Football West and Healthway would like to congratulate the clubs that participated in the 2024 Kick off the Conversation program for their commitment to improving the health of their members and the community.
We had 15 clubs claim prizes, with Albany Sharks Sporting Club, Northam Springfield Football Club, Mandurah City Football Club and Bunbury United Soccer Club finishing joint-first.
Kick off the Conversation encourages and supports clubs in establishing mental health and wellbeing practices. Initiatives included:
- Mental health education sessions
- Appointment of a Wellbeing Officer for the club
- Organising the Think Mental Health Round
- Promoting mental health messages
- Developing and implementing a mental health and wellbeing policy
Sixty clubs participated in the program, with many creating environments to facilitate social inclusion and participation.
Football West CEO Jamie Harnwell said it was great to see clubs recognise the importance of mental health by supporting the Kick off the Conversation program.
“Football West is delighted to work with Healthway in promoting positive mental health practices through this initiative and we look forward to continuing the good work in this area,” he said.
Healthway CEO Colin Smith said the organisation was proud to support this impactful mental health program.
“It is wonderful to see the growing number of football clubs participating in this program and working hard to create a supportive club environment for their members and the broader community,” he said.
Winning clubs
The Kick off the Conversation program included mental health initiatives for clubs to implement or participate in, allowing them to earn points based on a predetermined scale for each completed task.
Participating clubs were required to submit a report demonstrating how they carried out the initiatives and integrated the proposed activities into their programs and communities.
All four clubs that tied for first place completed all initiatives, each scoring 165 points and earning $5,000. Victoria Park Soccer Club followed in fifth place with 137 points, receiving a $3,000 cash prize.
Bunbury Dynamos Soccer Club, West Coast Cobras Sports Club, Murray District Rangers Soccer Club and Ellenbrook United Football Club each scored between 100 and 110 points, securing $1,000 each.
Finally, Armadale Soccer Club, Port Kennedy Soccer Club, Hamersley Rovers, Dianella Spartans FC, Hedland Junior Soccer Association and Ballajura AFC scored between 50 and 85 points, each awarded $500 for their efforts. Prizes are courtesy of Healthway.
Club highlights
Albany Sharks Sporting Club
Albany Sharks Wellbeing Officer Emma Miller introduced an initiative alongside their MVP voting that allowed players to recognise those who had a positive impact on them. The initiative was highly successful, receiving over 80 nominations throughout the season. Players also had the option to request outreach by including their name on the voting card, leading to five outreach requests.
Soccer secretary Deborah Guest said: “Our involvement in this program has laid the foundations for us to continue to provide a safe environment and club, where our members feel supported, valued and have a sense of belonging. We will continue to promote a positive mental health culture through our policies, procedures and practices long after the conclusion of this program.”
Northam Springfield Football Club
Northam Springfield hosted two mental health sessions for their members, one led by Richmond Wellbeing and the other by the Regional Men’s Health Initiative. Club Wellbeing Officer Rachel Hayes introduced a Wellbeing Champion Certificate to honour individuals who consistently showed empathy and care for others.
Wellbeing Officers Rachel Hayes and Christina Lockyer said: “This has been a targeted, systematic, supported approach to promoting the mental health and wellbeing of members. We have had a lot of feedback from our community, saying that they have appreciated the club's attitude, the guest speakers' information and engagement and our committee's obvious passion in building compassion, empathy, joy and resilience in our players.”
Mandurah City Football Club
Judy McLean, the club’s Wellfare Officer, attended four different mental health training sessions. Her dedication to the subject and to the club was outstanding, as she even attended an online session while on holiday. The club also recorded a podcast featuring Judy in the start of the season, where she discussed her role, the importance of mental health support within the club and how members can access the resources available to them.
Judy said: “This program helped raise the importance of wellbeing and encouraged all of our members to support each other. The club is now better equipped and educated in managing situations where someone may be struggling.”
Bunbury United Soccer Club
The club established a Wellness Team and appointed four Wellbeing Officers – Graeme, Amber, Jess and Luke. They ensured a balanced representation of both male and female team members to best support their club community. All four Wellbeing Officers attended the mental health training sessions provided by Football West.
Bunbury United SC President Claire Reimers said: “Through promoting this important initiative, it has assisted us to build a safe and inclusive club culture which supports the overall health and wellbeing of all our families. This is very important to us because it is at the core and heart of what we try to do here at Bunbury United and fits perfectly with our club motto: Commit, Unite, Respect and Enjoy.”
Program outcomes
Since the program launched in October 2023:
- 13 clubs appointed Wellbeing Officers
- 35 clubs actively participated in the Think Mental Health Round
- Five free in-person and online training sessions were offered to Wellbeing Officers, coaches and club administrators, including sessions like SafeTALK by Zero2Hero and Suicide Prevention by LivingWorks
- Six clubs hosted mental health sessions for their members, led by Richmond Wellbeing, Helping Minds or the Regional Men’s Health Initiative
- Dozens of clubs shared the Think Mental Health messages
- For the 2024 season, no clubs received a strike under the three-strike policy compared to 10 first strikes issued last year
Kick off the Conversation will continue in 2025.