Recently, with the support of Leeds Trinity University, I presented my work on psychological wellbeing in sport at the Association for Applied Sport Psychology (AASP) annual conference, one of the most prestigious conferences in this field. 

The event offers researchers and practitioners alike an opportunity to network, share their projects, and discuss contemporary themes such as peak performance, psychologically informed environments and spaces, mental health, and social justice – to name but a few examples. 

My expertise sits within human flourishing (wellbeing) across sport and performance. My current work centralises the importance of psychological wellbeing (PWB) among performance leaders and managers within sport organisations, and the conceptual complexities of psychological wellbeing. My aim is to highlight the challenges leaders are faced with and the ripple effect this can have on those they serve and support, with the intention of creating meaningful change in the way resources are distributed for PWB in UK Sport. 

I was fortunate to share my work at the conference, which took place at Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas – a surreal venue which has history everywhere you look. In the past, it has hosted stars such as Shania Twain, 50 Cent, the Black Eyed Peas, and many more, so it’s a place that can easily make you feel like a small fish in a large, Vegas-shaped pond! 

The work I presented explored the question of what is the good life and how can we engineer it? I discussed progress, propositions, and prospects for how sport can advance research and applied knowledge of psychological wellbeing by highlighting the need for a greater understanding of PWB, the importance of establishing clearer terminology on PWB in sport research and the language practitioners use, and asking if a more thorough consideration of whether adopting a temporally-flexible perspective within sport PWB could be beneficial.

High-performance sport can sometimes be guilty of objectives that infer the pursuit of any means necessary to reach desired ends, which is not always complementary to the objectives underpinning human flourishing. The intentions of my work are to spotlight current experiences in sport relating to PWB, while highlighting educational (broadening perspectives on what sport could offer for PWB) and strategic (putting PWB at the heart of decision-making) means to attain human flourishing through sport. 

The lecture I delivered at the conference was an opportunity to shine a spotlight on an underserved population within the competitive sport context. I am pleased to say, it was well received by the audience and led to many insightful conversations. It was enjoyable speaking to delegates about my work, and hearing about how they could benefit from relating their knowledge and practice to PWB. 

A key takeaway from the discussions I had, was the importance of embedding principles of human flourishing within educational pathways and higher education psychology and sport curricula – an objective I am keen to pursue in our own curricula at Leeds Trinity. 

Overall, it was a fantastic trip that has provided me with renewed perspective and motivation to continue highlighting the importance of PWB within these contexts, and making the case that human flourishing should be a collective endeavour. 

Dr Richard A.C. Simpson is a Lecturer in Psychology at Leeds Trinity University.