Performing with Purpose: Using Thriving to Transform Coaching and Participation in Sport

Event Organizer - BASPO / Swiss Federal Institute of Sport Magglingen 

Abstract:

The construct of thriving has received growing interest in sport over the past decade with a developing research base and applications in practice contexts (e.g., Sport Wales Thriving Environments Framework; UKSI Project Thrive). Within sport, thriving has been characterized by a sustained high-level of performance and the experience of high levels of well-being, meaning it offers an alternative perspective to the pervasive narrative in sport that solely focuses on performance. As a result, thriving holds potential as a beneficial outcome for sport systems as they seek to create spaces where individuals and teams are supported to achieve their performance outcomes in a safe, sustainable, and fulfilled way to, ultimately, experience development and success. These supportive and transformative environments have been labelled “thriving environments” (Brown & Wagstaff, 2025). In this webinar, we will first discuss the latest evidence on thriving in sport, as well as the key factors that influence thriving in individuals, teams, and organisations. In the second part of the webinar, we will offer recommendations for how coaches, sporting directors, and practitioners can create thriving environments in their sports, and share reflections from our own experiences of developing these spaces in sport organisations.