Chaos reigns supreme at the Deva gym. Gymnasts are being taped and asked to make statements National team coaches Octavian Belu and Mariana Bitang said they are ready to leave Deva and go somewhere else “ where we would be appreciated.”
The two of them do admit, however, that the crisis Romanian gymnastics is facing is all too real, and the press did little but reflect the current situation. The decision to send all senior team members home, except Oana Petrovschi and Andreea Raducan, was not made by the coaching staff, but the RGF Executive Committee, who sent two officials, Adrian Stoica and Nicolae Vieru to Deva to evaluate the situation. Their decision was most likely influenced by a survey prepared by Mariana Bitang and filled out by the gymnasts. Asked what were some of the possible causes for the team’s lack of preparation, the gymnasts wrote
Following one-on-one conversations between Stoica, Vieru and the gymnasts who were complaining of injuries, the medical clearances received from the NISM, but also the signed statements from gymnasts refusing to train due to health problems compiled by Octavian Belu and Mariana Bitang, the RGF decided to sent the gymnasts home after a 5-hour marathon meeting. The decision did little but confirm what was already known –no training was taking place in the gym. The two coaches said some of their actions, such as taping the gymnasts when they were told of the RGF’s decision, the survey they filled out, their signed statements when they decided they couldn’t train any more, were done to ensure their protection from any things that might be revealed by the gymnasts and their families. Octavian Belu admits the team atmosphere had taken a turn for the worse, but attributes this to the negative press, not to lack of proper coaching/teaching. “I ended up being surround by little enemies during training. And these enemies are my own gymnasts. I no longer have any authority in front of them,” said Belu.
Although both of them denied wanting to leave Deva after this year’s Romanian International, Octavian Belu and Mariana Bitang still acted like they are ready to take that step. “We didn’t say we will leave Deva after the Romanian International. But going to a European or World Championship without a team -when we won Worlds 5 years in a row- would be a ordeal. We would have to answer all sorts of questions. The junior team will go with their coaches. All I can tell you about myself is that I can’t deal with unfair accusations. It’s inhumane. I dealt with it 9, 100 times. Up until now we were valued technicians. Now we’re brainwashing tyrants. All this is published in foreign countries. The French press is already saying that while no other countries could bring down Romanian gymnastics, it was brought down by Romanians. I for one am getting tired of saying gymnastics is all about discipline. If we cannot do gymnastics in Romania, we’ll go where we can. No one can take away my professional background and results,” said Mariana Bitang.
"I’m sick of being called someone who brainwashes gymnasts. It hurts that some of the accusations come from people I respect a lot and admire their bluntness. It hurts that such influential people believe that about me. I personally feel they were misinformed, because I received awards and was named ‘man of the year’ by the same people who are criticizing me now. Don’t ask me about the future. As far as Romanian gymnastics is concerned, I hang on to the past. There is no future for me. We would be sorry to leave. You saw the juniors. You saw their eyes. Any of them are ready to perform; they dream about being the new Nadia Comaneci, who isn’t just a symbol of Romanian gymnastics anymore, but a symbol of gymnastics in general. We would be sorry to leave, but we can’t work like this anymore" (Octavian Belu).
"There are too many health problems and not enough discipline." (Sabina Cojocar)
"We have health problems, but no ambition." (Oana Ban)
"We don’t try hard enough during training and we should grit out teeth and deal with the pain sometimes." (Andreea Ulmeanu)
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