Media releases

• Brock adopts mental health brand focused on Canadian student-athletes

  Friday, July 26, 2024 | By Brock University

  MEDIA RELEASE: July 26, 2024 – R0089

  Nationally recognized for prioritizing the mental health of its students, Brock University has taken on an external brand focused on supporting Canadian student-athletes.

  The Student-Athlete Mental Health Initiative (SAMHI), which ceased operations in August 2023, has transferred ownership of its brand and social media networks to its longtime collaborator, the Centre for Healthy Youth Development through Sport (CHYDS) at Brock.

  CHYDS is a leader in Canadian youth sport research and evidence-based practices for youth health and development through sport. Adding the SAMHI brand and networks to CHYDS’s portfolio strengthens its outreach, research and collaboration opportunities, says Corliss Bean, CHYDS Director and Brock Professor of Recreation and Leisure Studies.

  “SAMHI has worked to establish a strong, trusting connection with the post-secondary student-athlete community over the past 15 years,” she says. “We are excited to continue this legacy and grow SAMHI as a hub for research and knowledge exchange across Canada to reach student-athletes, leaders and other key knowledge users in Canadian intercollegiate sport.”

  In transitioning to Brock, SAMHI’s activities will not focus exclusively on research or activities at the University. Under the leadership of CHYDS member and Brock Professor of Kinesiology Philip Sullivan, SAMHI’s knowledge mobilization platforms will share research and best practices from research institutions and professionals across Canada that focus on supporting the mental health of Canadian university student-athletes.

  “SAMHI has served an overlooked yet important population for several years,” says Sullivan. “University student-athletes in Canada have a relatively high prevalence of a wide variety of mental health issues. They have specific mental health challenges and barriers that are different from university students who are not athletes and are different from student-athletes in the United States.”

  Sullivan says his research suggests that 20 per cent of student-athletes in Canada have rates of depression and anxiety that are indicative of a moderate to severe mental health disorder. Other research shows that university coaches and those who support student-athletes have about the same amount of mental health literacy as the general population.

  “It’s important more information about student-athlete mental health is shared with coaches, athletes and others who support student-athletes,” says Sullivan. “We need to continue efforts to reduce the stigma of mental health issues and to increase the awareness of its prevalence among student-athletes. SAMHI’s brand and platforms will help with this.”

  SAMHI’s former President, Samantha DeLenardo is thankful to the CHYDS team for their leadership in adopting SAMHI’s brand and carrying on its important knowledge mobilization efforts.

  “Dr. Sullivan and his team have the resources and expertise to continue SAMHI’s mission to protect and promote student-athlete mental health,” she says. “CHYDS’s role in putting the best evidence into practice is critical to achieving that goal. I am thrilled for this next chapter for SAMHI.”

  CHYDS has assumed ownership of the name and logo of the Student-Athlete Mental Health Initiative and its Facebook and Instagram accounts. SAMHI’s charitable status has been voluntarily revoked, and samhi.ca is no longer active.

  For more information or for assistance arranging interviews:

  * Sarah Ackles, Communications Specialist, Brock University sackles@brocku.ca or 289-241-5483

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  Categories: Media releases

• The Olympics aren’t gender equal just yet — and broadcast narratives around that matter: Brock experts

  Thursday, July 25, 2024 | By Brock University

  EXPERT ADVISORY: July 25, 2024 – R0087

  With the Paris 2024 Olympics kicking off later this week, the media is already buzzing with coverage of the Games.

  Along with storylines of medal counts and athletic accomplishments, there will also be talk of this Olympics marking the first time that half of the competing athletes are women: an even 5,250 split with men.

  Michele Donnelly, Brock University Associate Professor of Sport Management, says although this “is an important achievement and should be celebrated — it should not be overstated.”

  “When media outlets report that Paris 2024 will be the first gender equal Olympic Games, they perpetuate the harmful message that gender equality has been achieved and no work is left to be done,” she says.

  It’s important not to mistake gender parity for gender equality, she says, with the former meaning there are the same number of men and women represented in an organization or at an event. Additionally, she points out that gender parity has only been achieved in one area of the Games: the number of athletes.

  “Gender equality is about more than numbers; it refers to rights, responsibilities and opportunities for men and women and girls and boys,” Donnelly adds. “Importantly, gender equality is not a women’s issue, it requires that we take into account the interests, needs and priorities of both women and men.”

  Numerous inequalities are still present in the Games, Donnelly says, with more events existing for men than women and fewer women represented in coaching and officiating roles. Differences in the conditions of men’s and women’s participation in the same sports and events also exist, such as different race distances, equipment, rules and uniform requirements.

  Olan Scott, Associate Professor of Sport Management at Brock, says the narratives around gender presented by broadcasters and media play an important role in shaping the way male and female athletes are viewed.

  “The Olympic Games — and understanding what’s happening in the Olympic Games — is known as being ‘virtually mandatory’ watching because that’s what everyone’s talking about,” he says. “We only see a very small snippet of the total program, though, because the producers and directors are choosing exactly what sports and athletes to show. They have a lot of power in creating the televisual.”

  Whether women are represented equally in the number of athletes or medals is only part of the equation, since they may not be given the same volume of broadcast coverage and may be portrayed differently than male athletes when they are shown in the media, Scott says.

  Donnelly adds that media coverage about mixed-gender events, for instance, has traditionally emphasized gender-based differences, rather than emphasizing athletes’ contributions to their team’s success.

  “Discussion about the mixed-gender 4×400-metre relay in 2022 focused on how to determine the order of athletes to compensate for the women’s slower times relative to their men teammates,” she explains.

  Creating more equitable coverage also helps shape the variety and visibility of role models for young athletes, says Scott.

  “If you’re showing only women excelling in sports that are traditionally seen as more feminine, that also tells people what you can and can’t excel in,” Scott says. “If I don’t see a woman weightlifter — and I’m a young girl or a teenager who likes weightlifting— I think, well, I can’t do this because I only see men doing it. That’s a sport for only men.”

  While there is a lot of work still needed to achieve full gender equality at the Games, Donnelly says working toward that should be a priority, quite simply, “because it’s 2024.”

  “Women have participated in the Olympic Games for more than 120 years; having equal numbers of men and women athletes, and men’s and women’s events is the minimum we should expect,” she says. “In addition, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) recommended these gender parity outcomes in 2014. It is crucial to hold the IOC accountable.”

   

  Brock University Associate Professors of Sport Management Michele Donnelly and Olan Scott are available for media interviews on the topic.

  For more information or for assistance arranging interviews:

  * Sarah Ackles, Communications Specialist, Brock University sackles@brocku.ca or 289-241-5483

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  Categories: Media releases