World Mental Health Day is celebrated every year on 10 October. The mental well-being of athletes remains a top priority for SASCOC and the High Performance Psychology Working Group.
The World Health Organisation’s (WHO) theme for this year is “Access to Services-Mental Health in Catastrophes and Emergencies”.
This highlights the importance of safeguarding the mental health of both the communities we serve and colleagues who deliver this valuable work in times of crisis. As the SASCOC High-Performance Psychology Working Group, we identify with this year’s theme. It is our priority to safeguard the mental health of our athletes in the country.
The working group strives to introduce proactive strategies and support systems to promote a healthy mental wellbeing for the athletes we serve. This is evidenced by hosting pre-competition workshops and assigning psychologists to different competitions.
The recent strategies include hosting a webinar for Para Swimming and Para Athletics Teams before their competitions this past September, as well as assigning psychologists for the Region 5 Youth Games hosted in Namibia in July. The psychological support was equally important to the success of Team South Africa at the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympics Games.
While we appreciate the efforts made thus far, we understand and appreciate the magnitude of the task at hand. More can and needs to be done. We advocate for athletes and the National Federations that represent the respective sporting codes to reach out for psychological support. Joint efforts are important to improve access to mental health care for the athletes’ broader community. Borrowing from the Ubuntu philosophy, “Together, we can”.
Furthermore, the committee acknowledges that promotion of access to mental health care is a global effort. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) Mental Health Action Plan-2023, a strategy to promote the mental well-being of athletes, as well as the recently adopted International Paralympic Committee’s (IPC) Impact Strategy further reinforce the need for the support, and the strategies to ensure that this support is in place.
In addition, mental health is an integral part of the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals. Therefore, the committee values the need for interdisciplinary and international collaboration in promoting mental health in sports and fighting the stigma attached to it.
By encouraging seeking mental health support and nurturing sustainable collaborations, we can create a safe and trusting environment for our athletes.
Dr Koketjo Tsebe
Chairperson: SASCOC High-Performance Psychology Wo
