Movember Ahead of The Game

Movember Ahead of The Game

The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA), the Gaelic Players Association (GPA) and Movember have partnered to deliver the Movember Ahead of the Game initiative. Movember Ahead of the Game is a series of interactive workshops, delivered by past and present intercounty players and members of the GPA. It is the most evidence-based youth sport mental health literacy programme in the world, having undergone several large, controlled trials. The programme was first developed in The University of Wollongong in Australia. The initiative will teach young players, parents, coaches, and volunteers to understand mental health, build mental fitness, and strengthen resilience to deal with challenges in sport and life. An expert-backed youth mental health program, Movember Ahead of the Game teaches players, parents, coaches and volunteers to understand mental health and build mental fitness.

When faced with challenges in sport and life, young players will know who they can talk to right away, and that their community has their back. The programme equips young athletes, coaches, and parents with practical tools to build mental fitness and resilience, while raising awareness of mental health issues, encouraging help seeking behaviours, and normalising open conversations about mental health within sporting environments.

Through our recent campaign, we are calling on all GAA clubs across the country to get involved and help Movember Ahead of the Game to “Break the Silence”.

What We Offer

For your club we can offer two free standalone workshops tailored for:

• Youth Players (12–18): 60 mins in clubs

• Coaches & Parents: 60 mins on supporting young people and teams. Player sessions are gender-specific and are delivered separately to both male and female teams.

Workshops are run Monday to Friday in the evening between 6:30pm and 8:30pm, and during the day on weekends. Both workshops are delivered on the same evening/day with a 15-minute break between each workshop.

Youth Player - HELP OUT A TEAMMATE One-hour, mental health literacy workshop for players (12-18). Players learn how to kick off conversations about mental health and gain skills to help a friend who might be going through a tough time. Usually delivered pre or post an existing training session.

Parents & Coaches - NO. 1 SUPPORTER One-hour, mental health literacy workshop to help parents develop skills and knowledge to understand, recognize and support the mental health and wellbeing of their teenagers.

Expression of Interest

NOTE: If you are submitting this form on behalf of a club, please ensure you are authorised to do so by the club's executive.

*When you submit the form, please ensure that you have spelled your contact details and club names correctly as failure to do so may result in a loss of the data.

Form Link: https://share-eu1.hsforms.com/1NskWuNs_Teer-nFzptpLsg2e30uf

Sign Up & Participation Prizes

Monthly draw for clubs with over 40 participants to win a Movember AOTG GAA training pack
Annual draw for all clubs engaged to win a set of Movember AOTG Training GAA jerseys
Annual draw for All Ireland Tickets for workshops organisers

Program Impact

Running annually from September to May, our programme has reached thousands over the past two phases — here’s what we’ve accomplished:

408 workshops delivered to players
408 workshops delivered to parents, coaches & volunteers
331 clubs engaged across the island of Ireland
10,000+ attendees who’ve been part of this important conversation

MAOTG has already had a positive influence on participants:

91% having a better understanding of the importance of being mentally fit and healthy.
94% said they now know who to talk to and where to go for mental help support for themselves and for others.
91% said that after the session they felt more assured in recognising the signs of poor mental health in themselves.
93% saying they feel more confident recognising the signs of poor mental health in others too.
93% of player participants also said they now had confidence to talk with a friend going through a tough time with their mental health after taking part in.