BLAST Premier have announced Movember as the tournament organiser’s official Mental Health partner, in a move hoping to support the mental health of both esports players and communities.
Movember is a global men’s health charity that aims to raise awareness and funds for men’s health issues through a series of activities. Primarily, they encourage men to raise money for the charity by growing a moustache in the month of November.
The partnership began ahead of the BLAST Fall Final, where Movember spent time talking to fans, players, and teams. They also hosted special mental health workshops in the lead up to the tournament with players and talent in order to better understand the challenges the wider industry faces with mental health. A barber shop was also set up in the arena for fans to get haircuts, whilst having an open and honest chat. The partnership continued at the BLAST Premier World Final in Singapore, which took place from 30th October – 2nd November.
Dan Cooper, the director of Global Innovations at Movember, said: “This partnership between Movember and BLAST Premier is a significant step in highlighting the health challenges facing those in the esports community. We plan to do that in part by collaboratively building guidelines that will act as a set of foundational principles to protect esports players and support the creation of psychologically safe spaces.”
The aforementioned guidelines will be designed by both organisations, and will be focused on lived and living experiences of players (both ranked and unranked), and will be designed to level up the impact that esports has on people’s mental health, with the aim of onboarding other organisations in the future.
The Director of Growth for BLAST, Faye Marlborough, said: “Esports has a huge influence on people all over the world, and through this new partnership we have already started to have industry-led discussions about mental health and deliver interventions in settings where esports players and the community spend their time. We hope this partnership will help leverage November’s experience to equip our fans and community with best practices and approaches to dealing with mental health”.
The announcement also includes a video, which can be seen below:
If you or someone you know is struggling with their mental health, you can call Samaritans for free, 24-hour emotional support at 116 123. You can also text SHOUT to 85258 for free, confidential support 24/7. Mind also has an info line that you can call Monday to Friday, 9 AM to 5 PM at 0208 215 2243.
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