The toxic culture of fear in systemic swimming – a review

A toxic environment at swimming clubs in England has allowed dangerous coaching practices and bullying for years, a review has found.

Intense competitiveness has given rise to a “persistent and systemic” culture of fear.

The independent report says that this phenomenon was present at all levels of water sports and posed a major threat to its future.

Athletes, volunteers and parents fear being “victimised and ostracized” if they raise their concerns with Swim England, which admits it has “fallen short of the mark”.

Nineteen ongoing safeguarding incidents were raised during the investigation and are being investigated.

The wide-ranging review was commissioned by Swimming England's governing body (SE) in early 2022 after several athletes told the BBC they had suffered bullying, emotional abuse and body shaming.

The former Team Great Britain swimmer won a bronze medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics but lost her love for the sport when she began suffering from a serious “eating disorder” to lose weight, on the instructions of her coach.

More than 1,000 people working in the sport, including swimmers, coaches, parents and volunteers, provided their views to the researchers, with a further 3,500 people completing the survey.

The review found that excessive demands on child athletes meant there was an expectation to train when they were tired or injured, leading to many quitting sport or suffering mental health problems.

Allegations of bullying were often 'hidden' by SE, while historical reports were often dismissed.

Investigators said those in positions of authority were too keen to “protect themselves”, with parents and volunteers fearful of being “blacklisted” or labeled as troublemakers for speaking out about wrongdoing.

Whistleblowers have been targeted with threats, abuse and intimidation by other people while swimming.

The review also found there was an “urgent need” to address racism in swimming, with many from ethnically diverse communities feeling they did not belong in what was seen as a “white middle-class sport”.

Participants called for “an external review or overhaul of those in power” because they wanted to ensure that SE was serious about changes to the culture of sports.

Jane Nickerson retired as chief executive of the governing body last week, with former British Triathlon chief executive Andy Salmon taking over.

The review by Behavioral Engineers found: “There were unacceptable behaviors and practices within the aquatics that caused real pain and suffering to the people involved.”

“It is also clear that people felt unable to come forward to Swimming England to voice their concerns.”

The report published on Tuesday also found:

The research included the views of all members of the aquatic community, including water polo, artistic swimming, Paralympic swimming and diving.

She noted that water sports can be beneficial for health and camaraderie, with examples of excellent training at all levels.

Many coaches fear unfair accusations being made against them, and some told researchers that they walk a fine line between “pressing for progress and applying too much pressure.”

However, SE was praised in the review for keeping aquatics going through the pandemic and keeping pools open during the cost of living crisis.

SE president Richard Hookway said the organization apologized because it had “failed” to achieve what it sought, leading to “negative experiences”.

He added that they took the views in the report seriously, were committed to change and had worked on a plan called Heart of Aquatics for 12 months to improve protection, wellbeing and culture.

“I want to assure everyone that we welcome the recommendations and will act on the results that we fully accept,” Hookway said.

“We will now take the appropriate time to develop our next steps, building on the Heart of Watersports’ commitments and consulting with stakeholders as we do so.”