Supporting the military to civilian transition: a sport for development approach

The presentation will be based on my PhD research that I completed last year at MMU, and I hope for this to be co-presented with Dr Christopher Macintosh (also at MMU in the Department of Sport and Exercise Sciences) who was my Director of Studies (cc’d). My PhD evaluated the impact of a three-year sport and physical activity-based support programme on the transition of veterans from the military into civilian life. This presentation will specifically explore the potential of sport and physical activity as a tool to provide support to veterans transitioning out of the military. Bridging the gap between sport for development and military literatures, and drawing on over 400 hours of participant observations and 24 interviews undertaken during an 18-month ethnography, this presentation will highlight sport and physical activity as a useful but underused tool in the support and reintegration of military veterans. Decentering sport, a framework will be presented that outlines key features, processes, and mechanisms of a sport for development approach to supporting veterans undertaking a transition from the military, as well as acknowledging how this can make contributions to wider policy goals. Implications will be highlighted for research, policy, and practice.