New Faces Make Well-Being Priority At Nationals

Well-being and holistic development were key themes for our athletes and support staff on their journeys at the recent Australian National Championships in Newcastle and Cairns.

Several key staff, along with a range of new resources and guidelines played an integral part in ensuring a positive and safe experience for everyone during the events

Earlier this year, Hockey NSW announced Katrina Mulcahy had been engaged as an Athlete Well-Being & Culture Consultant, to work with our players, coaches and staff to better support holistic athlete development.

During the tournaments, Katrina was on the ground in Newcastle working with our Under 15’s cohort, as well as being virtually accessible to our Under 18 teams in Cairns.

In addition to a general oversight of athlete and staff wellbeing at both Championships, she also provided assistance with planning, support and advice for each cohort, as well as ensuring a positive culture was maintained in camp.  

“Hockey NSW is committed to ensuring the well-being of all our athletes, coaches and support staff while representing our State at National Championships,” said Hockey NSW CEO Emma Highwood.

“Our team, along with Katrina, have worked hard over the last six months to ensure that practices, guidelines and resources are in place to create supportive environments where our athletes and staff can develop holistically as people and performers.”

Katrina will continue to attend National Championship events throughout the remainder of 2022, as well as providing support to the wider Hockey NSW community through workshops and education.

In preparation for these most recent Australian Championships, Hockey NSW identified the need for a new role to further support those in the travelling parties. The result was the creation of an overarching Tournament Manager position, that would provide support in a number of different areas.

The Tournament Manager role was developed to serve several important functions during each event. Primarily, they serve as a central point of contact and follow-up for any issues or concerns during the Championships.

Another key responsibility of the role is to act as a culture and well-being checkpoint for athletes and support staff, as well as a liaison with managers, parents and Hockey NSW staff.

Morgan Lander & Mel Mannering were appointed to the new Tournament Manager roles and travelled with our Under 18 & Under 15 teams to Cairns and Newcastle, respectively.  

Above: Tournament Managers Morgan Lander & Mel Mannering 

As many in our community would know, Mel Mannering is one of Hockey NSW’s most experienced and dedicated volunteers that has worked with dozens of our representative teams for over a decade. As well as undertaking the Tournament Manager role, Mel was also appointed as the manager of our Under 15 Boys Lions team.

A long-term advisor to Hockey NSW and member protection expert, Morgan Lander is the Managing Director and Founder of “Not On My Watch”, a leading consultancy and training firm that works with governments, schools, not-for-profits and corporate organisations to provide services that help prevent abuse of children and other vulnerable populations, as well as other harmful acts such as bullying, harassment and discrimination.

"It has been an absolute honour to serve in this new Tournament Manager role here in Cairns at the Under 18 Nationals,” said Lander.

“I am proud to say that being available for athletes, parents and support staff if they needed assistance or had any concerns, was both professionally and personally really rewarding.”

“Being my first National Titles, I felt welcomed by all from day one, and pleasingly, have engaged with players, coaching and support staff, parents and match officials on matters relating to athlete well-being, emotional support, game day preparation and importantly, how hockey in NSW can learn from experience and better it's practices in the years to come.”

Hockey NSW CEO Emma Highwood extends her gratitude to Morgan and Mel for the work they have done over the past week.

“As with any new role, there are always a number of logistics to manage and challenges to overcome. However, with the experience and expertise that Mel and Morgan have contributed, I’m pleased to say that the new Tournament Manager role was extremely well-received by our travelling teams and their families,” says Highwood.

“I look forward to debriefing with them over the coming weeks, and looking at ways in which we can improve and streamline the role for future tournaments.”

Click here to find out more of what Hockey NSW is doing in the well-being space at our Pathway to 2032 Hub.