G4CI responds to the Wagstaff and Reform 25 Final Report:
Gymnasts for Change International (G4CI) welcomes the publication of the Wagstaff Report and the final Reform 25 Report by British Gymnastics (BG), which together mark an important moment of reckoning, not just for gymnastics, but for all sport in the UK.
The Wagstaff Report is a vast, detailed, and comprehensive document that adds essential context to the findings of the Whyte Review. Wagstaff both confirms the scale of cultural change that has been undertaken within the sport over the past three years, while simultaneously outlining the enormity of what has not yet been achieved.
However, while G4CI acknowledge the progress that has been made by British Gymnastics, survivors continue to be erased from the reform process, with too many witnesses, whistleblowers, victims and children left unsupported, unheard, and at risk.
The Wagstaff report itself, paints a picture of a painfully slow and deeply complex institutional reform effort, overdue and beset by resistance. It supports what G4CI has long argued: that the entrenched and systemic nature of abuse in gymnastics means reform must be structural, cultural, and survivor-led.
Five years on from the release of Athlete A, and the subsequent Gymnast Alliance Movement, the Wagstaff Report finally reflects a nuanced understanding of the deep-rooted problems in the sport in the UK. Its recommendations, if fully implemented, have the potential to transform British Gymnastics over the next decade.
However, G4CI’s own benchmarking report, which tracks British Gymnastics’ reform process against G4CI’s original Call for Change document, published in 2021, shows that 66% of the reforms survivors have called for remain incomplete or not actioned.
Despite positive developments, including a new leadership team, rewritten safeguarding policies, the "Be the Change" campaign, pedagogical shifts with the RISE framework, and signs of a change in values at the 2025 British Championships, fundamental organisational flaws remain.
In particular the British Gymnastics Reform 25 Final Report contains serious omissions and alarming narratives in relation to outstanding Civil Claims and ICP cases.
The Wagstaff report acknowledges that the Independent Complaints Process (ICP) continues to re-traumatise survivors and that the British Gymnastics leadership has failed to pivot away from an inadequate process. Despite British Gymnastics acknowledging the trauma caused, to date, they have continued to fail to provide any mental health support to those enduring the process.
The Wagstaff report lacks representation on the long-term impacts of abuse on former child athletes within the vignettes. The failure to include a narrative that describes the long-term physical and mental health challenges faced by athletes long after leaving the sport, or the experiences of those giving evidence in the ICP, signals a complete and continued erasure of the very people who brought about the reform process.
‘Magical thinking’ has been used throughout both reports to refer to the ICP as “ending” which is totally misleading and inaccurate. The ICP has not ended and many complaints remain unresolved, with survivors locked in an unjust process administrated and overseen by Sports Resolutions. 5 years of protracted, vexatious practices have already passed, with panel hearings still to be scheduled beyond 2025. This ‘magical thinking’ has left ICP witnesses and complainants abandoned and erased by BG,’s report.
The Reform 25 Final Report fails to provide an update on the number of unresolved civil claims against British Gymnastics. We also remain deeply concerned the report does not provide any data regarding the number of outstanding cases in the ICP, or data on unresolved complaints against British Gymnastics. This lack of transparency obscures the fact that, 5 years on, abusive coaches remain in the sport.
The report admits that cultural change beyond the 36 high‑performance gymnasts—who make up only a tiny fraction of British Gymnastics’ 300,000–400,000 members—has barely started. Wagstaff notes that abusive coaching beliefs remain widespread, with many club owners still not prioritising welfare or positive coaching.
The report highlights that putting new policy into practice has proved challenging, with an alarming new trend in the circumvention of policy identified. Wagstaff highlights that an increasing number of elite gymnasts are being homeschooled, as a way to bypass new restrictions on training hours.
We call on British Gymnastics to be transparent regarding key data:
5 years on, how many civil claims remain unsettled?
5 years on, how many ICP complaints remain unresolved?
Since 2022 when Reform 25 began, have complaint numbers increased or decreased?
As reforms embed, are civil claim numbers declining?
How many athletes in the UK describe their experience in the sport as ‘positive’ and would recommend participation in gymnastics to others?
G4CI has identified that the current safeguarding system still places an unjust and unsustainable burden on children to report their own abuse. Our 2025 benchmarking report is the output of ongoing monitoring of British Gymnastics’ Reform 25 processes, and has involved maintaining regular dialogue with the organisation, while supporting scores of athletes and parents who continue to try to raise the alarm regarding coaches of concern who remain active in the sport.
However, three years on from the Whyte Review, how can it be that athletes who have experienced harm are still being driven out of gymnastics, while the coaches who abused them remain in place? This reversal of justice is not just unacceptable; it’s a direct consequence of a safeguarding model designed to protect the system, more than the children within it.
As G4CI members have attempted to navigate flawed reporting systems and opaque complaint procedures, a clear pattern has emerged: Safeguarding, as it is currently designed, asks the most vulnerable people in the system to carry the full burden of disclosure.
Safeguarding systems must shift from complaint-based models to proactive prevention, with early detection mechanisms and qualitative data monitoring that tracks risk indicators across clubs.
Our demands:
Immediate mental health support for all ICP witnesses and claimants.
Transparent data reporting on civil claims and unresolved complaints.
Full implementation of Wagstaff’s recommendations, with independent oversight.
Transition to prevention-based safeguarding, for all gymnasts, not just high performance athletes, with investment in risk monitoring tools.
A clear public commitment to redress and recognition for those harmed.
Gymnasts for Change International believes meaningful reform is still possible, but it must centre survivors, not sideline them. We will continue to advocate until no child is left to report their own harm, and no coach with a record of abuse is allowed to remain in the sport.