Sport cannot exist without coaches, umpires and sport staff. These stakeholders are all key in the success of sport across all levels. Just like athletes, coaches, umpires and other staff in high-performance sport experience a range of unique pressures, however, their mental health and wellbeing is much less researched.
The AFL undertakes research to support the wellbeing of everyone in the sport system, including umpires, wellbeing and development staff, and coaches.
- This systematic literature review explored the rates of mental health symptoms in umpires across sports and levels and identified a range of protective factors The Mental Health of Sporting Officials: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis | Sports Medicine | Springer Nature Link
- This study of Australian umpires from a range of sports showed that mental health literacy is low and that umpires may benefit from mental health literacy programs, and also showed that older and more experienced umpires tended to have lower levels of distress and higher intentions to seek help for mental health. Mental health literacy as a predictor of mental health help-seeking intentions in Australian sports officialsÂ
- A systematic review and qualitative study explored enablers of wellbeing and retention of development and wellbeing staff in elite women’s sport Strengthening the players development and wellbeing workforce in the AFLW
- A framework was developed outlining the core knowledge and literacies of Sport Psychology Scientist–Practitioners working in sport The core literacies of sport psychology scientist-practitioners: International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology
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