This IOC advanced research Grant is a 1-year project (01/06/2019 - 01/06/2020). The grant allowed the SPMB research group to perform a needs analysis with elite athltes through semi-structured interviews to gain insights in their psychological health/wellbeing, challenges, barriers, and required support in the context of their athletic retirement. Consequently, based on the needs assessment, practical guidelines for different career support providers were developed. This research project was coordinated by the Vrije Universiteit Brussel and funded by the IOC Olympic Studies Centre.
The project considers athletic retirement as a process consisting of three different phases (i.e., before, during and after athletic retirement) in which support to athletes should be approached differently. Therefore, both general and phase-specific guidelines were developed throughout the project. The final report is published in the IOC online library and can be consulted here or underneath. A visual overview of the guidelines developed can be found underneath:
On December 1 2020, an online international congress was organised where the results of this project were presented. For consulting the online platform including the presentations of the different contributers, click here!
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