Main image: The Prince and Princess of Wales at the event launch with sports presenter Gabby Logan (© Kensington Palace)
The Prince and Princess of Wales Foundation has introduced On Your Side, a new framework for helping those involved in sports organisations to recognise those at risk of suicide and take practical steps to help prevent it.
BSAC CEO Mary Tetley, along with representatives of other sport National Governing Bodies (NGBs), charities and organisations which the Royal Foundation work with, attended a launch event on Thursday 10th September. At Everton's Hill Dickinson Stadium in Liverpool Prince William and Princess Kate helped introduce the initiative with the help of other sporting celebrity figures.
On Your Side
Sport brings people together. It gives us community, discipline, challenge and achievement — but it can also bring pressure, disappointment and frustration. Those highs and lows don't just affect players: they ripple out to coaches, volunteers, families, supporters and whole clubs.
To help face this important issue BSAC is supporting On Your Side, a new suicide prevention toolkit designed specifically for the sports sector.
Who is it for?
On Your Side is for anyone involved in sport who wants to better understand their role in suicide prevention — whether that's a club committee member, a coach, an instructor, a volunteer, or a parent on the poolside. It's built to grow confidence, knowledge and practical skills, helping both individuals and organisations understand what works and how to take action.
It's relevant everywhere sport happens, from local clubs to academies and elite organisations, whatever their size or structure. And while it doesn't replace anyone's legal responsibilities, it can strengthen how organisations meet their duty of care.
Prince William introduces On Your Side to attendees
What the toolkit helps you do
On Your Side sets out practical ways to:
- Create safe and supportive environments where people feel able to speak up and support others in distress.
- Make suicide prevention part of everyday practice — built into policies and ways of working, not treated as an afterthought.
- Educate people across your organisation, from raising general awareness to knowing how to respond when someone is in crisis.
- Put clear procedures in place for responding to a crisis, and for providing support in the aftermath of a suicide.
Together, these steps help make sporting environments not just places to train, perform and connect, but places where people feel safe, feel supported, and know what to do to help prevent suicide.
Why sport?
Sport reaches people from every walk of life, including those who may be at higher risk of suicide. On Your Side helps individuals recognise the signs and respond when someone needs support, while helping organisations use the strengths of sport — community, routine, connection — to reduce risk factors and build genuinely supportive environments for everyone involved.
What's it based on?
On Your Side has been co-produced with The Royal Foundation, the British Standards Institution and Chasing the Stigma, drawing on sports sector research carried out by Thinks Insight & Strategy and informed by partners from across both the suicide prevention and sports sectors. It takes the British Standard and translates it into a practical tool built specifically for sport.
That Standard — BS 30480, Suicide and the workplace: intervention, prevention and support for those affected by suicide — was co-produced with input from more than 70 organisations and individual contributors. Its central message is that suicide prevention isn't just down to individuals; it's about how organisations show up for their people. That means creating safe spaces, training people to know what to do, and always looking to learn and improve.
Access the On Your Side toolkit
Access the toolkit by visiting www.hubofhope.co.uk/OnYourSide
