Sports Chaplaincy

Beyond Gold accompanies and advises athletes during all phases of their career in a discrete and competent way through sports chaplaincy.

What is a Sports Chaplain?

As Sports Chaplains we take care of the spiritual, emotional and mental needs of athletes and coaches at big sports events as well as online.



Beyond Gold Team Languages: 

  German, English, Italian, French, Spanish & Russian



You can learn more about Sports Chaplaincy by watching the Servus TV Interview.

Origin

The origin of Sports Chaplains goes back to 1972 after the terrorist attack against the Israeli Olympic delegation in Munich happened. At that time, the International Olympics Committee (IOC) realized that athletes require extensive supervision beyond their athletic activities. Ever since then, the Local Organizing Committee (LOC) commissions an international “chaplain-team” to be at the Olympics.

Areas of Responsibility

We conduct chapel services, offer a place peace & prayer and provide pastoral care. As Sports Chaplains we see ourselves as a trustworthy and discrete partner who take the worries & fears of athletes seriously. We are highly bound to professional discretion.

During stress, loss, hardship & defeat we offer affected athletes and their relatives discrete support.

Non-denominational

 

We offer our services to any athlete or coach regardless of their religious or cultural background.

We maintain an empathetic dialogue engaged at eye level and refrain from judging people or situations.

Our services are based on Christian values.

Mental health for elite athletes and newcomers

Since 2003 my wife Jacqueline (Olympic & World Championships Finalist in Springboard Diving) and I (Snowboard Pro ISF World Tour) have been able to invest as International Sports Chaplains in trusting relationships with athletes and coaches from all over the world.



Topics such as depression, burn out, suicidal thoughts & suicide attempts, eating disorder, doping and other dishonest attempts to gain advantages, serious family problems and problems in the team, strokes of fate, mental problems after defeats, injuries but also after the greatest successes, abuse and simply the search for calmness or simply having a word with a person of trust in private are just a few of the topics we encounter.



These topics are usually not addressed with the trainer or in the team but with a person of trust outside of the team who speaks their language. I can say that we were able to build this trust with so many international athletes and teams and, as an outsider, we were able to build important bridges through good contacts within the teams and with the responsible team doctors with the consent of the athletes. 



As non-denominational Sports Chaplains, we care about the person behind the athlete and started in 2021 to invest also into newcomer’s at elite sports schools to prepare them for their future. We strive for the well-being of the athletes and enjoy great trust.

The sports psychologist and sports mental- trainer is just as important. In most cases, however, they are also required within the team to improve the athlete's performance. We, on the other hand, offer a so-called "Performance Free Zone" for the athletes.

Beyond Gold at big sports events

Since 2003, we have already been on duty as "International Sports Chaplains" at over 100 major sporting events such as the Olympic Games, World Championships and World Cups.

Winter sports

  • Winter Olympics (2006 Turin, 2010 Vancouver, 2014 Sochi, 2018 South Korea & 2022 Beijing only online because of Corona measures)
  • FIS Alpine Ski World Championships (2003, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019 & 2023)
  • FIS Nordic Combined Ski World Championships (2011, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2021 & 2023)
  • FIS Ski Flying World Championships (2012 & 2016)
  • Bob & Skeleton World Championships (2013 & 2016)
  • Luge World Championships (2017)
  • FIS Snowboard World Championships (2007)
  • IBU Biathlon World Championships (2020)
  • as well as countless World Cups

Summer sports

  • Olympic Games (2023 Tokyo online only due to Corona measures)
  • FINA World Aquatics Championships (2013, 2015, 2017 & 2019)
  • FINA European Aquatics Championships 2014
  • UCI Mountain Bike World Championships (2018)
  • European Athletics Championships (2010, 2019 & 2022)
  • World Athletics Championships (2017 & 2023)
  • Commonwealth Games (2018)
  • Diamond League meetings (since 2012)