Two former competitive Sarnia gymnasts are working to ensure adults, who are involved in a child's athletic journey, have the skills to protect them.
Melanie (Rocca) Hunt and Abby (Pearson) Spadafora have developed a program to offer through their organization Athletes Empowered, which evolved from the previous organization they founded called Gymnasts for Change Canada, after they experienced abuse in the sport.
"In partnership with Sarnia-Lambton Children's Aid Society, and funded by Canadian Tire's Jumpstart, we are launching the Keep Me Safe program which is designed to equip any adult in a child's athletic journey with the tools and knowledge to keep them safe in sport," said Hunt.
While the program is available to anyone, Hunt said they're targeting organizations right now.
"Teachers, board members, sports organizations, doctors, therapists, counsellors... anyone who deals with children on a daily basis. It's free of charge. We will come to you and present about a two hour presentation, but we do have a condensed one hour version, because some places only have a lunch and learn availability," she said.
Hunt said the program focuses on four pillars: awareness, discussion, support, and prevention.
"Some of the things that we'll talk about are the definitions of abuse and the different types of abuse that can happen. We will provide real life examples of what to look for if you're a parent, signs and red flags to keep an eye on. What's normalized in the sporting world, but really is actually a form of grooming or psychological control," she said.
Hunt said the behaviour can fly under the radar and be disguised as "tough coaching."
"There's a lot of these things that are actually not just 'tough coaching.' It is abuse and we're coming to these organizations to help them be able to recognize that and also know what to do, if they suspect there's abuse happening," she said.
Hunt said participants will learn who to report incidents to, and how to report incidents in a "trauma informed way."
Although the program launches with the Children's Aid Society in October, Hunt said they've already booked several presentations.
"We have the funding to run it for one full year," she said. "Hopefully, it's successful and if we have a lot of participation from local organizations, we will be able to find funding to keep it going."
Hunt said the launch comes at a critical time.
The preliminary report from the Future of Sport in Canada Commission, released at the end of August, revealed a crisis of widespread abuse and maltreatment in sport across the country.
"This is a personal program for me because of what I've went through," Hunt said. "I have a four-year-old son now, and I feel very dedicated to not let this happen to anyone else in sport."
For more information about the Keep Me Safe program, or to request a presentation, you can contact Athletes Empowered at keepmesafe@athletesempowered.ca
Hunt and Spadafora are two of the 11 "Bluewater Survivors" who alleged they were abused by Dave and Elizabeth Brubaker during their time at Bluewater Gymnastics Club in Sarnia.
In 2019, the group of athletes pushed for a third-party investigation regarding misconduct at the hands of their coaches after Dave Brubaker, who coached Canada at the 2016 Rio Olympics, was found not guilty of sex-related charges.
Dave Brubaker was permanently banned from any future involvement with Gymnastics Canada in 2021.
Elizabeth Brubaker was suspended from future involvement with Gymnastics Canada until January 18, 2024.
The coaches initially appealed the action, but withdrew their appeal in 2022.
The gymnasts said the decision brought them "immense relief."
If you are an athlete who has survived or is experiencing abuse, or you know someone in crisis, a list of available resources can be found here.
