'A smack in the teeth' - warned coach to work at international youth event

A gymnastics coach who received a formal warning from British Gymnastics following an investigation into allegations including fear-based coaching and controlling practices is coaching at an international youth competition this weekend, BBC Sport has learned.

Clare Hague, head coach at Dronfield Gymnastics Academy near Sheffield, has travelled with English Gymnastics to coach at the Horizon Cup in Greece.

Complainants from two separate investigations into Hague and her club have told the BBC the decision is a "smack in the teeth" and "adds salt in the wound" for those who have had the courage to speak up about their concerns.

Documents seen by the BBC list fear-based coaching and emotional harm, controlling and restrictive practices, punitive attendance policies and psychological impact on children as some of the concerns considered in a recently concluded investigation.

The outcome letter, also seen by BBC Sport, states that British Gymnastics upheld a number of the concerns raised, issuing Hague and Dronfield Gymnastics Academy with a formal warning lasting two years - alongside monitoring and development measures.

The governing body did not share with the complainants which specific concerns had been upheld.

While Hague did not respond directly to a request for comment, Dronfield Gymnastics Academy shared a statement with the BBC stating the club co-operated "openly, fully and with complete transparency" with the investigation.

"We are pleased the investigation found no serious issue for Dronfield to address and that British Gymnastics received positive reports from members about their experience at the club. Following the concerns raised, the club has worked proactively and positively alongside British Gymnastics to see where improvements can be made so that a positive experience is the case for everyone," it said.

Hague, who is also squad co-ordinator for Yorkshire Women's Artistic Gymnastics, was announced by English Gymnastics as a coach for the Horizon Cup while she was still under investigation.

The Horizon Cup is an international artistic gymnastics competition for junior and pre-junior gymnasts aged 11-16.

English Gymnastics is an affiliated home country association under British Gymnastics and manages some regional and national programmes, including selection for Team England at the Commonwealth Games.

One complainant, speaking anonymously for fear of the repercussions for her daughter in the local gymnastics community, alleged to the BBC that they had raised concerns some gymnasts at Dronfield Gymnastics Academy regularly felt afraid to ask to go to the toilet - resulting in some wetting themselves and others choosing not to drink during sessions.

Allowing gymnasts opportunities to drink water throughout training and to go to the toilet at the earliest available opportunity was one of a number of safeguarding rules introduced by British Gymnastics in 2023 to stop practices it said were "on the fringes of abuse".

"We tell our kids to tell a trusted adult when something's wrong," the complainant told the BBC.

"My daughter had the courage to say something to try and protect the next child. I don't want the lesson she walks away with from this to be that there's no point in speaking up because nothing happens."

A complainant in another investigation into Hague, in 2022, alleged to the BBC their daughter endured years of emotional and physical abuse at Dronfield Gymnastics Academy. The outcome letter of that investigation, also seen by the BBC, said the coaches would be offered further training.

"I didn't have faith in the system in 2022 because it was notorious that the system was not working… I did have hope that things had changed but it's disappointing to know that the outcome effectively is the same," the complainant said.

That investigation concluded just months after an independent report - the Whyte Review - described systemic physical and emotional abuse within gymnastics in Britain and found wellbeing and welfare had "not been at the centre of British Gymnastics' culture".

The review made 17 recommendations focused on safeguarding and welfare, complaints handling, standards and educations, and governance and oversight, prompting the governing body to double its spending on welfare and safe sport to about £1m a year.

In a statement, British Gymnastics told BBC Sport they cannot comment on the specifics of individual cases but said every concern is treated "in a way appropriate to the nature of the case".

"We have a duty to all those involved to ensure that outcomes are based on a fair, balanced and thorough assessment of all information from any relevant people, with a full context and understanding of the situation and consideration of all perspectives," it said in a statement.

"We can be categoric that if we considered a member to be a risk they would be removed from our sport.

"With regards to Dronfield, it's important to highlight we have heard positive reports from members about their experience there. From any concerns raised, the club is proactively and positively working with us to see where improvements can be made so that positive experience is the case for everyone."

But campaigners argue cases such as this raise "alarming" questions about how concerns are identified, monitored and addressed, and challenge the efficacy of offering retraining for coaches who have had complaints against them upheld on more than one occasion.

"Where there are multiple complaints over multiple years, we cannot understand how it's possible that coaches are repeatedly being given retraining instead of adequate sanctions to get them out of the sport, because they're proving consistently they are inappropriate coaches to be working with children," Claire Heafford, chief executive of campaign group Gymnasts for Change, told BBC Sport.

British Gymnastics began publishing the names of banned and expelled coaches in 2023 as part of its 'Reform 25' programme, but Heafford claims this is "meaningless" as it does not extend to those who have had sanctions against them.

"If you're the parent of an athlete at the moment, you have no way of knowing whether the coach coaching your child has had previous complaints or sanctions against them," she said.

"That is an awful situation for parents and athletes to be in and in this case, it proves that the current system is continuing to put children in harm's way."