Marshall, Ashleigh Peta (2024) Maximising Opportunities for Elite Women Athletes Who Retire Suddenly and Need to Transition to a Career Beyond Elite Sport. PhD thesis, Victoria University.

Abstract

Retiring from elite sport presents one of the most formidable and disruptive career transitions for athletes. When athletes decide to retire and transition to a second career, research overwhelmingly recommends the need for them to be prepared for this transition (Knights et al., 2016). However, when athletic retirement occurs suddenly, due, for instance, to an acute injury or deselection from a national team or squad, an elite athlete is often left with little choice of ‘when’ to retire, and their plans for a second career may be significantly disrupted. The role of national sporting organisations (NSOs) in providing support during the transition phase from sudden elite athletic retirement to a second career is crucial (Brassard et al., 2022; Knights et al., 2019). The nature of this role however, is yet to be studied, particularly for elite women athletes who face unique challenges when transitioning out of their elite sport (Wylleman et al., 2016). The existing body of research on athletic retirement and career transition support has predominantly focused on mixed-gender or men-only cohorts. The aim of this research was to expand the knowledge on how NSOs can support elite women athletes with the transition to a second career after sudden athletic retirement. A two-stage qualitative research design was implemented, incorporating a document analysis and semi-structured interviews. The document analysis involved the interrogation of 18 publicly available documents from 17 Australian NSOs to determine the support they provide elite women athletes with the transition to a second career, including any reference to specific support for athletes who retire suddenly. The semi-structured interviews were conducted with 15 NSO participants and 13 women who retired from being an elite athlete under sudden and unanticipated circumstances. Data was then subject to thematic analysis using deductive and inductive techniques. The analysis was guided by a bespoke conceptual model incorporating the ecological-intersectional model (LaVoi, 2016) and transition theory (Schlossberg, 1981). Findings revealed that when women athletes retire suddenly, NSOs most often refer them to external agencies, such as the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) and Players’ Associations, for support. Additionally, NSOs concentrate on ensuring women athletes are prepared for the transition from athletic retirement to a second career (i.e., during their athletic career), with little support provided at the point of sudden retirement. Furthermore, these athletes can face any one of eight distinct challenges when transitioning to a second career. They also possess at least four key assets which could be effectively leveraged in the transition to a second career. Based on these challenges and assets, this research offers several recommendations for NSOs to enhance the support they provide to suddenly retired elite women athletes who need to transition to a second career. These findings build new knowledge practically and theoretically. Practically, there is potential to improve the support system for elite women athletes, making this knowledge crucial for NSOs (and other stakeholders) in supporting elite women athletes during the phase from sudden athletic retirement to a second career. New theoretical knowledge is also gained by advancing the original conceptual model designed for this research. Building upon transition theory, this research identified three distinct phases through which elite women athletes move when they retire suddenly (pre-transition, during transition, and post-transition). These three transition phases were then applied to the organisational level of the ecological-intersectional model to (1) discover what NSO support practices assist suddenly retired elite women athletes and (2) in which phase (pre-transition, during transition, and post-transition) of sudden retirement these practices should be implemented until a second career is gained.

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