Safeguarding talented and elite athletes

Talented and elite athletes

Moving through the talent pathway offers fantastic experiences and rewards for athletes. However, there are specific factors in high-performance sport that can make talented young people more vulnerable to abuse and harm, especially if multiple factors are present.

These additional vulnerabilities include the following:

Over-training and training whilst injured - Young athletes may feel pressured to do whatever it takes to achieve results, gain selection, and keep funding and sponsors. This can lead to overtraining, and training whilst injured. Pressures to stay well and not miss sessions may also prevent young people from reporting illness and injury, which can cause further, longer-term health issues.
Focus on weight and body image - Young people will naturally experience changes to their growing bodies, such as changes in shape and weight. There may be pressure to meet weight categories, eat healthily, and to conform with the sport’s cultural ‘norms’ when it comes to build. Young people may also have their own body image expectations. These pressures can lead to unhealthy relationships with food and exercise, which can be damaging to the athlete’s developing body, and mental health.
‘Win at all costs’ approach - Prioritising sporting success over everything else can leave young people vulnerable to harm, as it can lead to other areas of their life being neglected. These include the young person’s physical and mental health, and their social and supportive relationships outside of sport.
Narrow athletic identity - If a young person’s identity is limited to being an athlete, other elements of their identity may be neglected and overlooked. Narrow athletic identity can apply to how the young person views themselves, and how they are seen by sports organisations and staff. Again, this can have a negative impact on their health, personal development and relationships.
Intensity and dependency of relationships - Many young athletes have an intensely loyal and dependent working relationship with coaches, support staff or other athletes. These figures can have a strong influence over the young person and may work with them in one-to-one training environments. This can make it difficult for the young person to avoid or report someone who may be causing them harm.
Time spent away from support networks - Travelling and time spent away from home can lead to an increased isolation from others, including friends, family and other support networks. This can allow inappropriate behaviour and wellbeing concerns to go unreported by the young person, and unnoticed by those close to them.
Fear of losing a place on programme or repercussions - Young athletes may be willing to do ‘whatever it takes’ to succeed in sport, for fear of losing their place on a programme, or of the repercussions of doing so. This can leave the young person open to abuse and harm if they are aiming to please.
Lack of action taken against lower-level concerns - If there are inadequate procedures in place for dealing with lower-level concerns, and little or no action taken against it, then lower-level incidents can be allowed to continue or escalate.
Culture where people don’t feel able to voice concerns - If there is an unhealthy culture in sport, young people and their parents and carers may not feel able to voice any concerns they have. Such a culture can stem from poor leadership, lack of safeguarding training, no clear routes for raising concerns, lack of accountability and an unwillingness to listen or change. This is especially true if there are repercussions for anyone who voices concerns.

For advice on hearing young people’s voices, see our involving children and young people pages.

It’s important to recognise these vulnerabilities and know how to spot them, and how to respond. As young people on the talent pathway are more at risk of abuse and harm for the above reasons, sports organisations should have adequate safeguards in place to help protect young people from these issues.

Helping to reduce the additional vulnerabilities

Sports organisations and individuals can take further steps to safeguard young high-performance athletes and reduce the risk of harm and abuse:

Take an athlete-centred approach, making sure that athlete voices are heard, listened to and feel valued.
Appropriate, mandatory training and inductions for staff and athletes, that cover safeguarding, support, managing lower-level concerns, and how to raise concerns.
Appointing a Welfare Officer in the performance system who is approachable and visible.
Good communication with all stakeholders, which encourages a culture where everyone feels confident in raising concerns.
Limit one-to-one working with young people.
Implementation of robust codes of conduct, safeguarding policies and reporting procedures.
Safer recruitment for both staff and volunteers. This should include vetting checks (such as DBS or AccessNI), references, probation periods and regular reviews.
Safe procedures for travel and overnight stays, including having a Designated Welfare Officer available.
Fostering a healthy culture around physical health, body image, and mental health and wellbeing.
Encourage online safety, with policies and codes of conduct that cover appropriate communication. Advice should also be available to support young people on safe social media use.

Safeguarding high-performance athletes

Athletes at all levels of sport deserve to train and compete in a safe and healthy environment. On the talent pathway it’s essential that safeguarding actively mitigates the added vulnerabilities that young athletes face.

Those who run sport are responsible for creating this athlete-focused environment, where the health and wellbeing of young people on the talent pathway is prioritised. We recommend that all high-performance and talent programmes have someone present in the following safeguarding roles:

Designated Welfare/Safeguarding Officer
Deputy Designated Welfare/Safeguarding Officer

Designated Welfare/Safeguarding Officers are the designated people within a sports organisation or programme with primary responsibility for managing and reporting concerns about young athletes. They are also responsible for overseeing athletes’ wellbeing and putting into place procedures to safeguard young people.

Some sports’ National Governing Bodies (NGBs) will have an overall Safeguarding Lead for their sport, in addition to having Designated Welfare Leads in their performance programme, who have responsibility for the wellbeing of performance athletes and staff.

Coaches, staff and volunteers should also be trained and knowledgeable in safeguarding in the performance environment.

Implementing safeguarding

Sports organisations should have in place robust safeguarding policies, reporting processes, and training for staff. The following links and resources provide information and guidance on how to implement this:

We also offer sport safeguarding training for sports organisations, including specialist training.

Pressure in high performance sport

A young person on the talent pathway will undoubtedly experience change and challenges, which may make them feel under pressure at times. The pressure to succeed, to be selected and to meet their own expectations, as well as the expectations of those around them.

Young people may also have other stressful experiences and pressures outside of sport, including social, academic, family or other day-to-day expectations. Understanding, anticipating and openly communicating about these experiences will help support the young person and give them a voice and some control.

However, at times the pressure can begin to build, which can put young people at risk of harm if not identified and addressed effectively. Coaches, sports personnel and parents and carers should ensure they openly communicate with athletes; working together to ensure they are coping, and responding appropriately when concerns of excessive amounts of pressure arise.

Expectations for young athletes

A talented young athlete may dream of succeeding at the highest level in their sport. Supporting them in setting achievable progress goals, by breaking down the overall aspirational journey into smaller, step-by-step goals, will be beneficial. This will help to manage their expectations, reduce the overall sense of pressure, and navigate the ups and downs of their sporting journey.

Whether it be a tournament, a competition or a qualifier, recognising and celebrating success at each level can help athletes and their support network feel a sense of achievement.

Dealing with not achieving their goals in a similar way will also help. It doesn’t mean an end to their progression, just a small bump in the road. By using the 'not yet' growth approach, the athlete can be supported in perceiving this not as failure, but as an opportunity to learn and move forward.

Resilience in sport

By definition, sport is competitive, meaning that it is almost inevitable that young people will not win every time.

Different young people at all levels will have varying levels of resilience to set-backs, or not quite achieving their goals.

Though not winning or achieving their goals may be disappointing, they need to be reassured that it's okay and it may not be the end of their dream. Sport should still be fun, and this is also good to reiterate.

Coping with success can also be difficult for some athletes. With success may come the pressure to succeed again and to always perform highly, the pressure to act as a role model for others, and potentially pressure from the media, sponsors or other sources.

Coaches, sports personnel and parents and carers should support young people through the success journey, being careful to help them manage pressure and expectations, and stay grounded in recognition of their hard work.

Selection and deselection

At different levels during sport there are selection and deselection choices made regarding which athletes are offered the opportunity to participate in an event or activity. This offers an exciting opportunity for some but also means another athlete in their social circle may not have been selected.

Being selected for a team, squad or onto the talent pathway may bring mixed emotions – happiness, but also a pressure to stay. This selection may also bring changes to the young person's lifestyle, such as moving training groups, changing coach or less time for friends outside sport.

Parents and carers are key influencers in the young athlete's life and career, and therefore they need to be part of the communication with coaches, particularly when changes are happening, so that they understand decisions and feel able to support their child.

Coaches should explain to the young person and their parents or carers why the decision has been made, and if the young person has not been selected, what they can work on to continue their improvement.

Retirement from sport

Whether it be due to injury, physical body changes, health, finance, education, or any other issue, young people may find themselves having to retire from competing in their sport. Retirement can negatively affect young athletes, particularly if the issue is out of their control.

Finding that they can no longer compete in their sport at a high-performance level can undoubtedly be upsetting for young people. Sports coaches, parents and carers, and other sports personnel should ensure that they provide support through this transition.

Athletes’ expectations of their career length should be managed carefully, ensuring that they have an understanding that retirement will eventually become a reality for them. Athletes should be supported in developing new interests and ways to participate beyond retirement from their sport.

Balancing sport and education

While many talented young people may dream of a career within their sport, it’s important that they are encouraged to continue with their education, and understand the importance of achieving their best. Education can open more doors to a future within and beyond sport.

Under Section 7 of the 1996 Education Act, it is the responsibility of parents or carers to ensure their child receives efficient, full-time education suitable to their age, ability and aptitude, and any special educational needs they may have. Either by regular attendance at school or otherwise. Training or any other sports requirement should not be prioritised over the young person receiving this education fully.

Coaches, parents and carers could work with the young person to come up with an education plan, ensuring everyone’s expectations are clear, and sports training is able to fit alongside education. This should also include adequate time for homework and revision, and will be particularly important when approaching exam periods.

If a young person is finding it hard to meet these commitments, education providers, parents and carers, and coaches should work together with the young person to carefully establish how best to manage both requirements, and if mitigations must or can be made.

Balancing sport and a healthy social life

Although there may be times when training, competitions and other activities need to be prioritised over socialising, young people should still have time away from sport to be with their friends.

While coaches may wish to ensure their athletes show commitment, young people should not be made to feel that they are unable to also have a social life.

Coaches, other sport personnel and parents and carers should strive to have an open channel of communication with the young person, where they feel comfortable expressing an interest in activities outside the sport.

Injury and recovery management

Injuries can occur at any time during sport and activities, which can be disappointing and frustrating for young people, their teammates and support networks. Sustaining an injury while on the talent pathway can be very challenging for young athletes, as they've been working hard towards their goal, only to have it compromised.

If a young person has sustained an injury, they should avoid participating in any sport activity that could impact their healing. They should be supported through this time both physically and mentally.

Some injuries are not preventable, while others may occur as a result of improperly looking after the body, such as from overtraining, worsening of a previous injury, or due to a health condition. Seeking help and support to manage these injuries and other health conditions that may impact the athlete's ability to train well may be hard for the young person.

As coaches, parents and carers, and sports personnel, you should aim to create an environment where the young person feels that:

they can come forward at any point to disclose an injury
they will be supported
their health will be put first

It is important that athletes understand the injury and the recovery process, including time scales. Being realistic with time scales and adjusting targets using progress goals can help young athletes understand and maintain motivation. You should ensure that you remind them of the support they have around them throughout their recovery.

You may also be able to use this time as an opportunity to learn and maybe work on other areas of their fitness or training, only if this can be done safely without disrupting the healing process or causing further injury. Keeping the young person involved in training sessions and the training group, where this is possible, can help to maintain their sport identity. Is there another role they can play in the club while they recover, so they still feel connected?

Young athletes should only participate in the sport once their recovery period, as recommended by a medical professional, has come to an end. When returning to training, the young person should be supported in managing the volume and intensity of training, as too much too soon could contribute to further physical or psychological harm.

It is important for everyone involved to remain mindful that returning to sport may cause the young person some significant stress and anxiety, as they may be concerned about getting back to their best performance level, whilst also managing concerns of sustaining further injury.

Continuous communication should help coaches to monitor how the young person is feeling and help with interventions, while ensuring that they are not being pushed too hard.

Eating behaviour

As children and young people grow and develop, they will experience many changes to their body, which, in some cases, can impact their sporting ability. Young people can develop sensitivities around their eating behaviours due to these changes.

Everyone involved in sport should ensure that there is always a positive, healthy culture around body image and physical health. Weight, diet and body type should be discussed sensitively, and coaches should always put the physical and mental health and wellbeing of the athlete at the forefront, above any sports goal.

Children and young people should never feel the need to unhealthily change their body in a way that goes against their natural development.

If you suspect that a young person may be developing an unhealthy relationship with eating, engaging in disordered eating behaviours, or has developed an eating disorder, you should speak to your safeguarding lead about next steps and how to support the young person to seek help.

For more information about body image, weight management and disordered eating in sport, listen to our 5-part mini-podcast series that we produced with Dr Carolyn Plateau, Senior Lecturer in Psychology and former 800 meter international athlete
We also have a podcast about the impact of social media on young athletes' body image, featuring Swim England Talent and Events Welfare Officer Rebecca Wood, and CPSU Senior Consultant Carole Billington-Wood.

Fuelling the body

Young athletes should be encouraged to listen to the needs of their body and understand that food is an essential source of energy and nourishment. We expend this energy through exercise as well as through internal bodily processes.

The term Relative Energy Deficiency (RED-S) is used in sport when energy expenditure outweighs energy intake. This leaves the body in a compromised state as it doesn’t have enough energy to support both the athlete's exercise and their bodily processes, affecting health and performance.

Relative energy-deficiency syndrome infographic

An athlete may experience RED-S for many different reasons; for example:

an athlete may have increased their training, such as in the lead-up to a big competition, but not matched that with their energy intake. This could lead to a deficiency.
a young athlete may be experiencing puberty, which requires more energy, but this may not have been accounted for in their energy intake.
an athlete may have developed an unhealthy relationship with food, disordered eating behaviours or an eating disorder.

It is essential to recognise what has caused the RED-S so that we are able to understand how to restore the balance.

It is important to speak to young people about RED-S, and healthy eating as a way to provide their body with the energy it requires. This could help the young person to develop a more healthy relationship with food and exercise. Avoid potentially triggering language such as 'weight' or 'diet'.

Making weight in sport

In weight-making sports (where athletes must meet certain weight requirements to compete), young people should feel supported and given guidance to make weight at a healthy level and speed.

Without this, young people can be left vulnerable to developing unhealthy or dangerous practices to manage and maintain their weight, which can be both detrimental to their performance and to their long- or short-term health.

There should be a regular review to ensure that young people are making weight for the most appropriate category, which enables a balance between optimising performance without engaging in behaviours and practices that are doing more harm than good.

For example, if a young person must lose weight in order to meet their category requirement, they will almost certainly have to be in an energy deficient stage (RED-S), which, as outlined above, can have performance risks.

There are certain considerations that organisations must address in order to support their young athletes who are going through the process of making weight:

How are decisions about the weight categorisation being made, and are they in the best interests of the longer-term health of the young person?
Whose responsibility is it within the organisation to protect the health and welfare of the young person as they go through this weight-making process?
What safeguarding is in place to make sure that the young person is not engaging in unhealthy or dangerous practices?
What advice is being given to the young person as they embark on this process? And is it being communicated effectively, giving enough time for the young person to make the weight without relying on extreme behaviours and practices to meet the criteria for their competition?
What are the consequences for the organisation and the young person if they are unable to make the weight for the competition? What procedures are in place to support young people who are unable to safely meet the weight?
How can organisations minimise the level of distress for young people associated with their weight management being under scrutiny for long periods of time?

Overtraining

When specialising in a singular sport at an early age, young people may be encouraged to train intensively in similar ways to gain certain skills and strengthen specific areas. However, research has identified that such a highly intensive approach can risk overuse injury, overtraining and even burnout.

Intense training sessions for some young people may result in an overuse injury. An overuse injury is any type of muscle or joint injury, which is usually sustained due to training errors when an athlete takes on too much physical activity too quickly.

Coaches, parents and carers, and other sports personnel should ensure that they carefully navigate training requirements and competitions, with the needs and wants of the young person at their stage of their physical development and maturity.

Although sport is, by nature, physically challenging, overall young people should still feel enjoyment in training for and competing in their sport. They should not be pushed to burnout or encouraged to over train, risking this enjoyment being taken out of the sport.

Mental health and wellbeing

Although sport and staying active can have a positive influence on mental health and wellbeing, children and young people can experience a wide range of mental health issues for many different reasons.

There are some unique stressors within sport that can have a negative influence, particularly given the additional physical and mental pressures when competing at the high-performance level.

The following links include information on how to support young people’s mental health, particularly those involved in high-performance sport:

Mental Health in Elite Sport guidance from Mind

UK Government’s Mental Health and Elite Sport Action Plan

Frontiers’ Evidence-Informed Framework to Promote Mental Wellbeing in Elite Sport

Mental Health Support in High Performance Sport from UK Sports Institute

More information about supporting mental health can be information on our Mental health and wellbeing topic page.

Below we will cover some of the main areas of mental health and wellbeing that can affect young people involved in high-performance sport.

Loneliness

There are certain factors within sport, particularly high-performance sport, that can leave a young person feeling isolated and lonely.

Training in high-performance sport requires a huge time commitment, which can result in time being taken away from other areas of life. This can mean that young elite athletes have limited time for socialising with friends or family outside of their sport.

In addition to this, young people may feel that they need to mature quickly, as they are spending a lot of time interacting within the 'adult world' of high-performance competitions and training and having to manage the media. This can make them feel isolated from peers their own age. Research indicates that those who are lonelier and more isolated can be more vulnerable to abuse and exploitation.

We have produced a webinar with advice and guidance on supporting those involved in sport to reduce loneliness:

Anxiety

Anyone can experience anxiety at any time during their life, including children and young people. With so much pressure, both physically and mentally, on top of other demands, young athletes can develop anxiety. This can take many forms, from anxious thoughts about their future to health anxiety.

There are certain situations within the elite and talent pathway where a young person may experience pressure within their sport, which can feed into anxiety. What might start as nerves about a selection decision or a competition, can, for someone with mental ill health, begin to manifest in other areas of their lives.

Read more guidance in our briefing on supporting young athletes with anxiety
On Mind's website, you can learn more about the different anxiety disorders and the signs and symptoms that you can look out for

What sports organisations can encourage young people to do

Know their rights and responsibilities

Young people in high-performance sport will have responsibilities to comply with their sport's code of conduct, and also those related to specific areas such as anti-doping. Young athletes' rights and options should be made clear to them by their coaches and sports organisation.

For further information, see UK Anti-Doping's Clean sport essentials for talented young athletes.

Be familiar with their sport's safeguarding policy and procedures

These policies and procedures will have information about what young people can expect the organisation to do to look after their wellbeing, and what is expected of the individual and other people such as parents and carers, and coaches. Sports organisations should familiarise young people with these policies and procedures; making them aware of how their wellbeing will be prioritised.

Contact your National Governing Body for further details.

Be committed to the athletes' code of conduct

National Governing Bodies (NGBs) should have a code of conduct explaining how young athletes are expected to behave, and also how other people involved with the organisation are expected to behave. It will also outline what will happen if these codes are not followed. Again, sports organisations should make young people aware of these codes of conduct, in a way that they will understand.

Know how to raise any concerns

All NGBs have to provide information on where to go for help and advice in relation to abuse, harassment and bullying.

It’s important that young people can talk to someone they trust if they have concerns about anything that might be happening to them, or anyone else, in or outside of their sport. Sports organisations should make it clear to young people that there are staff available to talk to, who are able and willing to listen and help.

Young people should also consider what support systems are in place among and beyond their entourage members (for example, family, friends, teachers and/or coaches).

Ask for support as they transition through the system

Transitions can involve entering top-level sport, moving from junior to senior ranks, deselection, appeals, and leaving top-level sport.

Transitions can be really hard; support should be provided by sports organisations to help young people navigate through the process. There should be inductions that provide information about how the system operates and what support is available. This should be part of a continuous conversation about the individual's sport and life after top-level sport.

For more information, see UK Sport's resources for athletes, which includes guidance on transitioning from a career in high-performance sport.

Seek opportunities to become a voice for athlete welfare

Young people can become a voice in decision-making about young athlete welfare and protection. Sports are required to have mechanisms and opportunities in place to consult children, young people and parents and carers, as part of their reviews of safeguarding policies and practices.

Support their peers

Young people can support their peers by encouraging and helping them to speak out if they witness or have any concerns about their own or anyone else’s welfare. Sports organisations should actively encourage and support this.

Young people can also be made aware of NSPCC’s Childline, which provides information, advice and support for young people, no matter what they’re going through.

Resources

A wide range of resources are available to help safeguard talented and elite young athletes – we list some of the most useful resources here.

CPSU resources

Sports resources

Harassment and abuse in sport – International Olympic Committee (IOC) resource which tackle the issues of sexual harassment and abuse (SHA) and healthy body image (HBI)
Healthy body image 'Hungry for gold' – IOC developed a series of videos as educational tools aimed at athletes, parents, coaches and support staff
Impact of engagement in career planning program – webinar summary by Performance Lifestyle
Mental health support in high performance sports – English Institute of Sport guidance and videos to support sports with mental health
On a talent pathway / sporting talent – Clean sport essentials guidance and resources from UK Anti-Doping
UK Coaching coordinating group to ensure welfare of the next-generation athletes – UK Coaching news article on their development of a set of safeguarding proposals for elite young athletes
Under-fuelling athletes puts their health at risk – video highlighting why athletes are more susceptible to eating disorders and what sports can do to reduce and prevent them
Youth physical development model – UK Coaching resource

Other useful resources and websites

Spotting the signs of eating disorders is everyone's business – BEAT Eating Disorders guidance highlighting how to identify eating disorders
Mental Health in Elite Sport - information from Mind on mental health in elite sport
Mental Health and Elite Sport Action Plan - UK government action plan for improved mental health support for elite and professional sports people
Frontiers’ Evidence-Informed Framework to Promote Mental Wellbeing in Elite Sport

Publications and reports

Culture Health Check report (PDF) – UK Sport's 2017 report into the experiences of elite and talented young athletes within sport