The City of Helsinki will recover the 2022 operating grants for the Elise Gymnastics Society, as the city did not meet the ethical criteria for grants.
The Administrative Court has dismissed the complaint of the Elise Gymnastics Association of Gymnastics, which had sought to announce the decision of the City of Helsinki’s decision of EUR 98,591.
In the background is Elise Gymnastics Coaching Manager Laura Ahose Disciplinary procedure. In November 2022, Sports reported that Ahonen, the head coach of the Rhythmic Gymnastics national team, had behaved inappropriate for years towards national team gymnasts.
In January 2023, the Disciplinary Committee of the Gymnastics Association’s Disciplinary Committee gave Ahonen a mild discipline. The committee did not announce the exact penalty. According to the rules of the union, a note or warning is not public.
In October 2023, the City of Helsinki decided to recover the 2022 operating grants. The city considered that the club did not meet the ethical criteria required to obtain a grant.
Elise Gymnastics first made an appeal to the city, which was rejected. After that, the club appealed to the Helsinki Administrative Court of recovery. In addition to the annulment of the decision, the club also claimed the reimbursement of costs.
At the beginning of March, the Administrative Court decided to reject the complaint and requirements of the Elise Gymnastics Society. Elise Gymnastics may appeal against the decision to the Supreme Administrative Court if it is granted an appeal.
In 2023, Elise Gymnastics gave the City of Helsinki a comprehensive report on how the club intends to ensure ethical and safe activities for children and adolescents in the future.
The City of Helsinki considered that Elise Gymnastics had taken adequate measures to make its activities in line with the ethical principles of the sports community and therefore granted the club an operating and space subsidy in 2023.