelines like this a requirement for your members, it does give athletes, parents, and the gym organization some teeth in the event a coach fails to follow them.
I don't know if the USA has put out anything like this in any of their new policies, but these would be good ones if they haven't.
