Health4Sport: 13 safeguarding principles so that young athletes can thrive in multidisciplinary sporting environments.

The past year has brought on a new challenge for Swiss sport and the sports and exercise medicine (SEM) community. This is a global challenge that requires our unqualified attention. No, we are not talking about a virus, but rather about a much more insidious problem that plagues sports throughout the world: harassment and abuse.1 In June 2020, Swiss gymnasts came forward and reported abusive experiences in their training environment.2 Soon athletes from other sports followed, feeling empowered. Most troubling was that many of the athletes were minors at the time of the reported incidents. While situations of harassment and abuse in sport had previously been uncovered, never had they stirred the country like this. The magnitude of the testimonies, and the fact that national media outlets quickly investigated further, led to a parliamentary response: action is required and athletes must count on a system that effectively safeguards them. Currently, independent investigations are underway. Elite sport requires high levels of commitment and pushes athletes to test their physical and mental limits. Equally, the training environment necessitates focus and discipline. Inevitably, athletes suffer from mental stress, illness …