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High Performance Sport NZ has instructed Canoe Racing NZ to address the “new” allegations of abuse within its elite squad of women after one of the top paddlers raised her concerns to the government agency.
Stuff understands that Aimee Fisher met with the head of High Performance Sport NZ, Michael Scott, and the organization’s legal counsel on Monday, where she explained her decision to leave the national team.
The meeting prompted Scott to write to Canoe Racing NZ CEO Tom Ashley to describe the agency’s concerns, along with his expectations on how the issues should be addressed.
Fisher, the under-23 world champion and New Zealand’s fastest woman in the 200-meter distance behind Lisa Carrington, is the sixth woman to leave the high-performance team, led by Gordon Walker, in the space of 18 months in means of accusations of harassment, intimidation and manipulation.
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With the hopes of New Zealand’s K4 medal in Tokyo on the line, High Performance Sport has been trying to facilitate a mediation process between Fisher and Walker as part of a broader consultation on the team’s ‘performance and culture’. .
DAVID BLANCO / THINGS
23–08-20 Filler images by David White. Former members of the Canoe Racing NZ high performance women’s program have spoken out about a culture of harassment, intimidation and psychological abuse.
Despite the government agency’s involvement in this process, and repeated attempts by its own staff to instigate a review of the canoe racing environment since 2018, the allegations raised in the meeting with Fisher were apparently new to senior managers. .
Stuff it also raised the allegations with both Canoe Racing NZ and High Performance Sport NZ last month as part of an investigation into the mass exodus of the women’s team.
At the time, Scott said in a statement that he was concerned to hear that some athletes “had not had a totally positive experience.”
The “new” allegations are understood to be related to Fisher’s treatment in the canoe racing program, along with an alleged incident that occurred since he left the team in May.
In a statement, Scott confirmed that he had met with a current member of the women’s team earlier this week, with the paddler sharing allegations related to the athletes’ well-being, along with concerns that Canoe Racing NZ had failed to act on their complaints.
JASON DORDAY / Things
Michael Scott, CEO of High Performance Sport New Zealand
“High Performance Sport NZ is deeply concerned about this situation,” said Scott.
“The well-being of the athletes and others in the high-performance system is and must remain of the utmost importance.”
Scott said that with the athlete’s consent, High Performance Sport NZ has written to Canoe Racing NZ to share the allegations and describe their expectations on how they will be addressed.
“That includes moving quickly to give this athlete the opportunity to speak with an independent person about their concerns.
“We have also requested that Canoe Racing NZ keep us updated on the timing and progress of this process, as well as the findings and actions that Canoe Racing NZ should take in response to concerns raised during the process.”
Hannah Peters / Getty Images
Canoe racers Jaimee Lovett, Caitlin Ryan, Kayla Imrie and Aimee Fisher pose for a portrait during the 2016 Olympics speed team announcement.
When asked what steps Canoe Racing planned to take to address High Performance Sport’s concerns, Ashley noted the availability of Sport NZ’s Independent Complaint Mechanism.
“We share HPSNZ’s concern for the well-being of athletes and recognize the importance of independent avenues for athletes to raise concerns,” he said.
“We have contacted [Independent Complaints Mechanism] and they were informed that they are prepared to receive and process complaints from past or present athletes, including Ms. Fisher. CRNZ will cooperate fully with the [complaints mechanism] to address the concerns raised. “
Ashley added that feedback from past and current team members has led the organization to implement several initiatives, including work done by High Performance Sport Coach Accelerator Leader Christian Penny to strengthen the team environment. and “learn from the challenges we have faced to date.” .
“This has already started a positive change within the program that sees the current team and coaches in a strong place,” Ashley said.
Peter Meecham / Things
Canoeing boss Tom Ashley.
Earlier this week, Ashley also announced that the organization had hired an independent person as a way for past athletes to talk about their experiences on the show. Ashley said this will now be expanded to include all current athletes, coaches and support staff.
He added that they will be invited to contact the independent person directly to talk about their experiences, whether positive or negative. The move comes after a former athlete raised questions about the confidentiality of the process.
Ashley said the reports and recommendations from this process will go to her board.
“The findings will further inform our work to improve our programs, and any concerns will be fully addressed.”
High Performance Sport NZ’s involvement comes after the government body faced backlash from its own staff for failing to take decisive action on concerns of a wellness crisis for athletes within canoe racing.
Stuff is aware of at least four individuals who raised issues about the canoe racing program to Senior Leaders at High Performance Sport NZ, including an outgoing employee who spoke directly to CEO Michael Scott in 2018.
ROBERT KITCHEN / Things
Grant Robertson is investigating the lack of well-being of athletes in high-performance sports.
A former employee of the performance support team alleges that the organization’s top managers ignored advice from experts on the ground.
“We were crying out for a full investigation of the show. The answer was very clear: we have already had an external review of cycling and triathlon, we will not have another. I took the inference from that to mean they didn’t want the publicity, ”said one.
Another claims he also expressed concern about Canoe Racing NZ’s culture “higher up the chain.”
“We have been saying for years that it was necessary to do something with that environment. It is supposed to be an “athlete-centered system.” It absolutely isn’t. “
