Jenny Cripps is the British Elite Athletes Association’s Head of Alumni Relations. Here, she explains the benefits of former athletes joining its online alumni community.

Sporting careers are like no other. They require unique levels of commitment, sacrifice and pressure and then, after a few relatively short, intense years, they come to an end.

At this point athletes face a range of hurdles: chief among them adjusting to a changing identity, a new career, and an entirely different routine. While every sporting ‘retirement’ is different – some will go through it in their early 20s, others approaching middle age; some are enforced and others are carefully planned – reaching the pinnacle of sport then learning to adjust to a new life afterwards are rare challenges experienced across the athlete community.

Day to day interactions with coaches and staff, the highs of competing, and demands of daily training all create that sense of belonging, which can get lost once your competitive days end.

That’s why last year the BEAA launched a new online platform for former elite athletes, seeking to facilitate a lifelong sense of community and to support the next steps in life after sport.

The platform is exclusive to those who’ve competed in Olympic and Paralympic sports at senior international level, so every member can reflect on the unique journey elite athletes go through. We have members from the 1956 Olympics all the way up to those adjusting to life since leaving the World Class Programme as recently as this year.

These athletes span disciplines, ages, locations and backgrounds but all have a shared understanding of life at the top of sport. Through our community they can connect with names old and new, catch-up, network, or support one another in groups dedicated to their sport or interests. Members can also access resources to help them with next steps, such as job opportunities from Life After Professional Sport.

The community is still in its early stages and we’re excited for the years ahead, so if you or someone you know wants to join, please click the link below, fill out the information, and our staff will approve you as soon as possible. We’re also keen to spread the word so as many former athletes as possible can benefit, so please do share this with anyone you think might benefit.

Sign-up to the alumni community: https://bit.ly/3PwzvlX