Movember Ahead of the Game reaches over 100,000 participants

It started in one humble community team locker room. But today, Movember Ahead of the Game has a delivery roll call of over 100,000 participants across seven countries; including over 4,800 right here in New Zealand. Each participant playing their part to change how young athletes and the teams around them acknowledge mental health challenges and learn the steps to take to tackle them in sport and life.

Taking on mental health like a team sport

If you haven’t heard by now, Movember Ahead of the Game is one of Movember’s youth sports mental fitness and resilience programs. Young athletes aged 12-18 are the focus; with coaches, team volunteers, parents and carers also having tailored workshops delivered to them. The program is designed to bring the ecosystem and community around young players into the conversation. Young players learn how to look after their own mental fitness and have their teammates' backs when things get tough. Coaches, volunteers, parents, and carers build skills to spot the signs of mental health challenges, the confidence to check in and know exactly where to turn for help when young people need it most.

Here’s the real win

The impact of Movember Ahead of the Game stretches far beyond the locker room. When more young men and boys feel supported – and confident asking for support – communities benefit. Thanks to the sporting clubs, funding partners, community organisations and our global Mo Community.Together, we are creating a generational shift in how mental health is talked about within sports – and beyond.

“A lot of young people hear lots about mental health now days, more than previous generations but it doesn’t necessarily equal feeling comfortable talking about it. It’s awesome when I can see that happening at the start if a Movember Ahead of the Game workshop, their body language, laughing, not taking it seriously, nervous laughter when something actually hits home and you don’t want the boys to rush you for it. To see that at the start and then once they start to do tangible things like create a wellbeing plan for themselves, once they start to get evidence of how many high-profile athletes who do this stuff, you start to see some players take it seriously. All it takes is for those players to do that and then there’s a slight ripple effect on the rest of the group seeing those certain leaders on the team take it seriously.” - Tamatea Wihongi, Movember Ahead of the Game Facilitator, New Zealand

To learn more about the program and how to get involved visit aheadofthegame.movember.com