A Peak Elite coach Alissa Van Diemen (left) helps an athlete work on her tumbling skills in an open atmosphere lesson. Photo by Brooke Mullin
Sports as a kid are a great way to meet friends, get fit and experience life’s lessons. Many of us who were lucky enough to be involved in sports as children can say that sports taught us a lot about life. Sports can teach you to be a good team player, to be dependable and to find a way to enjoy exercise. Although sports also has a dark side, the world is slowly becoming more aware of it.
The high-flying, fast-paced world of All-Star cheerleading is filled with teamwork and rhinestones and is gaining popularity in the sports world. With Cheer gyms all over the country, Canada’s athlete numbers are growing. At least 222 coaches involved in minor sports in Canada have been convicted of sexual offences in the past 20 years involving more than 600 victims under the age of 18, an investigation by CBC News reveals.
Recently a major cheer gym, Rockstar Cheer and Dance in South Carolina, was found to have a massive scandal after the owner and former coach, Scott Foster, died by suicide. Days after, it was revealed he was being investigated for alleged abuse of underage athletes.
As the case went on more coaches were also named in the suit by more Jane Doe’s. The coaches were supposed proteges of Foster and some were at Rockstar Cheer at one point. The coaches were accused of a range of inappropriate conduct including rape, touching, groping and soliciting nude photos or sending nude photos and videos to athletes
The United States Of America is not the only one with sexual misconduct problems with coaches.
Such as a recent case in a gymnastics gym located in Lethbridge, Alberta. Jamie Ellacott was charged in July 2022, when police responded to a report that a seven-year-old girl had been sexually assaulted while attending the Lethbridge Gymnastics Academy.
On July 14th the gym owner said she was “beyond shocked at the news” in a Facebook post.
With so many accusations, one wonders whether there are precautions in place to stop this from happening.
Allstar Cheerleading in Alberta requires all coaches to engage in safe sport training. This includes modules related to the Rule of Two. The rule of two ensures coaches in potentially vulnerable situations remain safe by ensuring more than one adult is present. This also includes keeping minors safe.
For example, this rule would find that if a private lesson is going on two people have to be in sight of the athlete during the lesson.
Allstar Cheer Gym owner Samantha Paradee says organizations are known for not following through with the consequences that come with breaking the rule of two.
“The rule of two is a great way to make everyone in sports more aware of appropriate participant interactions, however this isn’t an enforceable rule or law. We do not have anyone monitoring its enforcement or organizations providing consequences for those who do not abide by it. More must be done. The Rockstar Cheer scandal is only the beginning. Athletes in Canada within rowing, rugby, skeleton and wrestling have begun voicing concerns about Canadian sports culture issues ranging from sexual abuse and maltreatment to toxic training environments and financial wrongdoings.” says Paradee.
All this takes a toll on parents and athletes. But what about the coaches who follow the rules?
Caylie Burt, a coach at Peak Elite feels for the parents and is shocked.
“When I heard the news about the gymnastics coach I was shocked and incredibly disappointed. There are courses that we take as coaches regarding this and I would think the rule of two would be applicable in all sports and gyms to prevent things like this from happening. It is also frustrating as a coach to hear about these situations coming up more and more often.” says Burt.
Many cheerleading gyms are cutting ties with the United States Board of cheerleading and going on their own to ensure things get done to keep athletes safe.
Gyms are making sure their staff do everything they can to report and stop sexual misconduct, including gyms in Lethbridge like Peak Elite Cheerleading, owned by Paradee.
“Peak Elite Cheerleading rigorously employs the Rule of Two. We use a safe method of communication between families and coaches by avoiding social media platforms. Our staff abide by a lengthy document of policies and procedures that are used to protect our participants.” says Paradee.
Although Cheer Canada is a relatively new national sport organization they have a number of safe sport processes in place to ensure the safety of athletes.
