Basketball Australia in collaboration with the Australian Institute of Sport have launched an interactive e-learning course for participants within the high-performance pathway to increase education and reduce stigma around Mental Health in Sport.
The course is designed to increase awareness of the impact of mental health in sporting environments based from the AIS Mental Health in Sport Workshops that are delivered nationally.
The course will be implemented for staff working in Basketball Australia’s high-performance environments, to amplify awareness of signs and symptoms of poor mental health, increase confidence to assist someone with poor mental health and decrease overall stigma of mental health in competitive environments.
Rhian Bird, Head of Athlete Wellbeing at Basketball Australia has been at the core of the courses development and integration.
"Mental health is a relevant factor in high-performance sport, and we are excited to give our staff the opportunity to increase their knowledge and confidence in identifying and supporting someone with poor mental health,” said Bird.
"There is still a stigma attached to poor mental health in high-performance sport settings, and education has a direct impact in decreasing stigma and supporting our people to perform at their best,”
"We would like to thank the AIS for their collaboration on this project, and their ongoing support of athletes, coaches and staff in high-performance through the AIS Mental Health Referral Network.”
There is a direct synergy between the work of the AIS and Australia’s elite basketballers and AIS Director, Matti Clements looks forward to tracking outcomes of this collaborative initiative.
“We’re pleased to see the leadership role Basketball Australia is playing in this importance space with this project reducing the stigma around mental health - that’s what it means to win well,” said Clements.
“We want everyone involved in our high performance system to feel enriched, not diminished, from their experiences and thrive as humans first and sportspeople second.”
The Mental Health in Sport E-learning course can be access through Basketball Australia’s E-learning platform here.
