Sport & its potential to help us age well & live well, Mark Frost Glamorgan Cricket & Cricket Wales

All week we've been looking at the ways in which sport makes us feel better, how it has helped some of us through periods of mental health illness and at the different projects in Wales uniting sport with mental health initiatives.

It seems only right then, that we end the week with a look to future opportunities for the sport sector to support better mental health in Wales.

Below, Mark Frost of Glamorgan Cricket and Cricket Wales lets us into a few ideas that are in the pipeline.

Wales is steeped in rich sporting history and heritage, it’s a resource that we are very lucky to have at our disposal and one which is sure to grow this summer with many different sporting events taking place that Welsh athletes will be flying our flag at.

Over the past six months a group of organisations, comprising Alzheimer’s Society Wales, Cardiff City FC Foundation, Glamorgan County Cricket Club, Cricket Wales and The Sporting Memories Foundation have been working on plans for a national collaborative project, using this resource to address three significant challenges facing our ageing population – dementia, depression and loneliness.

Tackling Dementia, Depression and Loneliness in Wales

In March this year a seminar was held at the CC4 Museum of Welsh Cricket at the SSE SWALEC Stadium to examine how professional sports clubs in Wales can impact on the palliative care of those with dementia or suffering from depression, loneliness and isolation.

We have evidence showing that sport, through the power of personal memories can re-ignite connections between different generations and combat the effects of dementia.  This is in addition to it playing a powerful role in supporting those with dementia, depression and loneliness in both urban and rural communities.

This potential cannot now be ignored.  We are an ageing population and we are all aware of the wider issues around dementia such as depression and issues with carers.  There is a desire for us to be dementia-friendly nation and any action would play an important contribution to the Welsh Governments five ways to well-being and the National Dementia Strategy.

Sport: A powerful force for good

It is well known that sport plays an important role throughout the life-course and is a major contributor to physical and mental well-being. Sport’s ‘USP’ is that it reaches out especially to older people in a special way to offer the benefits of this service. For example sport has a very strong relevance for men and women, either through the power of the badge of sport (e.g. professional high-profile sports) or its role in creating community. This power to draw people in can attract those at risk or needing support (especially men who do not normally respond to health messaging) into a new and non-traditional approach of supporting mental health initiatives.

What’s in the Pipeline?

There are several options that we would like to realise over time: -

Professional sports clubs using their influence and networking opportunities to draw people in and support them through reminiscence and memory.  Using displays and other archive material to stimulate and prompt reminiscences and contribute to improved well-being.

A model of good practice has been developed called the ‘Sporting memories friendship groups’.  These groups for older adults at risk of dementia, would be created at sporting stadia and in tandem with local school groups, those attending would be encouraged to remember past fond times and recollections.

School pupils and students would act as facilitators; an excellent way of contributing to the type of student activity that is required as part of the Welsh Baccalaureate. Evidence also shows that such inter-generational relationships allow for a greater understanding of these issues, especially amongst younger people.

There is also an opportunity to encourage attendees to take part at other physical activities using inclusive sports and games, to promote physical health as well as mental health.

Sports clubs would act as a hub model across Wales, supporting people to take ownership of their own help and allowing delivery of any action at scale across the nation.

The development of sporting heritage centres, and archive collections, which include online material, are all worthy projects to develop and complement how sport can support mental health strategies.

Conclusion

There are pockets of other activity in Wales, such as where the FAW Trust is working with Time To Change Wales supporting mental health via the Calls4Action scheme, and I guess we could all say that in sport we all make a huge contribution to community, and importantly where sport transforms people’s lives. The other lens to view the situation here is that the medical sector have been recently pointing out that loneliness is as unhealthy a situation to be in as some of the obvious unhealthy life styles such as smoking. If sport can bring people together (and we know it does in shed-fulls!) then it’s a huge antidote to loneliness…. Need I say more?

Glamorgan Cricket will be hosting a play staged by the PCA to raise awareness around mental health and wellbeing.  This will take place on Thursday 3rd November at 19.30 in the Sytner BMW Lounge at The SSE SWALEC.  All proceeds will go to charity.

For more information about the potential projects mentioned above contact Mark Frost: mark.frost@glamorgancricket.co.uk