Tackling mental health issues in sport together!
The SA Mental Health Commission and Sport SA teamed up to present the free Mental Wellbeing in Sport forum at Morphettville Racecourse on Friday 28 June in response to urgent calls from sporting organisations.
South Australia has over 4000 sporting clubs with 58% (over 900,000) of the state’s population participating in sport and over 260,000 volunteers.
The forum was attended by 200 representatives of 125 sporting organisations in South Australia, representing 43 different sports – and we have collected a significant amount of valuable information and views from the forum.
In a pre-event survey, sporting communities identified anxiety, depression, suicide and managing performance as their top mental health concerns. They also told us the top gaps were education, getting support and awareness of mental health issues and the most effective resources were support, a positive club culture and openly talking about mental health issues.
Sporting associations want to be able to recognise and respond to early warning signs of mental health problems and find ways to build their sporting communities’ mental wellbeing.
The forum was also rated 4.8 out of 5 by participants who said the forum met or exceeded their expectations.
This tells us mental health is very relevant to South Australia’s sporting organisations and the forum was both timely and much needed.
The SAMHC is now analysing data from the forum. Following that, we will ascertain the next steps and design the resources you asked for to assist our State’s sporting organisations. We’ll keep in touch with you over the coming months to inform you about our progress and to seek your feedback on the development of resources.
View All Mental Wellbeing in Sport Resources
Watch the Livestream Video of the Event
Check out the livestream video of the discussion and special guest speakers and panellists – including Olympic champion cyclist Anna Meares.
Here’s what you told us
Anna Meares
In her own words – Anna explains how she kept going after breaking her neck at the Los Angeles World Cup.
Mental Wellbeing in Sport Pocket Guide
Tackling mental health issues in sport together!
Keep Up to Date – Sign Up
The SAMHC is analysing the data from the forum. Sign up here to keep up to date with the next steps and resources to be created as a result of the forum.
View All Mental Wellbeing in Sport Resources
