Athletes call for sport culture overhaul in Canada amid allegations of abuse

Scales should be banned from children's gyms. Parents should be permitted to watch. Rules of acceptable behaviour should be posted on gym walls with a toll-free line to report violations.

They may sound like basic safety precautions around children in sport, but they don't exist on a blanket scale in Canada. Amid what Sport Minister Pascale St-Onge has called a safe sport "crisis," many current and former athletes say the country is long overdue for a sport culture overhaul.

More than a 1,000 athletes from gymnastics, boxing and bobsled/skeleton have called for independent investigations into their sports in recent weeks, and last week former gymnast Amelia Cline filed a proposed class-action lawsuit against Gymnastics Canada and six provincial federations.

The proposed class of plaintiffs allege abuse dating back to 1978, and claim the organizations created a culture and environment where the abuse could occur and failed to protect the athletes, most of them minors, in their care.

One of the class members told The Canadian Press she'd like the posting of proper behaviour, with a call-in number, made mandatory in gyms.

"A lot of these rules sound like common sense, (but) it's frightening the extent to which common sense doesn't seem to permeate the gymnastics culture," said the retired gymnast, who requested anonymity for fear of reprisal.

St-Onge has said in her first five months as sport minister, she's received complaints about abuse, maltreatment or misappropriation of funds levelled against at least eight national teams, including rugby and rowing.

The outpouring of heartbreaking stories has prompted much conversation, around shared experiences and suggestions for fixes.

Ciara McCormack, the soccer player who