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Victoria University study suggests children experience high rates of violence in community sport

Eighty-two per cent of people sampled in a study conducted by Victoria University have reported experiencing at least one form of interpersonal violence when participating in community sport as a child.

The survey, which is the most comprehensive of its kind in Australia, asked 886 adults whether they had experienced physical, sexual or psychological violence, as well as neglect, from either coaches, peers or parents during childhood.

Seventy-six per cent said they had experienced psychological violence or neglect, 66 per cent reported physical violence and 38 per cent reported sexual violence.

One in three respondents, meanwhile, said they had experienced all four forms of violence.

The respondents had participated in a large variety of sports, with nearly 70 represented.

A graph showing key statistics including that 82% of respondents experienced at least one type of violence
Seventy per cent of respondents experienced physical and psychological violence from a peer. (Designed by The Infologist for Victoria University)

While such large numbers may come as a surprise to some, study co-author Mary Woessner said she was not shocked.

“From the literature, and knowing what’s happening internationally, I would say that’s right about what we were expecting,” Dr Woessner told the ABC.

“One of the first things you need to create change, positive change, is generate understanding that there’s a problem.

“We just want people to know it exists, so we can make evidence-based decisions to change it.”

Dr Woessner’s co-author, Aurélie Pankowiak, explained that the survey asked participants about explicit examples of violence they may have experienced in a sporting context.

Dr Aurélie Pankowiak poses for a photo on one of the basketball courts at Victoria University
Aurélie Pankowiak co-authored the study with Mary Woessner.(ABC News: Andie Noonan)

For neglect, for example, participants were asked if they had experienced being refused time off for medical injuries.

For psychological, participants were asked whether they had been insulted, threatened or humiliated (for example by being bullied, given an unwanted nickname violence or otherwise ostracised).

“We had very concrete examples of different types of violence, so we did not leave it up to the person’s interpretation of whether or not what they experienced was violent,” Dr Pankowiak said.

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Sports

Australia’s Kate McDonald produces stunning gold, Tyson Bull defies injury for silver on final day of artistic gymnastics

Kate McDonald thought she’d just be making up the numbers in the women’s beam finale.

And injured Tyson Bull wasn’t even supposed to be competing in the men’s horizontal bar final.

But both have pulled off exceptional performances to win gold and silver medals respectively on the final day of artistic gymnastics competition in Birmingham.

McDonald usurps Godwin for gold

An Australian gymnast arches her back as she does a back flip on the balance beam at the Commonwealth Games.
Australia’s Kate McDonald saved her best for last in the women’s balance beam final.(Reuters)

McDonald hadn’t performed as well as she’d hoped in her main event, the uneven bars.

So she had low expectations for her final event, the beam.

The 22-year-old was the penultimate competitor, with her teammate, Georgia Godwin in the gold medal position.

McDonald was flawless and when her score came up, 13,466, she was absolutely floored.

The final gymnast, Canada’s Emma Spence, couldn’t beat the score, so McDonald claimed gold, and Godwin silver.

“I definitely was not expecting a score like that. And then I looked at my score and I was shocked that I was in first place,” McDonald said.

Godwin, who’s the team captain in Birmingham, was ecstatic to see McDonald overtake her.

“It’s just amazing, she put up the performance of a lifetime when it counted so she deserves the gold,” Godwin said.

McDonald admitted she put herself under too much pressure in the uneven bars, where she finished seventh.

That helped her let loose on the beam.

“I just I had nothing to lose, I was like I’m just going to enjoy myself. And there’s ice cream at the end so there is a no-lose situation,” she said.

Four tubs of salted caramel ice cream are now waiting as her reward.

Godwin’s glorious Games

Two smiling Australian gymnasts stand on the podium with their medals along with a Canadian competitor.
Georgia Godwin (left) and Kate McDonald (centre) enjoyed a successful Commonwealth Games campaign.(Reuters: Stoyan Nenov )

While Emma McKeon will leave Birmingham as Australia’s most successful Commonwealth Games athlete of all time, Godwin might be the breakout star.

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Sports

Georgia Godwin, Matthew Glaetzer show strength and resilience to win second Commonwealth Games gold medals

Georgia Godwin has continued her breakthrough Commonwealth Games, with another gold medal in artistic gymnastics in Birmingham.

A day after winning the women’s all-round individual title, the 24-year-old again produced her best to claim the vault.

And it was as tight as you can get.

Godwin and Canada’s Laurie Denommee finished on the same score after their two vaults.

A female gymnast does a flip
After a difficult few years for women’s gymnastics, Georgia Godwin has given the sport in Australia a ray of hope.(AAP: Dean Lewis)

However, the Queenslander won on the tie-break rule, with the highest scoring single vault.

“Coming off of two days of comp, I am feeling it a little bit, so I just gave 110 per cent of what I had left into that first vault,” she said.

And straight after the final vault, she backed up for the uneven bars, and this time grabbed silver.

While gold might seem to shine brightest, Godwin was most emotional when talking about sharing the silver medal in the team final earlier in the week.

“The team one means so much to me,” she said.

“To go through everything we have with the other four girls, and to come away with a silver, I’m so proud of them.

“I’m just proud of myself and everything I’ve had to go through. And everyone who’s helped me get here. It takes a huge village.”

A female athlete wearing yellow and green holds up two medals
Georgia Godwin now has won two gold and two silver medals at the 2022 Games.(ABC News: West Matteussen)

Godwin is the advertisement gymnastics needs after a report last year showed serious issues in the sport.

And she’s willing to help the sport move forward.

“I like to see myself as the mother figure. I am older,” she said.

“This team I was honored to be the captain of — and I’ve really just tried to take everyone under my wing, show them what sportsmanship looks like and try [to] guide them in the right direction at the end.

“I do my best to try [to] show that gymnastics is a safe sport, and that everyone should feel safe when doing gymnastics, and we’re heading in the right direction.”

Godwin still has one more event to come: the women’s beam final.

Glaetzer ‘over the moon’ to win after rollercoaster competition

Track cyclist Matthew Glaetzer has had one of the wildest rides of all athletes at the Commonwealth Games.

He started competition with gold in the men’s team sprint, then was involved in a scary crash in the keirin, which threatened to end his campaign.

He was left fuming after being denied a bronze medal in the men’s sprint upon review.

Two cyclists down on the banked cycling track, one is Englishman Joe Truman and the other Australia's Matthew Glaetzman.
Matthew Glaetzer’s Birmingham campaign almost came to a premature end after a heavy crash in the keirin.(Getty Images: Justin Setterfield)

Then, to throw another spanner in the works, just hours before the men’s 1000m time trial, AusCycling released a statement saying the Australians would have to use different handlebars, due to them being ruled unsafe.

So, among that dramatic backdrop, Glaetzer still somehow managed to summon a phenomenal performance to win the time trial, using equipment that would’ve added at least a second to his time.

“I’m making a habit of bouncing back at the Commonwealth Games,” he said.

“I’d rather not have such lows to come back from, but it shows there is always a new day and we can always try again.”

Glaetzer has now equaled Anna Meares’s track cycling record of five Commonwealth Games golds.

“It was special, but I was surprised I won, given how bad I felt out there,” he said.

“Last night I said I’d be over the moon just to get a medal, considering everything that’s happened.

“To come home with a win in such a special time, shows how strong we are as a nation.”

Another bright star emerges on the green

Ellen Ryan, 25 — the youngest member of the Australian lawn bowls team — took out the gold medal in her debut Games women’s singles final, overcoming Guernsey’s Lucy Beere 17-21.

However, in the men’s triple final, while Australia’s men almost pulled off one of the great comebacks, they had to settle for silver..

Barry Lester, Carl Healey and Ben Twist were trailing 12-1, with two ends to go.

They managed to get back to 12-all but England edged ahead to win 14-12, leaving the Aussies with a silver medal.

“We used every bit of Aussie spirit we could and put ourselves in a position [to win],” Lester said.

“ButJamie [Chestney, England] and the boys played really well and they’re worthy winners.”

Weightlifting gold out of reach

Kyle Bruce was in the gold medal position in the men’s 81kg weightlifting category after a Commonwealth Games record of 183kg in the clean and jerk.

He was given three white lights by the judges, however, on review, officials ruled his arms didn’t fully extend in the overhead position and, so, he was left with silver behind England’s Chris Murray.

A man wearing green, yellow and black lifts a heavy weight during a competition
Kyle Bruce accepted the judges’ decision as he claimed silver in the men’s 81kg category.(AAP: Darren England)

“A lot of people at home that don’t know weightlifting that will would be cheering and screaming like ‘Wow, that’s the gold, he’s got it,'” Bruce said.

“And then, a few minutes later, to say it’s a ‘No lift’, some people wouldn’t understand that.

“But, as a weightlifter, that’s the rules. I understand that.”

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Categories
Sports

Australian gymnast Georgia Godwin ends England’s golden run in women’s all-around at Commonwealth Games

With the weight of the world on her shoulders and a Commonwealth Games gold medal at stake, Georgia Godwin knew exactly what soundtrack she needed to deliver glory.

Holding a handy lead over Ondine Achampong and Emma Spence, and needing only a clean performance, the Australian commenced her floor routine to an instrumental version of Michael Buble’s Feeling Good.

A month after Godwin had contemplated skipping Birmingham altogether amid ankle issues, the Australian hit every beat, and officially snapped England’s run of artistic gymnastics gold medals.

Godwin’s 12,950 on the floor and total score of 53,550 sealed her first Commonwealth Games gold, an upgrade on her all-around silver on the Gold Coast, ahead of England’s Achampong (53,000) and Canada’s Spence (52,350).

gymnast georgia godwin smiles and waves her hands in the air wearing a yellow jacket with australian coat of arms
Australia’s Georgia Godwin clinched the all-around gymnastics gold by 0.55 points from England’s Ondine Achampong.(AP: Zac Goodwin)

“There’s been a lot that I’ve had to get through. I came into this competition with no expectations, I just wanted to do my best and here we are,” Godwin told reporters.

“That was actually quite difficult for me going into the floor because you don’t want to stuff it up, so that plays on your mind.

“But I just said ‘no, you’ve done this 100 times … so just enjoy it. It’s your last floor routine here. Just enjoy it. Get the crowd involved and smile at the judges.’

“It is a new floor routine. That song is something that’s grown with me.

“Whenever I’m down I always play the song, Michael Buble always somehow manages to make me happy. So it was just the only choice for my new floor music.”

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Godwin was coming off Saturday night’s team silver and admitted she hadn’t slept much before the tight turnaround.

The Queenslander was fifth after scoring 13,300 on the vault first-up.

But an outstanding uneven bars routine delivered 13,550 and lifted Godwin into third, 0,700 off England’s leader Alice Kinsella.

The competition opened up dramatically when Kinsella fell off the beam, failed to complete her routine and went over time.

The 21-year-old was distracted and slumped in a corner of Birmingham Arena after scoring 11,000.

“I did hear the crowd when Alice fell, but I didn’t quite know what was going on,” Godwin said.

“I tried to stay in my own little bubble, focus on what I was doing.”

An Australian gymnast twists her body backwards as she is airborne above the balance beam at the Commonwealth Games.
Georgia Godwin went into the lead in the women’s all-around with her balance beam routine, which scored 13,750. (Getty Images: Laurence Griffiths)

Godwin capitalized, completing a brilliant routine by dismounting with a double somersault in the pike position to earn a competition-high score of 13,750 and take the lead.

“My beam routine, I’ve never quite hit the start score I’ve wanted to and if I’m correct, I did hit it today,” she said.

Achampong also fell, further opening the door for Godwin to seal her triumph.

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