#BellLetsTalk Day - Join the Conversation

Freestyle Ontario Community,

Today is #BellLetsTalk Day. Join Freestyle Ontario as we support Bell in joining the conversation about mental health in Canada.

Today, Bell will donate towards mental health initiatives in Canada by contributing 5¢ for every applicable text, call, tweet or TikTok video using #BellLetsTalk, social media video view and use of the #BellLetsTalk Facebook frame or Snapchat filter. Let's work together to help create positive change!

As part of Freestyle Ontario's commitment to the mental well being of our membership, please read the open letter below from Freestyle Ontario's Manager of Sport, Heather Ross McManus.

Being an athlete can be challenging! Pushing boundaries, following your passion, and reaching for big dreams is rarely a smooth or easy road. There are many ups and downs along the way. This year, that road is especially rough with barriers due to Covid-19 that are beyond the control of athletes, their coaches, and sport organizations. Many skiers who rely on skiing and sport as a contributing factor to their mental health may be struggling. Coaches, parents and club leaders are also missing the connection and value that Freestyle Skiing provides to us.

Mental health, balancing personal development with performance goals, life skills, and abuse-free sport have become important and emerging topics of conversation in the Canadian Sport System in recent years. The concept of “Holistic Athlete Wellness” is one that we have been discussing at Freestyle Ontario recently as well.

With this in mind, I would like to share some resources that may be useful. I would also like to encourage everyone in the freestyle community to check on each other, and to safely connect online with your friends and teammates while we are waiting to get back to skiing and in-person activities. It is okay not to be okay. If you feel you are doing well yourself, maybe there is someone you can help. If you are struggling, you aren’t alone.

Heather

RESOURCES

GAME PLAN – View Here

This program is for National Team athletes but there are awesome resources are available on their website for anyone to access

CANADIAN CENTRE FOR MENTAL HEALTH IN SPORT - View Here

Resources for athletes and coaches

KIDS HELP PHONE - View Here

24/7 private support for children who need it

THE CANADIAN SPORTS HELPLINE - View Here

For Safe Sport issues and concerns