Advancing Chinese Whole Nation system through supporting first level athletes’ meta-transitions

Abstract

Elite athletes’ holistic development has recently brought to our attention as many elite athletes faced challenges, such as mental health issues, both within and outside of their sport careers (Schinke, Henriksen et al., 2024). How to support elite athletes’ development, as well to optimize their respective sport environments have been hot research topics for researchers and practitioners in sport psychology (Stambulova et al., 2021; Wagstaff & Quartiroli, 2023), but also an important question for athletes, coaches, parents, sport managers, as well sport systems (Henriksen, Stambulova et al., 2024). These organizations and persons, who hold one or multiple of above identities, are involved with and sometimes responsible for supporting athletes’ development. Fully excavating athletes’ development and relevant experiences urges researchers to develop a better understanding of athletes’ career development and transitions within their contexts. Most such studies have been developed by exploring athletes’ career experiences (see Stambulova & Ryba, 2013), conducted mainly from Western countries (Stambulova et al., 2021). These conceptual foundations, developed in Western countries situated within Western philosophies, tend not to be fully relevant, compatible, and appropriative when understanding, in my project, Chinses athletes’ experiences and their respective sport environment (Chinese Whole Nation System, CWNS, Li et al., 2023). Missing from our conceptualization of Chinese athletes’ career development pathways and meta-transitions (Schinke et al., 2015) are the insights of Chinese elite athletes, who navigate demands and cope with barriers to strive career excellence in the CWNS. Situated within a Confucian relationism (Hwang, 2012, 2015), I approached this research with the concept that athletes’ meta-transitions, as moral cultivation processes with social responsibility, are interrelated with social and sport contexts. My aim within this research project was to explore Chinese elite athletes’ experiences to inform context-driven recommendations for improving the CWNS, eventually contributing to athletes’ holistic development. The research process began with a group reflection exercise conducted by me as a co-participant with two elite athletes who have experienced career transitions within the CWNS. This group reflection study was written to provides a snapshot of the context of athletes’ meta-transitions within the CWNS, providing a rich foundation for nuanced individual experiences during their unified meta-transitions. Group reflective practice interviews were then employed with 14 Chinese elite athletes to help them reflect and learn from their meta-transition experiences within the CWNS. A template analysis was utilized to develop themes that related to the athletes’ experiences. Five meta-transitions with two central themes were created to outline (1) athletes’ needs and challenges, and (2) athletes’ psychological skills and characteristics, at each nuanced meta-transition. These themes were constructed into three polyphonic tales, a form of data representation but also as an interventional strategy encapsulates the concept of science to practice (Schinke, Wylleman et al., 2024). Finally, these findings and data collection/representation methods were translated into practice through a series of recommendations for scientist-practitioners, submitted to an applied journal. The conclusions, implications, and recommendations arising from the four manuscripts, which constitute this dissertation, are presented.