Elite Sport Retirement
Elite New Zealand Athletes’ Perceptions of Retirement Interventions
Keywords:
retirement transition; retirement interventions; elite athletes; High Performance Sport New ZealandAbstract
Retiring from elite-level sport requires major adjustment to elite athletes’ daily lives and may be highly distressing for them. Several athlete retirement interventions have been developed worldwide to assist elite athletes with adapting positively to the retirement transition. Scant research exists on athlete retirement interventions in New Zealand. Thus, this study was conducted to explore elite New Zealand athletes’ perceptions of current athlete retirement interventions offered in New Zealand. In this qualitative exploratory study, research questions were framed around these athletes’ perceptions regarding the interventions available in their retirement transition. Semi-structured interviews gathered descriptive data from 16 former elite New Zealand athletes composed of eight males and eight females from a range of team and individual sports. Findings revealed that career/education interventions were accessible and used, due to being proactively offered by Athlete Life Advisors and Athlete Career Education advisors. Psychological/emotional interventions usage was limited or non-existent as it was suggested that less importance is placed on retirement-related psychological/emotional interventions for elite athletes in New Zealand compared to other interventions. Recommendations included psychological/emotional interventions, work placements, workshops and advice from former athletes. This research extends the literature by offering insight into the state of current athlete retirement interventions in New Zealand, offering suggestions for additional interventions in New Zealand and overseas.
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