It's pretty simple – never has it been so important to ensure we communicate and reach out - therefore we need our mentor network to initiate contact (if you haven’t already) with your Minerva Star mentee. They are all extremely stressed about the sporting year ahead and the impact of these uncertain times on their careers and personal lives – and while we must not get into the role of their coaches and codes in giving advice, we can each offer some emotional support. It's as simple as: “Are you OK“ “what are your plans” “are you getting all of the information you need“ “Is there anything that it would be helpful for the broader Minerva Network to do now for athletes?" We will be led by what the athletes need and perhaps there are new possibilities and ways we can interact with them regularly – as we always have been.
We all agree that what seemed to help us most during uncertain times was having a credible and reliable knowledge source and a calm head.
For the athletes, their own codes should be providing the health protocols but that might not be the case for the less well-resourced sports. For some up-to-date clear factual information, we recommend that you access the World Health Organisation website - there's a great section called Myth-busters. We have reached out to the Olympic leaders and asked them to share their messaging with us as that evolves – once we have that we will again send a note out to all Mentors in the first instance. As you all appreciate, the athletes competing in the Olympics and Paralympics have spent the last 4 years of their lives preparing for Tokyo 2020 – there could be a big cliff ahead.
If you do discover that your Minerva Star is needing more support than they are getting, please let Kate Argent know and we will see how best to navigate - we appreciate that each of you are also busy at the moment.
Thank you in advance,
Minerva Founders.
