In this blog Hannah Dobbin, Policy Adviser, reflects on her experience at Wembley Stadium for the Sport Minds mental health event and the progress being made by the sport and recreation sector when it comes to mental health.
On 6 October, I was proud to be one of over 130 people from across the sport and recreation sector who came together at Wembley for Sport Minds. A day where we celebrated success, shared good practice and were inspired by people who spoke about their own personal experiences of mental health. Here are a few highlights.
The Alliance, the Professional Players Federation and Mind, joined with the FA to host Sport Minds; sponsored by LPP Consulting. As part of a packed day we celebrated the 200th signatory to the Mental Health Charter for Sport and Recreation, which was only launched in March – so congrats to London Youth Rowing.
We heard from inspirational speakers including Conor Cusack, Clarke Carlisle and Andy Baddeley who shared their own stories and ideas on what more can be done around mental health support in the sector.
We also heard from academics and sport and recreation colleagues who are delivering mental health projects or supporting elite athletes with their wellbeing.
Many present had already signed-up to the Mental Health Charter and some even did on the day! If you’d like to sign-up and join our pan-sport movement you can do so here.
Sport Minds leads into World Mental Health Day which is on Saturday 10 October. It would be great if everyone supports this and once again shows that sport really does mind.
As part of this, you can support Time to Change, the mental health anti-stigma programme run by the charities Mind and Rethink Mental Illness, with its latest campaign that highlights the #smallthings that you can do to make a big difference to someone you know who has a mental health problem. For example, The World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association is a signatory of the Mental Health Charter and is supporting World Mental Health Day with a feature on its website.
The Charter and Sport Minds are part of a journey that many are already on to tackle stigma around mental health and wellbeing. Please keep an eye out for more activities coming soon!
