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GOOD PRACTICE PROFILE
Badminton England & Shout – 24/7 Text Support and “A Sport that Cares”
Implementing organisation
Badminton England
Mental Health Innovations – ShoutGeographical scope
United Kingdom – England
Implementation period
May 2023 – ongoing
Primary beneficiaries
Players of all ages, coaches, volunteers and clubs within the Badminton England community.
Practice overview
Badminton England partnered with Mental Health Innovations to provide its community with free and confidential 24/7 text-based mental health support through the Shout service.
The service uses a dedicated badminton keyword, making it easier for people within the badminton community to access support.
The initiative is promoted through the “A Sport that Cares” campaign, using social media, posters, flyers at events and club websites.
The service is also incorporated into Club Welfare Officer training, helping welfare staff understand and promote the available support.
Anonymised data from the dedicated service is used to help inform targeted webinars and further support for the badminton workforce.
Core components
24/7 text-based support
The service provides a low-threshold way for members of the badminton community to access confidential mental health support at any time.
Dedicated badminton access
A dedicated keyword connects the badminton community with the Shout service, making the support easier to recognise and access.
“A Sport that Cares” campaign
The initiative is promoted through a coordinated communication campaign, including social media, posters, flyers at events and club websites.
Club Welfare Officer involvement
The support service is incorporated into Club Welfare Officer training so that people with welfare responsibilities within clubs know about the service and can signpost members to it.
Use of anonymised information
Anonymised keyword data is used to help identify areas where further education and targeted webinars may be useful for the badminton workforce.
Relevance to youth mental health and racket sports
This practice addresses an important barrier to mental health support: young people and athletes may not feel comfortable asking for help face-to-face.
A confidential text-based service provides a low-threshold alternative and can make the first step towards seeking support easier.
For RS4MH, the model demonstrates how a racket sport organisation can connect its community with an existing professional mental health service rather than attempting to provide clinical support itself.
The approach is also relevant to the RS4MH mobile app, which could signpost users towards appropriate national helplines and support services.
Transfer and adaptation potential
High
The model can be adapted by racket sport organisations in other countries by identifying an existing national youth or mental health helpline and making it clearly visible within clubs, websites, events and digital platforms.
Grassroots clubs can include helpline information in coach training, safeguarding or welfare procedures and display it in places where young people and parents can easily find it.
The approach can be adapted to tennis, badminton, squash and table tennis.
Reference sources
Mental Health Innovations – Working with Badminton England
VCoP Reflection
What mental health helplines or confidential support services are available in your country, and how could your club make them easier for young athletes to find and use?
Join the discussion and share your experience with the VCoP community.
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