Scott Sloan: "The Mind Zone helped athletes think about their mental health as much as their physical health."

Having been successfully introduced at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, the Athlete 365 x Powerade Mind Zone returned for the Milano Cortina Olympic Winter Games, providing athletes with a calm and restorative space to recharge, practise mindfulness and access confidential support.

"This space allowed me to recharge and get rid of stress before competition," said Haitian Cross-Country skier Stevenson Savart, speaking to @athlete365. "It allowed me to have a clear mind and afterwards I felt settled and ready to go."

With the Mind Zone a central part of the International Olympic Committee's commitment to promoting mental well-being, preventing issues before they arise and providing care whenever needed, Inside FIS caught up with the IOC's Senior Project Manager for Mental Health, Scott Sloan, to discuss the initiative's origin story, how it has developed since Paris 2024, FIS' key role in raising awareness, and the vital contributions of the network of National Olympic Committee and International Federation welfare and safeguarding officers.

Inside FIS: How did the Athlete365 x Powerade Mind Zone first come about and what the original aims were when it was launched at Paris 2024?

Scott Sloan: The origins go back to the IOC’s Athletes’ Commission. In a meeting pre-Paris 2024, we heard their needs that privacy or a quiet space is rare in an Olympic Village. Athletes needed a space just for themselves, somewhere to get away from the buzz of the Games or to get support, and that was not there.

On top of this, we recognised that very few people seek or ask for help when they face mental health challenges or are experiencing harassment and abuse, so we set out to tackle that issue: how do we encourage athletes to come forward, make that process simpler, and intervene earlier. We wanted to offer a trusted, confidential space where athletes can seek support, guidance and help without fear.

Plus, mental health is often stigmatised and associated with mental ill health, so we wanted to create a gateway to talk about the full spectrum of mental health, including performance, by creating a mental fitness and mental performance space next to the gym, as a way to help athletes think and talk about their mental health just as much as their physical health.

Inside FIS: What were the core features of the Mind Zone, and how was it designed to support athletes’ mental well-being during competition? How did it fit into the wider support system at the Games?

Scott Sloan: Mind Zone offers a cool, quiet and tranquil environment for athletes to reset, where they can switch off and try activities such as coloring, stretching on yoga mats, and a gratitude exercise centered around sending a postcard home. It also includes an immersive virtual reality (VR) mindfulness experience, developed alongside Swedish sport psychologist Göran Kenttä, which encourages athletes to try calming breathing and visualisation exercises to help them disconnect and prepare for competition. 

Most importantly, it is where athletes and other participants can ask for help. This does not just complement the overall safeguarding system; it is central to it. That is where the IOC’s safeguarding officers are located and embedded. One of the key elements of our work is the collaboration with the network of National Olympic Committee and International Federation welfare officers, or safeguarding officers, who are accredited within their organizations: what we call the safeguarding community of practice. 

Every team has the opportunity to accredit somebody in that role. The real frontline safeguarding work is delivered in collaboration with those team safeguarding officers, who liaise with the IOC Safeguarding Team to resolve potential issues. The physical space is the Mind Zone, but the human capacity behind it is a large network of welfare and safeguarding officers embedded within the teams.

Inside FIS: How did you approach making the space feel welcoming to athletes from many different backgrounds and cultures?

Scott Sloan: It is a global project, and we try to be sensitive to different dialects, cultures, and languages. In everything we do now, we are trying to make sure we are delivering across IOC's official core languages. Our poster campaign reflects that, and our education offer is growing in terms of language options.

The Mind Zone itself is a funny challenge because you are trying to create a cultureless space that still feels homely and inviting. That was part of the thinking with our design team years ago. How do you do that? We ended up with something almost spa-like, and part of the idea was to create an environment where everybody could feel at ease. That is difficult, but it was central to the design.

Inside FIS: What part did FIS play in planning, delivering, or raising awareness of the Mind Zone at Milano Cortina?

Scott Sloan: In terms of the Mind Zone specifically, it was not necessarily about direct input into the space itself, but signposting and relaying services so that athletes are aware of them is really key. FIS is ahead of the game in terms of making sure it is prepared and in relaying important information during Games time and outside Games time as well. FIS is a very good example of education in mental health and safeguarding from grassroots level upward. And, of course, the collaboration with FIS when addressing safeguarding challenges was exceptional.

Inside FIS: One last question, how have you evaluated the success of the Mind Zone, and are there things you would tweak ahead of future Games?

Scott Sloan: It's difficult to measure everything directly, but we do have good survey data points from chief medical officers, welfare officers, and chefs de mission. In Paris, and again in the early feedback from Milano Cortina, the Mind Zone scored strongly. We have been consistently rated highly across Chief Medical Officers and in Paris 4.4 out of 5 from Welfare Officers in Paris. Carrying those kinds of numbers into back-to-back Games is really encouraging.