Athlete Retirement, Gearoid Towey on RowingChat
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
