U of T scholars ask Sport Minister for review of Own The Podium

Three University of Toronto sport scholars are asking Canada's sport minister to take a look at Own The Podium's mandate amid mounting allegations of athlete maltreatment.

In a letter to Sport Minister Pascale St-Onge, Bruce Kidd, Peter Donnelly and Gretchen Kerr said that OTP has a medals-first mandate that puts pressure on national sport organizations to prioritize top results over health and safety.

"What began as a carrot has turned out to be a stick," the letter said. "We believe that the ultimate measure for the success of the Canadian sports system should not be medals, but the health and wellbeing of athletes, and the quality and quantity of the opportunities we provide Canadians in sports, both at the highest levels and at the grassroots."

St-Onge held an emergency roundtable meeting last week in Ottawa, telling The Canadian Press that since she was appointed Sport Minister almost six months ago, more than eight national sport organizations have faced accusations of everything from sexual abuse to misappropriation of funds.

St-Onge vowed to accelerate the opening date of an independent complaint mechanism through the Sport Dispute Resolution Centre of Canada, and on Tuesday former artistic swimmer Sarah-Eve Pelletier was named as Canada's first sport integrity commissioner. On Thursday, the federal government announced $16 million for Pelletier's office allocated over three years.

More than 70 current and retired gymnasts — the number has grown to over 300 — wrote to Sport Canada last week asking for an independent investigation into their sport in Canada.

Under the Twitter handle @Gym4ChangeCan, they said Thursday that they'd spoken with the Sport Minister's office this week "and are encouraged by these