Canadian Skaters Group Alleges Abuse, Calls for Inquiry

[overedge]

The rink mentioned in the letter is Joanne Macleod's rink in BC (where, among others, Emanuel Sandhu, Kevin Reynolds, and Mira Leung trained).

https://twitter.com/fsforchangecan/status/1651542231050866688?t=tVBhF2LUQPogw28jLd42Ww&s=19

Skate Canada's response:

Skate Canada Statement regarding Figure Skating for Change Canada’s Open Letter

Skate Canada is deeply troubled by the allegations made in an open letter regarding a club in our organization (Champs International Skating Centre of BC). Skate Canada would like to acknowledge the open letter that was posted to Twitter today by Figure Skating for Change Canada, we also...

skatecanada.ca

 

[Yyzskater]

It's also where Megan Wing and Aaron Lowe are out of.

 

[overedge]

It's also where Megan Wing and Aaron Lowe are out of.

Yes, although I believe the ice dance program they run is fairly independent of the rest of the club.

 

[puglover]

Correct me if I am wrong but I think Ted Barton, Executive Director of SkateCanada B.C./Yukon, has his offices at the Champs rink.

 

[kalamalka]

Correct me if I am wrong but I think Ted Barton, Executive Director of SkateCanada B.C./Yukon, has his offices at the Champs rink.

Yes.
Rosaleen and I are have tickets to the gala/awards night/Hall of Fame induction at the BC Section AGM weekend in Burnaby next weekend, which is usually a fun event, at which the Champs coaches and skaters are heavily represented. There could be some awkwardness this year.
Also, I see that Champs has their skating gala a couple of days earlier
https://www.skatinginbc.com/news/champs-isc-bc-skating-gala

 

[champ]

Yes the long time director, appointed by board members he selected..... brought the head coach in from Ontario... he saw and enabled and supported it all from his office over the rink and also did it himself. I am curious if t will throw j under the bus or j will throw t under the bus.... one of them is going down.

 

[Yyzskater]

Yes the long time director, appointed by board members he selected..... brought the head coach in from Ontario... he saw and enabled and supported it all from his office over the rink and also did it himself. I am curious if t will throw j under the bus or j will throw t under the bus.... one of them is going down.

Or none of them get held accountable. It wouldn't surprise me...

 

[puglover]

The coaching staff have high credentials individually. At least five - Emanuel, Kathryn Kang, Kevin Reynolds, Jeremy Ten and Alexander Lawrence are all former students there and they also have Neil Wilson and Ben Ferreira, among others, of course, as well and Megan Wing and Aaron Low. A lot of people's names and reputations are at stake so hopefully a thorough investigation is carried out.

 

[Dragonlady]

Correct me if I am wrong but I think Ted Barton, Executive Director of SkateCanada B.C./Yukon, has his offices at the Champs rink.

Ted Barton hired McLeod and gave her a sweetheart deal that surprised everyone in CAS, none of whom seemed sorry to see her go.

 

[made_in_canada]

Yes the long time director, appointed by board members he selected..... brought the head coach in from Ontario... he saw and enabled and supported it all from his office over the rink and also did it himself. I am curious if t will throw j under the bus or j will throw t under the bus.... one of them is going down.

My experiences aren’t current so feel free to take my comments with a grain of salt. While it’s true there’s a clear and maybe somewhat incestuous relationship between the section and champs and Ted has been a Joanne fan for a long time, I’ve always had the impression that Champs is the Joanne McLeod show. Do I think Ted has a good idea what goes on in that rink? Absolutely, he’s a lot of things, not all positive, but he’s not an idiot, and a lot of the things alleged were pretty openly known even 20 years ago when I was skating. Does he have some responsibility? Sure, but it’s a much less direct connection. I don’t think if this is actually pursued, that Joanne gets out of this by dragging Ted into it. I do expect Ted will try and distance himself from Joanne.

I do really hope these allegations are thoroughly and properly investigated though I can’t say I’m particularly optimistic that will happen. I would personally love to see a few heads roll. And I’d love to be a fly on the wall at the section AGM

 

[Aaron MB Fan]

The coaching staff have high credentials individually. At least five - Emanuel, Kathryn Kang, Kevin Reynolds, Jeremy Ten and Alexander Lawrence are all former students there and they also have Neil Wilson and Ben Ferreira, among others, of course, as well and Megan Wing and Aaron Low. A lot of people's names and reputations are at stake so hopefully a thorough investigation is carried out.

This is what shocked me. I've always heard about Joanne over the years and the focus of issues with skaters training at her rink has been centered around her. So I couldn't believe how many former top Canadian skaters coach there - I had no idea they all coached at Champs. We don't know enough to be able to comment either way, but I was disappointed to read of the claims knowing how many other former Canadian great skaters coach in the rink.

 

[overedge]

The coaching staff have high credentials individually. At least five - Emanuel, Kathryn Kang, Kevin Reynolds, Jeremy Ten and Alexander Lawrence are all former students there and they also have Neil Wilson and Ben Ferreira, among others, of course, as well and Megan Wing and Aaron Low. A lot of people's names and reputations are at stake so hopefully a thorough investigation is carried out.

Neil Wilson was also a student there.

And reputation and high credentials do not stop coaches from being abusive, or from turning a blind eye to others' abusive practices.

 

[coppertop1]

Remember all the drama was Mira Leung changing and going back? I wonder if this had anything to do with it.

 

[overedge]

Remember all the drama was Mira Leung changing and going back? I wonder if this had anything to do with it.

It's possible, but IMO that had more to do with a lack of options on Mira's part, since there weren't too many other coaches willing to deal with Mama Leung.

 

[coppertop1]

It's possible, but IMO that had more to do with a lack of options on Mira's part, since there weren't too many coaches willing to deal with Mama Leung.

Yeah. I remember the drama with her mother. One thing I have always noticed is how Joanne's students all seem to stagnate. Emanuel, Kevin, Mira and most recently, Sarah Tamura (though I don't think she was ever making it passed nationals).

 

[Judy]

Which skaters are still there over the past 5 years?

 

[Judy]

It’s a very serious allegation and should not be ignored.

 

[overedge]

Yeah. I remember the drama with her mother. One thing I have always noticed is how Joanne's students all seem to stagnate. Emanuel, Kevin, Mira and most recently, Sarah Tamura (though I don't think she was ever making it passed nationals).

And those are the ones who made it to seniors. There have also been a number of skaters who made it to sectionals and nationals as novices or juniors (and pre-novice when there was a Canadian championship in that category) and then plateaued. Of course that happens at other rinks too, but maybe not at the same rate.

 

[Yyzskater]

It doesn't sound like its just one allegation, but several spanning years. So it seems more like a toxic and abusive environment that has been cultivated there. This also means that everyone there is well aware of it and was ok letting it slide.

 

[skatingguy]

It’s a very serious allegation and should not be ignored.

I think issue is more about who has the authority, and credibility to actually the allegations. I don't see how anyone can trust Skate Canada to handle this sort of thing properly, and the federal government may move towards a National Inquiry on the issue of abuse in sports, but that would be a process that will take years to complete, and will cover all sports.

 

[Willin]

This is what shocked me. I've always heard about Joanne over the years and the focus of issues with skaters training at her rink has been centered around her. So I couldn't believe how many former top Canadian skaters coach there - I had no idea they all coached at Champs. We don't know enough to be able to comment either way, but I was disappointed to read of the claims knowing how many other former Canadian great skaters coach in the rink.

A few of the coaches there seem to be former students of hers - so they may be used to tolerating her or may think the behavior is normal. A lot of more junior coaches (and older coaches with a lesser resume) will also be in a position where they feel they have to tolerate it or lose their job/students.

 

[puglover]

I may be a lone voice and I realize these accusations are serious but I hope that cool heads prevail. Joanne has had her critics but also her supporters over the years. Accusations are just the beginning.

 

[overedge]

I may be a lone voice and I realize these accusations are serious but I hope that cool heads prevail. Joanne has had her critics but also her supporters over the years. Accusations are just the beginning.

Both sides deserve a fair hearing, but this is a series of allegations about very troubling incidents over time. And the allegations are coming from a group of skaters, not from a single skater as far as we know. I don't think skaters would be making allegations this serious without at least some substance to the allegations.

 

[Yyzskater]

Most of these allegations seem to align wuth "old style" psychological coaching tactics that were tolerated before. It does not seem there are allegations of sexual or harsh physical abuse. So it may be a case of coaches not evolving with the times and continuing detrimental coaching methodologies. Which is still extraordinarily damaging but more understandable that it could be happening on an ongoing basis.

 

[Dragonlady]

Remember all the drama was Mira Leung changing and going back? I wonder if this had anything to do with it.

Probably not. Most of Mira's issues came from her mother coaching her.

 

[Sylvia]

Just tweeted by CTV News Vancouver: https://twitter.com/CTVVancouver/status/1652500609986174976

Figure skating group alleges abuse at Burnaby training centre

A Metro Vancouver woman who trained to be a figure skater as a child told CTV News she was a victim of abuse for many years.

bc.ctvnews.ca

A Metro Vancouver woman who trained to be a figure skater as a child told CTV News she was a victim of abuse for many years.
She is part of a group called Figure Skating for Change Canada, who have penned an open letter to Skate Canada and the Minister of Sport urging change.
CTV News has agreed not to reveal her identity because she is still a professional in the sport and fears retribution. We are calling her Skater A.
“For me it was physical, verbal, emotional and psychological,” said Skater A.

As a child, Skater A said she believed it was just something she had to endure to be part of the sport.
“To us it was normal to be yelled at. It was normal to feel terrified,” she said. “I felt I was always in fight or flight mode, like I was always in survival mode.”
Skate Canada has reviewed the letter and “is deeply troubled by the allegations.”

ETA: https://twitter.com/FSforChangeCan/status/1652503930839130112

Thank you to @CTVVancouver for sharing Skater A’s story. Thank you to Skater A for her bravery and resilience for coming forward. This is a nation-wide crisis that needs to be addressed now through a judicial inquiry.

 

[4rkidz]

What is sad is most training centres for high performance skaters anywhere in North America likely suffered similar abuse which was typical in the 80’s.

 

[DynamicMutation]

What is sad is most training centres for high performance skaters anywhere in North America likely suffered similar abuse which was typical in the 80’s.

and still accepted into the 90s, and 2000s, etc...

Unfortunately, skaters did not/do not need to be in a high performance training centre for these behaviours to occur. Just need to have adults turn a blind eye or to encourage such behaviours.

Big hugs to Skater A to bravely speak up and speak out.

 

[champ]

Most of these allegations seem to align wuth "old style" psychological coaching tactics that were tolerated before. It does not seem there are allegations of sexual or harsh physical abuse. So it may be a case of coaches not evolving with the times and continuing detrimental coaching methodologies. Which is still extraordinarily damaging but more understandable that it could be happening on an ongoing basis.

It went a lot deeper than that.... they smeared people, had skaters ostraacized, did not give them funds... joanne and ted are quite the pair.. played God with the skaters

 

[champ]

Both sides deserve a fair hearing, but this is a series of allegations about very troubling incidents over time. And the allegations are coming from a group of skaters, not from a single skater as far as we know. I don't think skaters would be making allegations this serious without at least some substance to the allegations.

these skaters know joanne and ted and skate canada will try to bury and burn them. So no one comes out with this info for the fun of it.....