PERFORMANCE SKILLS AND MENTAL HEALTH SUPPORT FROM BELIEVE PERFORM AND ATHLETICS NI

The agreement, featuring all four Home Country Athletics Federations [HCAFs] and British Athletics, will see new online resources designed by Believe Perform’s sports psychology and mental health experts being provided for athletes, coaches and parents.

Athletics Northern Ireland will offer 400 Believe Perform resource licences for coaches and athletes on the senior and youth talent programmes as well as mental health leads in clubs and Run NI groups across the country. These licences will be rolled out in due course.

Believe Perform is the world's leading online source of performance psychology, well-being and mental health content for the sporting community. Their mission focuses on supporting coaches, athletes and parents to learn applied and practical ways in which they can build positive mental health habits and boost mental fitness. Since launching in 2013, they have provided free and accessible content to people all over the world to educate around the areas of psychology and mental health. You can follow Believe Perform on Twitter for daily posts focusing on maintaining your mental fitness and reinforcing positive mental health habits.

Training courses, articles and infographics on sports psychology, mental health and well-being will be available to help inform, educate and support members and clubs during this current period of uncertainty and anxiety caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

Director of Coaching & Athlete Development, Jackie Newton said “We are thrilled to have formed this exciting relationship with Believe Perform who offer such a wide spectrum of resources for our broad and diverse sport. Athletes and runners join our clubs with a range of motivations, from those that want to be active for health reasons, to those that want to compete at the highest level. We will offer relevant curriculums for athletes, coaches and parents that are working and training within the Talent and Performance programme and for Mental Health Leads in clubs and Run NI groups and are very much looking forward to rolling this out.”

Believe Perform spokesperson said: “We believe with the right education, knowledge and support, not only can we help people to improve their performance within their own chosen arena, but we can also start supporting them to build positive mental health habits. With the current conditions and uncertainty surrounding Covid-19 we could not be more proud to be working together with Athletics Northern Ireland and all the home nations in collaboration with British Athletics as one unit to increase the proactivity and awareness around positive mental well-being and to work towards reducing the stigma attached to mental health. We are looking forward to strengthening our working relationship and helping more athletes, parents and coaches to stay mentally healthy in and out of sport.”