Mental Health Wellbeing Webinar Recap
Last month we hosted our first-ever mental wellbeing webinar for clubs in partnership with Opening Up Cricket.
Devon Cricket Foundation Club Development Officer Antony Cox, who will be leading on our efforts to support clubs with mental wellbeing, was joined on the evening by Opening Up Cricket's Mark Boyns, who spoke about the charity and their desire to create club networks across the country, and Ashburton CC's Marcus West, who shared the club's approach to mental wellbeing and initiatives they have carried out over the past few years.
Key Takeaways From The Evening
The act of simply including the topic of wellbeing at a club committee can prove powerful. "It was amazing the conversation that followed," said Marcus of the first time mental wellbeing was raised at Ashburton CC's committee. "People's experiences and their firm belief in supporting people with their mental wellbeing... it was a really good conversation to start the ball rolling."
Both Marcus and Mark were keen to stress the importance that even small actions can have throughout a club. "The very small things that we can do day to day within our club can make such a big difference," said Mark. "That can be as simple as displaying some posters at the club to start things off."
Future Plans and Support
"What we're looking to do is have these networks where people share best practice ideas, support each other in what they're trying to do within their clubs, and generate that bit of momentum as we go forward."
At the Devon Cricket Foundation, we are keen to support clubs across the county to bring mental wellbeing to the forefront of agendas.
As a result, we are launching a campaign called Starting the Conversation - Wellbeing Matters to encourage clubs to begin conversations that truly matter.
Players, members, volunteers, and families are the heart of our club community, and we want every club to aspire to take steps to support them and create a positive, supportive environment devoid of any stigma around mental health.
In order to support this, we have created a 'Get started in 5 steps' guide for clubs to commit to:
- Displaying Devon Cricket Foundation and Opening Up Cricket signage at the club, signposting people to support services.
- Promoting mental wellbeing at a club fixture on a match day.
- Supported by a team photo posted on social media showing support and linking to services and other resources on the weekend of 24 & 25 May - Start the Conversation Weekend.
- Resources for this weekend can be accessed here.
- Supported by a team photo posted on social media showing support and linking to services and other resources on the weekend of 24 & 25 May - Start the Conversation Weekend.
- Committing to making 'Mental Health and Wellbeing' a club committee agenda item.
- Asking the question: "Why have we not discussed this before?"
- Looking to appoint a 'Club Champion' for wellbeing and supporting them in completing Mental First Aid Training.
- Exploring engaging with mental wellbeing organisations, such as Opening Up Cricket, to enable a Mental Health Workshop for members.
Contact
If you have any questions regarding the webinar or joining the club network, please contact Antony Cox:
antony.cox@devoncricket.co.uk
07375 323421
