SHARKS SUPPORTING SUICIDE PREVENTION TOOLKIT

This World Suicide Prevention Day (10th September), Sale Sharks and Michelle and Simon Orange are proud to be supporting HRH The Prince of Wales as he brings together sporting legends and leaders from major organisations to harness the power of sport to prevent suicide.

The Prince has launched ‘On Your Side’, a first-of-its-kind toolkit to help organisations and individuals across sport build the knowledge, confidence and practical approaches needed to contribute meaningfully to suicide prevention.

And featured in the toolkit are quotes from Sharks George Ford and Zoe Stratford.

Zoe Stratford said:“As captain, one of the most important responsibilities is looking out for your teammates on and off the field. This toolkit will help more people recognise when someone might be struggling, start a conversation and know how to act. That could make a life-saving difference.”

Co-produced in partnership with the UK’s national standards body, the British Standards Institution (BSI) and mental health charity Chasing the Stigma, the toolkit has been designed to give people engaged in sport the confidence to spot warning signs, start conversations and connect individuals with support before a crisis occurs. It will be available on Chasing the Stigma’s Hub of Hope, the UK’s largest mental health directory.

George Ford said: “Whether you’re in an international dressing room or playing with your friends, it’s so important to make sure we all talk and check in with our teammates because you never know who could be struggling. Just starting that conversation could make all the difference and could save a life. But we all need to know what to look out for and that’s what this toolkit can do.”

To mark the launch, The Royal Foundation has produced a short film aimed at encouraging people to have the confidence to start a conversation about suicide. The film features footballer and England captain Harry Kane, Formula 1 driver George Russell, two-weight world champion boxer Carl Frampton, GB international basketball player Kofi Josephs, Women’s Rugby World Cup winner Rocky Clark, double world champion boxer, kickboxer and Muay Thai champion Ruqsana Begum and former elite jockey, turned jockey coach, George Baker.

Today, The Prince is hosting an event at the Hill Dickinson Stadium in Liverpool, the home of Everton Football Club, attended by representatives from across the sports world including Sharks co-owner Michelle Orange, Sale Sharks Foundation CEO Jack Leech and club Strategy Lead Sam MacKenzie, as well as well-known figures including Dame Kelly Holmes MBE (mil) OLY, Gabby Logan OBE, Campbell Hatton, Jill Scott MBE and Dame Laura Kenny.

Hazel Detsiny, Executive Director of The Royal Foundation, said: “This toolkit is the first of its kind, uniting the sector across all sports and at every level, with the aim of bringing about meaningful change. Sport can be a powerful force for connection and support, and everyone engaged in sport has the power to make a difference to those at risk of suicide.”

Sport reaches millions of people across the UK. Research commissioned by The Royal Foundation shows that the sports sector has the potential to be a powerful platform for suicide prevention but is hampered by stigma particularly among men and elite athletes – as well as gaps in skills, knowledge and resources.

The findings show strong goodwill and pockets of effective practice across sport, but that the sector’s scale and diversity mean activity is often siloed, inconsistent, and unevenly resourced. At grassroots level, many clubs lack clear guidance on how to recognise risk and respond appropriately.

Developed with input from experts and partners from across the suicide prevention and sports sectors, the ‘On Your Side’ toolkit is the most comprehensive suicide prevention resource created specifically for the sports sector. It is designed for use across all sporting environments, from local clubs to sports academies and elite organisations, regardless of size, structure or level. It is relevant to everyone involved in sport, including players, coaches, staff, volunteers, families and spectators.

The toolkit explains how to:

• Create safe and supportive environments where people feel able to speak up and support others in
  distress, including outlining appropriate language and providing conversation starters.
• Make suicide prevention part of everyday practice, including policies and ways of working.
• Educate those within sports organisations on how to spot the signs and respond to someone in crisis.
• Put clear procedures in place for crisis situations and supporting after a suicide, including directing
  people to relevant support.

At the centre of the resource is a simple five-step framework, GOALS, for individuals to start a conversation. This stands for: G – Get ready; O – Open the conversation; A – Ask the question; L – Listen and respond and S – Support and signpost.

The Royal Foundation has long been committed to changing the conversation around mental health and suicide prevention, helping to tackle the stigma, while supporting new services so people can find the right help they need at the right time, and in the right place for them.

This targeted outreach to the sports sector builds upon the launch of the National Suicide Prevention Network in Autumn 2025. Backed by over £1 million in funding from The Royal Foundation, over an initial three-year period, the National Suicide Prevention Network aims to deliver lasting change in how suicide is understood and prevented across the four nations.

Anne Hayes, Director of Sectors and Standards Development, BSI, said: “People involved in sport can appear to be thriving while carrying real emotional strain, often without the space to say so. This resource, based on the world’s first standard on suicide and the workplace, gives everyone in sport, from grassroots clubs to professional teams, the tools to recognise distress and respond with confidence.”

Jake Mills, Founder and CEO of Chasing the Stigma, said: “Sport absolutely has the power to change lives. It creates such strong communities, and when those communities come together to say they’re looking out for one another, it is a real force for good.

The Hub of Hope helps hundreds of thousands of people a year find support, and we’re proud to be working with The Royal Foundation and BSI to extend our reach to sports clubs and organisations across the UK”