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Gymnastics has long been a target
for paedophiles in New Zealand and overseas, says Invercargill judge, coach
and organiser Colin McMullien. The issue has been brought into
the public eye with Gymnastics New Zealand (GNZ) making spectators register
and label their cameras and cellphone cameras during this week's national
championships in Christchurch because of concerns about paedophiles. McMullien, who will be judging in
Christchurch this week, said one of his unofficial roles at gymnastics events
was ensuring there were no suspicious people in the crowd. "We do encounter the odd
strange fellow in gymnastics," McMullien said. "I've spoken to (alleged
paedophiles) before at camps. At a camp in Christchurch I was asked to speak
to one guy and he got the message." GNZ's camera protocol was based on
a ruling brought in by the sport's international body, McMullien said. McMullien has been helping
organise the Southland primary schools Gymfest, an event which is run under
the banner of the Department of Education and was therefore not subject to
the GNZ ruling, for the past 22 years. McMullien said he had not
encountered any problems at Gymfest, but other gymnastics events in Southland
had attracted unsavoury characters. He has also been alerted about
offenders by Invercargill District Court staff in the past. Synchro Swim New Zealand's
national championships were completed at Invercargill's Splash Palace
yesterday and meeting organiser Michelle Anderson said the sport was aware of
the issue. A similar process to the
gymnastics protocol had been used at synchro meets in Australia. "We talked about it at the
coaches and managers meeting at the start of the nationals. There are some
children who don't want to be photographed because of privacy issues,"
Anderson said. Swimming New Zealand spokesman Ian
Hepenstall was not aware of any limitations on cameras being allowed into
national events in his sport. At venues used for major meetings,
there were restrictions on who was allowed poolside, and that included only
accredited photographers. –Southland Times |
