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Why I'm pulling my daughter out of her favourite sport

By Carolyn Tate|

My nine-year-old daughter is an enthusiastic and talented gymnast. She begged me to allow her to try gymnastics for a year before I relented and booked her in for lessons when she was six.?

I had my reservations about gymnastics as a sport. I was concerned about potential injuries and stress on her body, and about some rumoured questionable coaching practices, which were eventually investigated as part of the Australian Human Rights Commission inquiry, published last year.?

The inquiry found that physical, emotional and sexual abuse were an issue in Australian gymnastics, and that bullying and body-shaming were prevalent at elite levels.?

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Gymnastics was investigated by the Australian Human Rights Commission (Getty)

But before that, my daughter's enthusiasm wore me down and I relented and booked her in for a trial lesson. I figured I'd be there watching, so could keep an eye on how she was going.

And what do you know, she was really good. I booked my daughter in for weekly lessons, and she loved them.?

It wasn't long before I received an email informing me that my daughter had been selected to go up a grade, which meant two one-hour lessons per week. Six months later, she was invited to try out for the club's competitive squad จC meaning two two-hour training sessions a week.

She didn't mind because she loved it, and I didn't mind because I'd take my laptop to gymnastics and work while she trained.

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Carolyn and her daughter (Supplied)

She became remarkably strong จC able to climb a floor-to-ceiling rope without using her legs, complete a hundred sit-ups without struggle, and pull off a range of tumbles and flips that made my head spin.?

Recently, my daughter participated in her first competition, which she loved. She trained hard with her team and practised in her spare time at home จC and on the day, she was incredibly proud of her efforts, receiving a silver ribbon for her efforts.

It was that afternoon, out of nowhere, she told me she'd like to take a break from gymnastics.?

"I thought you loved it," I said.

"I do, but I want to do other things too," she replied.?

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Carolyn's daughter loves gymnastics
Carolyn's daughter loves gymnastics (Supplied)

My daughter doesn't just love gymnastics, she likes to dance and act and cook and paint. She'd like to enrol in some of those activities next year.?

While I understood, I was worried my daughter would regret giving up the sport she's loved for the past three years, just as she's hitting her stride.

But when I received an email the following week informing me that her training for next year would be bumped up to two three-hour sessions a week, I knew she'd made the right decision.

She's only nine, and she has no desire to be an elite gymnast. She just wants to have fun, stay active and learn new things. It's a shame that the sport she loves has to be so all-consuming.

So next year I'll enrol my daughter in dance and acting classes, and we'll probaby also just hang out after school and spend some relaxed time together. Gymnastics is there if she wants to go back, but for now, I'm happy for her to focus on being nine and having fun.?

She only gets one shot at that, and I think she's doing a great job.

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