LIVERPOOL, Nov. 4 (Xinhua) -- USA Gymnastics President and CEO, Li Li Leung Thursday said the organization has adopted the athlete-centered approach after USA Gymnastics drew public wrath for a sex abuse scandal.
Leung took charge three and a half years ago in the wake of the scandal and has been reforming their culture to an athlete-centered approach, and prioritising athletes' health and wellness, she said.
"We're really proud of what we've been able to accomplish over the last few years. But we also know that a lot more work can still be done and we continue to evolve and transform as an organisation," said the former vice president of the NBA.
"We've been on this cultural transformation for a little while now and have been working really, really hard to instil a very positive culture in terms of training and wellness for our athletes.
"And our belief is that a positive environment and competitive excellence are not mutually exclusive, meaning you can have both at the same time," said Leung.
As a former gymnast who started training at seven, Leung said she had had a very positive experience in the sport.
"I spent more time with my coaches growing up than my own parents, but my coaches are like my second set of parents."
But she also added that the cultural environment that existed back then enabled abuses to happen because "winning had been prioritised over the health and wellness of our athletes", and acknowledged "the existing power imbalance of coaches over athletes".
"That's why we had to change," said Leung, who first led the restructure of the USA Gymnastics board, where now roughly half the members are independent board members from outside the industry of gymnastics or the community, but are former CEOs of companies, medical doctors or communications professionals.
"Then also over one-third of the board members are acting representatives," said Leung. "So they could be former or current athletes and so we want to make sure that athletes' voices are being heard when we make very high level decisions."
Leung admitted that most of the gymnasts are minors and educating them and experienced coaches are both challenges.
"So we have resources that are specifically focused on the minor athletes as well as resources specifically on a coaching level.
"From a coaching standpoint, our strategy has been a top down and bottom up strategy because we know that national team coaches are the ones who are most visible, and that they're role models for the rest of the community. So we want to make sure that they're acting in the manner of positive coaching.
"Then we also have developed coaching resources for young coaches coming in. And our hope is that the top and the bottom will eventually meet in the middle," Leung said. ■
