Bobsleigh Canada Skeleton to call in mediator to address toxic-culture allegations

Bobsleigh Canada Skeleton says it will engage an independent, third-party mediator to help address the concerns of its athletes.

The national sport organization sent an email outlining its mediation plan to 49 of Canada's bobsled and skeleton athletes on Thursday morning.

It is in response to a letter signed by more than 60 athletes that was sent on Monday to Bobsleigh Canada Skeleton's board of directors.

That letter called for the resignation of president Sarah Storey and high performance director Chris Le Bihan.

The email, obtained by The Canadian Press, was only sent to active sliding athletes, while the original letter of complaint was signed by active and retired athletes.

Thursday's email from Bobsleigh Canada Skeleton's board outlined a two-step process to remedy the athletes' concerns.

BCS said the first step will be to convene meetings with athletes to identify issues of concern and opportunities for improvement within the organization's high-performance program.

Step 2 is to convene a mediated meeting of athletes, the board, as well as representatives from Sport Canada, Own The Podium, and the Canadian Olympic Committee to review the issues and develop an action plan.

WATCH | Justin Kripps pilots Canada to Olympic bobsleigh bronze medal:

The call for mediation comes two weeks after the closure of the Beijing Olympics, where Justin Kripps piloted Canada's four-man sled to a bronze medal and fellow Canadian Christine de Bruin claimed bronze in monobob.

The athletes letter cites issues with culture, safety, transparency and governance, claiming staff makes arbitrary decisions on matters like team selection based on biases, and has little concern for athlete safety.

The athletes who spoke with CBC News all