Health: Mental Health

The Foundation for Global Sports Development to Host Virtual Symposium on Recognizing and Preventing Abuse in Sport

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See It, Stop It: Tackling Abuse in Amateur Sport

See It, Stop It: Tackling Abuse in Amateur Sports will take place on June 16th and 17th.

“With the ‘See It, Stop It’ symposium, we aim to equip adults with information and empower them to create change at the parent and coach level all the way up to the institutional level.” – David Ulich, Executive Board Member for The Foundation for Global Sports Development


LOS ANGELES (PRWEB)

As youth sports organizations around the world begin reopening their programs, coaches, administrators, and parents have a unique opportunity to address an issue that has plagued youth sport for decades: abuse. A recent study from the Child Protection Research Centre at the University of Edinburgh found that 75% of youth athletes reported emotional harm from being involved in sport.

The Foundation for Global Sports Development (GSD) will host “See It, Stop It: Tackling Abuse in Amateur Sports” a virtual symposium, on Wednesday, June 16th and Thursday, June 17th exploring how athletes, coaches, and administrators can recognize and stop abuse in sports. The symposium will cover topics such as the basics of abuse prevention and recognition, understanding the difference between tough, healthy coaching and abusive coaching, and the role institutions can play in proactively keeping athletes safe. Registration is available on GSD’s website.

Speakers for the event include:

  • Kimberly Hurst, BA, MA, MS, DFAPPA, PA-C – Founder & CEO of Avalon Healing Center

  • Trinea Gonczar – Director of Development for Avalon Healing Center

  • Grace French – President and Director of Communications & Research for The Army of Survivors

  • Coach Stuart Krohn – Director of ICEF Public Schools’ Student Leadership Academy, Rugby, and Sailing and member of the – – SoCal Jewish Sports Hall of Fame

  • Coach Lisa Finegan – Rugby Coach and Teacher at ICEF’s Public Schools

  • Rébecca Khoury, M.A. – Founding Director of The Spirit of Trust, President & CEO of the MAKO Corporation

  • Yetsa A. Tuakli-Wosornu, M.D., M.P.H. – Founder and Director of Sports Equity Lab, Asst. Professor of Clinical Public Health at Yale University

  • Jonathan Vaughn – Former NFL player and survivor of abuse

  • Professor Amos Guiora – Professor of Law at the S.J. Quinney College of Law and author of the book “Armies of Enablers”

  • Daphne Young – Chief Communications Officer at Childhelp

  • Tracy Leonard – Recognized as Darkness to Light’s 2021 Certified Instructor of the Year

“Our mission at GSD is to promote abuse-free sport for youth, and we cannot do that without addressing the key issues that allow abuse to thrive,” said David Ulich, co-founder of GSD and producer of ATHOG. “With the ‘See It, Stop It’ symposium, we aim to equip adults with information and empower them to create change at the parent and coach level all the way up to the institutional level.”

Prior to the live virtual sessions, symposium attendees will have the opportunity to watch “At the Heart of Gold: Inside the USA Gymnastics Scandal” (ATHOG), the award-winning documentary about the Larry Nassar case. The film reveals a dangerous system that prioritized winning over everything else, including protecting young female athletes.

“The Nassar case highlighted in our documentary ‘At the Heart of Gold,’ tragically illustrates the need for education around this topic,” said Dr. Steven Ungerleider, producer of ATHOG and CEO for GSD. “As long as athletes’ safety and well-being is de-prioritized, abuse will continue to happen. We must all work to stop it.”

For a complete program description and registration information, visit the registration website.

About The Foundation for Global Sports Development and Sidewinder Films

The Foundation for Global Sports Development, established in 1996, was born out of a desire to promote and protect the best parts of sport. Guided by its original mission, the foundation delivers and supports initiatives that promote accessible, fair, and abuse-free sport for youth. The foundation achieves this objective through grants, awards, educational projects, and filmmaking. In 2015, the foundation launched its media company, Sidewinder Films, to inspire and educate audiences through films that shed light on the remarkable, untold stories that celebrate the sport of life. Visit http://www.globalsportsdevelopment.org and http://www.sidewinderfilms.org to learn more.

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