[Exclusive][Report file] Rhythmic gymnastics national representative Woolin Gymnastics Association Hansim Administration

The administration of the Korean Gymnastics Association (Chairman: Han Seong-hee, CEO of POSCO E&C), which eventually caused the promising national rhythmic gymnast to give up their participation in international competitions, has been criticized.

It is being pointed out that the Korean Gymnastics Association did not properly handle the work and did not consider the players' situation, which made the situation worse.

Joo-won Kim (Sejong University), who is 20 this year, was selected for the national team in August last year.

However, it is said that the Korean Gymnastics Association did not notify the athletes of the national team training plan until several months passed.

When the national team athlete is confirmed, the athlete should be informed of the specific training schedule and competition schedule, but Sejong University insists that "we did not receive any notice from the Korean Gymnastics Association in advance."

Kim Joo-won, who could not do anything in vain, left for Belarus alone in November of last year for field training.

He was there honing his skills under the guidance of coach Daria Kondakova, who led Russian rhythmic gymnastics.

The cost of the Belarusian field training was shared by Kim Joo-won and Sejong University.

The Korean Gymnastics Association did not spend even 1 won.

On December 28, last year, when Joo-won Kim was sweating hard, the Korean Gymnastics Association notified that he would start training at the Jincheon Athletes' Village in Chungcheongbuk-do from January 12 to 28, 2022.

Simply put, it was to return home quickly.

Player Kim Joo-won became embarrassed after receiving this notice.

This is because he planned to participate in the 'Grand Prix Moscow 2022' competition, which will be held in Moscow, Russia from February 18, 2022, for skill check and practical experience.

Belarus to Moscow can be reached by air in less than an hour.

You do not have to worry about the quarantine problem caused by COVID-19, and various expenses are reduced.

On the other hand, if you return to Korea, you will have to go through a period of quarantine and have to go back to Russia after not training for a while with a new coach you see for the first time at the Jincheon Athlete's Village.

The huge cost has to be borne by both the players and the school.

So Sejong University asked the Korean Gymnastics Association to reconsider, but it was rejected.

The Gymnastics Association notified, "I will approve Kim Joo-won's participation in the international competition, so please make sure to visit the Jincheon National Athlete's Village."

Afterwards, Sejong University begged for permission to participate in the Moscow competition from Belarus due to various circumstances, such as quarantine issues and tight schedules, but the Gymnastics Association did not accept it.

He also threatened, "If you do not comply with the gymnastics association's request to enter the village, you may be excluded from the national team or disadvantaged such as restrictions on participation in the preliminary rounds."

In the end, Kim Joo-won, who was training in Belarus, had no choice but to return to Korea via Turkey on January 21st.

He even self-quarantined for 10 days after that.

The Moscow International Convention was abandoned in tears.

He had to leave the country on February 9 to participate in the tournament, but it was almost impossible in terms of schedule and physical condition.

To make matters worse, the training to enter the Jincheon National Athlete's Village was also delayed again due to the spread of Corona 19.

It was changed to February 14, a month later, rather than January 12, which was originally notified by the Korean Gymnastics Association.

However, in consideration of the Omicron pandemic, the Korea Sports Association changed the policy to make the training in the village 'unprecedented' and to allow each sport to take care of it and train autonomously outside the village.

From the player's point of view, as a result, the cost was reasonable, training was not as good as training, and I was not able to attend the Moscow Games, which was a good opportunity to gain international experience.

The situation that the Korean Gymnastics Association emphasized so much for the training at Jincheon Athletes' Village in North Chungcheong Province came to a point where we did not know when.

It is only a waste of time.

The Korean Gymnastics Association explains why the situation is like this.

“I had to appoint a full-time coach right after the national team selection match in August of last year, but it was canceled because there were not enough suitable people. However, I believe that Kim Joo-won and Sejong University could not have been unaware of this, as they have been training for relocation in January every year. Also, in order to participate in international competitions, a full-time coach must personally check the physical condition and condition of the athlete. If you exclude them from training, you will have a problem with your equality with other players.”

However, the explanation of the Korean Gymnastics Association is simply too lame.

Failure to elect a full-time coach on time is the responsibility of the Gymnastics Association, not the athlete.

Even if we couldn't draw on time, this would have been prevented if we had informed the players in advance of their future training or relocation plans.

Kim Joo-won, who started rhythmic gymnastics at the age of 7, has been evaluated as a promising player enough to be selected as the final torch runner at the 2014 Incheon Asian Games.

After that, he was selected as the youngest national team member at the 2018 Jakarta Palembang Asian Games and won the bronze medal in the team event.

The reason for the existence of the Korean Gymnastics Association is to support the dream tree that shows potential and to nurture it into a large athlete.

It is pointed out within and outside the gymnastics world that the Korean Gymnastics Association, which has an obligation to discover and develop the 'second Son Yeon-jae' as soon as possible, practically thwarted the dream of promising youngsters participating in international competitions.