Four sporting national governing bodies have joined forces to create a pioneering “Wellbeing Partnership.”

Archery GB, Boccia England, England Handball, and Goalball UK will work together for three years on a series of initiatives designed to nurture the wellbeing of young people. The project has been funded by Sport England and epitomises Sport England’s “Unite the Movement” mission. 

The launch also comes in the wake of the Whyte Review - the report into the culture of bullying, abuse and discrimination within British gymnastics - which has shone a light on the need for more caring sporting environments.

The partnership is led by The True Athlete Project (TAP) - a charity that aims to build a more compassionate world through sport. The TAP team will deliver mindfulness training for athletes, a mentoring programme that matches athletes across sports, and a holistic course of development for leaders and coaches, which will help them build environments where every athlete can flourish.

Sam Parfitt, TAP CEO, says,

“The country is facing a mental health crisis. Unfortunately sport is often part of the problem rather than the solution. Our mindfulness-based approach helps individuals to flourish, and helps sport to realise its potential as a vehicle for social change. The four governing bodies deserve huge credit for deciding to be proactive in coming together, and we’re grateful to Sport England for believing in this project’s potential.”

Cait Leach of Archery GB says,

“Through an ambitious vision across our four sports and TAP, this exciting project will help athletes to flourish on and off the field of play.”

Andrew Partridge of Boccia England says,

“It’s a fantastic opportunity to support athletes and create real change in the sporting system.”

Faye Dale of Goalball UK says,

“This initiative will provide an exciting platform for change and one that will make a real difference to our young athletes across all of these fantastic sports.”

Bobby White of England Handball says,

“Young people deserve the best that sport can give, and this project makes that a reality.”

Links

Archery GB: https://www.archerygb.org/ 

Boccia England: https://www.bocciaengland.org.uk/ 

England Handball: https://www.englandhandball.com/ 

Goalball UK: https://goalballuk.com/ 

Sport England: https://www.sportengland.org/ 

The True Athlete Project: https://www.thetrueathleteproject.org/