More than 100 people attended the NOCZ's two-day seminar on mental health ©NOCZ

A two-day seminar on mental health has been staged by the National Olympic Committee of Zambia (NOCZ).

The NOCZ Gender Equity Sports Commission arranged the seminar, which attracted more than 100 participants.

Beatrice Lungu Cains, who represented Zambia in sprint events at the Munich 1972 Olympic Games, was among those to share their personal experiences.

Doctor Maria Akani spoke of existing support structures in sport.

Dionne Rennie Bryan of the Gender Equity Sports Commission and Alan Zulu from A2Z foundation led a session on self-awareness which examined athletes' strengths and weaknesses.

NOCZ Gender Equity Sport Commission chair Susanna Dakik, right, organised the event ©NOCZ
NOCZ Gender Equity Sport Commission chair Susanna Dakik, right, organised the event ©NOCZ

Doctor Shula Chanda conducted activities which explored the relationship between mental health and medicine, with an eye on anti-doping. 

Itumeleng Beaumont took charge of a session on body awareness and Cyril Happlethwaite from the Zambia Sports Development Association delivered a talk on coaches' perspectives.

NOCZ President Alfred Foloko was in attendance and impressed by what he saw.

"This will definitely mark the beginning of earnestness in sports where mental health is involved as research has shown that 35 per cent of elite athletes suffer from mental health crises prior to the games or post the games, which denotes that athletes face huge amounts of stress and pressure and have to manage lots of different expectations which can have a negative impact on their well-being," Foloko said.