Embargoed: 00.01hrs 19thOctober 2021
Charity launches career and wellbeing video platform for sportspeople
Switch the Play Foundation has unveiled a new platform to help sportspeople improve their emotional health and prepare for new careers once they stop competing.
Switch the Play is the only UK charity supporting all sportspeople to fulfil their potential through and beyond the field of play. It commissioned Frog Systems to create a platform that would be an online extension of the charity's Switched On athlete support service. Switched On is a free service that helps athletes and players develop the skills they need to prepare for future careers while they are still competing.
Called Switched On Inspires, the new platform brings all the charity's support services together alongside powerful video content from retired and current elite athletes as well as coaches and practitioners. At a time when more athletes are choosing to speak out openly, it also provides an environment where sportspeople can be honest about their mental health.
Rob Young, CEO of Switch the Play, said: "We are passionate about having a meaningful impact in empowering sportspeople to develop themselves and prepare for their future. The new Switched On Inspires platform offers resources when they are needed by an individual, and will sit alongside our free one-to-one support and careers pathway service. Thanks to Frog Systems, sportspeople can access the online service and develop at their own pace, in their own time."
There are many reasons a sporting career can end - retirement, injury, illness, mental health, end of contract - and former athletes often report feeling a loss of identity. Switched On Inspires showcases the wide range of assistance that is available to help them manage this change, from personalised development plans to masterclasses and financial advice.
Britain's greatest ever female gymnast, Beth Tweddle MBE, is a Switch the Play Trustee and now owns and runs Beth Tweddle Gymnastics, engaging over 8,500 children per month in the sport. She is one of the athletes sharing their experiences on the new platform.
Beth explained: "Gymnastics and elite sport taught me so many core life skills, however I worked hard alongside my training, investing my time in education and business, to ensure that when my gymnastics career ended, I had opportunities open to me and was in control of my future.
"These are the insights and skills that I'll be sharing on the Switched On Inspires platform and I hope I get to help and guide as many sportspeople as possible in the UK through it."
Phil Worms, CEO of Frog Systems, said: "We have worked closely with the team at Switch the Play to create bespoke video content and a safe place where its members can hear from leading figures in sport about the future pathways available to them. The data generated by the platform will allow them to measure the effectiveness of their work and highlight areas where they can provide additional support."
Switch the Play follows other sports organisations such as Sussex Cricket and the British Basketball League in using Frog Systems' software to centralise their wellbeing resources and support their communities.
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About Frog Systems:Frog Systems has developed a pioneering video-led wellbeing software platform which can be customised to include the themes and topics relevant to an organisation's users. The platform generates anonymised real-time data that gives clients insight into the issues their people and communities are facing to help them make better decisions about how to provide support. For more information visitwww.frogsystems.co.uk
About Switch the Play:The Switch the Play Foundation is the UK's only charity dedicated to supporting all sportspeople to successfully transition into life outside of sport. Our vision is a world where every sportsperson fulfils their potential at every stage of their lives. Our mission is to empower sportspeople to be their best through and beyond sport by providing person-centred training, wellbeing and transition support.
Contact:
Jane Robertson: Director of Communications, Frog Systems. Email jane@frog.net or call +44 (0)7827 948993.
Catherine Rees, Founder, MovePR, on behalf of Switch the Play Foundation. Email catherine@movepr.co.uk or call +44 (0) 7970 205433