The need for better career transition support for people leaving sport has never been greater, especially for the individuals who are retiring after the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games this summer, either by choice or through deselection.
Seven years ago, Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson’s independent Duty of Care in Sport Review put into sharp relief not just the support vacuum experienced by people who play sport when they retire but also how the support system in this space is fragmented aolerannd often difficult to navigate.
Having been appointed to the role of Professor of Duty of Care in Sport at Abertay University in Scotland, I have followed the progress of how sport organisations have responded to aspects of the Review associated with retirement from sport, attentively.
At the start, I held the belief that sport organisations would step forward and respond to support sport transitions on a scale and scope commensurate with the problem and that there would that a time would come where critical incidents related to distressful retirement from sport would no longer occur.
I held the belief that the contributions of retirees to their sport and local communities would no longer be overlooked and would, in fact, come to be celebrated.
I held the belief that there would no longer be an acute misunderstanding of the responsibilities related to supporting sport transitions, which leads to the failure to effectively harness the lifelong impact people who play sport can have on society as influential agents for social change.
I held the belief that a person who plays sport would no longer be labelled as an athlete (and other derivatives, including dual career athlete). The transition out of sport poses many challenges, and it is counterintuitive to apply the very label to people that they may be trying to broaden in terms of their identity and sense of who they are.
And finally, I held the belief that the sport system would come together in a coordinated way to share successes and learning about career transition support and, ultimately, be recognised as a leading sector across society for addressing a previously unacceptable tolerance for neglecting those in need of support.
I am now of the opinion that the provision of support for sport transitions has increased, with a growing number of organisations now established to deliver support to people during and after their sporting career. However, the transition to life after sport persists to be very challenging, with academic studies showing that people who play sport continue to experience adjustment difficulties after retirement, especially in the areas of career and personal development, mental health support, and financial planning.
The societal contributions of people retiring from sport also continue to be relatively disregarded. Recognising their contributions to a far greater extent would enable the documentation and utilisation of this learning for a wider wellbeing support agenda, while ensuring every person exits through the front door of their sport validated and empowered to move forward with their lives.
A narrow and ill-defined ethos regarding transition support responsibilities also persists. While there are pockets of great practice and relentless advocacy for the support of people retiring from sport by player associations, the ambiguity within the high-performance system undermines the potential for a proactive and dynamic approach that would challenge the deeply entrenched commodity-based approach obsessed with winning medals.
There are some very capable leaders who have good intentions and have genuinely tried to take action within their own sports. However, the current state of play indicates a deficiency in understanding the ultimate measure of responsible retirement support, which is reflected in the ability of people to thrive in their post-career lives.
The area of sport career transition support is, itself, in a period of transition and Paris 2024 provides an outstanding opportunity for transformation and lasting impact. It also provides a unique situation for sport to contribute to the Government’s new Office for Value for Money by ensuring the investments into the athletes for Paris 2024 are fully realised.
However, nothing less than significantly enhanced support designed for, and delivered exclusively to, the people who strived to represent their countries is required. Such an antidote would help the area of retirement climb the priority stack in sport and also ensure that every individual is better-placed to transition out of sport effectively for themselves and impact society more widely.
David Lavallee is Professor of Duty of Care in Sport at Abertay University.
