Crossing the Line Sport is dedicated to helping athletes “cross over” into retirement from active sport.  Whether you’re an Olympian or a club athlete, scaling back your rowing can be a challenge – weaning yourself off dopamine.  Gearoid Towey set up CTL to educate federations, coaches and athletes about the process and how to help teach the skills.

Listen to RowingChat with Gearoid Towey athlete retirement on SoundCloud

Timestamps

• 01:00 CTL is a preventative service for athlete retirement
• 08:00 The genesis of CTL – addiction post sport to dopamine and seeking subsitutes
• 06:00 Do clubs see coach education as their responsibility?
• 11:00 The stigma of asking for help – a grief process of retirement when it’s not your choice (injury or deselection)
• 14:00 CTL has articles and resources on transition – Headspace (mental), Careers (passion and purpose), Tools for Life (skills to repurpose)
• 20:00 Federations have a responsibility for athlete development
• 22:00 Everyone can benefit – start working with junior teams to learn the skills young
• 26:00 Conferences on mental health, career development with Greg Louganis (diver), Ben Johnson (sprinter), Kim Brennan (rower)
• 28:00 Greg’s story – he was HIV Positive at Olympics and diving was a refuge for depression as well as battling his sexuality
• 32:00 How to handle depression – Mental Health First Aid Course
• 34:00 Symptoms of depression – withdrawing, distant from the group, performance declines.  Solutions depend on acuteness.
• 40:00 Drugs in rowing – we’d be naive to think rowing is immune
• 42:00 Ben Johnson’s story – taking drugs at the Olympics.
• 46:00 Athletes make the choice to dope Joerg Jaksche ASADA video. What is good decision making?
• 50:00 Whistleblowing on doping – sign the WADA code.  Reporting is an obligation.  Protect your right to a fair race.
• 52:00 Should doping bans be for life?
• 56:00 CTL Webinars and Drop-ins – monthly live chats.

Watch RowingChat with Gearoid Towey on YouTube