Network provides ‘Safe Space’ for all
Athletes share their Games experience with the attendees at the ALN Forum 2024.
Being surrounded by a wider network of athletes who are living your same life is a hugely valuable tool, says Paris gold medallist Finn Butcher.
He has long seen the value in surrounding yourself with others who simply ‘get’ the challenges of elite sport. He’s been part of the Athlete Leaders Network from early on.
“For some athletes it has been hard knowing where to reach out to for support but with the ALN, we now have DJ (ALN General Manager) in place to be that support or point us in the right direction. Sometimes there could be problems within your sport so you really need someone on the outside.”
It’s a safe space where resources can be found, information provided and an understanding of predicaments covering anything from selection issues, financial challenges, wellbeing, inclusion and more.
“The unknown can be really tough on athletes,” says Finn. “You can sometimes feel someone else has control over your life without your input. It can be tricky and it happens on all levels. Communication is the biggest thing.”
Finn was part of a movement to establish a leadership group within canoe slalom but says it wasn’t quite doing what the athletes had envisaged. ALN had filled that void.
“There’s strength in numbers,” he says. “We all need to build dual control within our sports so we have more part in where our sport goes.”
There is often plenty of passion from those in administrative or other roles, and many were voluntary, trying to run a sport on a shoestring budget while juggling their own jobs and lives.
And getting together with the wider athlete community also brought plenty of benefit.
“Often we all have the same stuff going on but just slightly different, so it is good to hear what other athletes come up with to solve those issues.”
He’s looking forward to those catchups at the annual forum. “One of the best things is meeting all the other athletes – it is so much fun.”
Finn, who raced in his first world cups in 2015, spends up to seven months a year on the road. “I am lucky to be able to paddle and compete in the sport I love but it can be tricky living out of a suitcase for so long and not having roots in the ground.”
When he won the inaugural men’s canoe slalom cross at Paris he was the first Kiwi to win an individual gold in any sport since Mahe Drysdale in the men’s single sculls at Rio (2016).