Promoting thriving using relational and systems-led approaches with sport national governing bodies

The evidence-base on thriving in sport has continued to build over the past decade with increasing numbers of research groups studying the construct and working to elucidate the intrapersonal, interpersonal, and organisational variables associated with its occurrence (see, for a review, Brown et al., 2024). Moreover, within practice, thriving has been used as a vehicle to guide agendas that forefront well-being alongside performance in elite sport service organisations (e.g., English Institute of Sport, 2018; Passaportis et al., 2022). The purpose of this talk will be to share our experiences of, and reflections on, promoting thriving in sport using a relational and systems-led approach. Specifically, we will discuss our ongoing collaborative delivery with a mental health partner to promote mental health through the creation of thriving environments in 32 Welsh Sport National Governing Bodies. Through a combination of workshop delivery, bespoke support, and the establishment of communities of practice our work is serving to build critical understanding of a relational perspective to mental health within sport organisations and supporting them to implement this knowledge through systems-led approaches across the participation-performance continuum. Based on this work, and our wider collaborations with high-performance sport organisations within the UK, we will reflect on some of the challenges faced when adopting a salutogenic approach in sport, including navigating clients’ anxieties and confusion about welfare and well-being, and the conflict between performance and well-being needs.