An independent working group delivered its report on Friday with 150 recommendations to end sexism within the Australian swimming team, a world power in that sport, after the complaint of some swimmers about abusive behavior.
After reading the report, Swimming Australia President Kieren Perkins pledged that his federation would support and encourage the “positive behavior change process”.
The introduction of quotas to increase the number of female coaches, the prohibition of the use of the term ‘physique’ with a pejorative connotation about the size and shape of the body of swimmers and swimmers are some of the measures recommended by the report.
Another recommendation: the prohibition of tests consisting of wrinkling the skin to evaluate the rate of fat in athletes.
That independent working group was created last June by Swimming Australia, the Australian swimming federation, after the decision of Maddie Groves, a double silver medalist at the Rio Olympics, to give up the Australian qualifying championships to the Tokyo Games, denouncing the presence of “perverse misogynists” in their sport.
The Federation showed this Friday its intention to “never again appoint a team of coaches made up only of men for national and international competitions”, and to establish a working group to promote gender equality.
He also again apologized “to members of the swimming community who have had a negative experience.”
mp / pst / chc / dep / iga
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