Dr Oliver Sindall on his Milano Cortina role with ParalympicsGB

The UK Sports Institute’s Dr Oliver Sindall is taking on a new role for the Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games as Mental Health and Welfare Officer for ParalympicsGB.

Oliver is one of the Leads from our UKSI Mental Health Team supporting both Paralympic and Olympic world class programmes.

On World Mental Health Day 2025, we interviewed Oliver to find out more about his role and why mental health is important in a Games environment.

ParalympicsGB approached Oliver for this role due to his existing UKSI link with British Curling and GB Snowsports, the two National Governing Bodies competing at Milano Cortina 2026. As a Mental Health Lead, Oliver is responsible for providing any support required for their athletes, staff, and the overall team approach to mental health.

“Having existing working relationships with staff in GB Snowsports, British Curling, and ParalympicsGB, has been a great platform to plan and start to bring things together for the Games. It has also helped to have worked closely with the ParalympicsGB over a number of years, as they continue to champion seeing mental health as a key factor in performance – not just for athletes, but also for staff and everyone they bring to the Games.

“This focus really started with the Tokyo Paralympic Games in 2020, with Dr. Amanda Gatherer, who is one of our Mental Health Expert Panel Members.  Together, Amanda and ParalympicsGB delivered the first Games time mental health strategy and support role”.

Oliver explained that recognition for mental health support has grown across elite sports: “Olympic and Paralympic committees have seen the benefit of looking after people’s welfare and created a welfare officer accreditation.

“This requires individuals with proper mental health training, so it’s protected – not a role you can just reassign. You need someone with the right skill set, which is a fantastic step forward for well-being in elite sport.”

Oliver added: “I’m really excited to take on this role for the first time. I experienced being a mental health lead at the Summer Games in Paris for ParalympicsGB, as part of the UK operations team, so this feels like the next step.”

Touching on what his role will entail, Oliver talked about the importance of planning but also being prepared for the unknown: “The major thing is you never know what it’s going to look like on the ground. You have so many athletes and staff going to an intense environment, and it’s about being available to support in any way needed, but not everything is predictable.”

He recalls someone asking during Paris: “Do you just sit in a room and wait for someone to get upset?”

Oliver said: “It goes way beyond that. It’s about understanding the environment and making sure things are in place to reduce concerns or challenges. It’s being part of the ParalympicsGB team, participating in planning, and considering how everything impacts well-being.

“You’re working alongside colleagues and chipping in with all the other activities – you can’t just sit in a room waiting for someone to be upset. You need to be involved.”

The role will span across ParalympicsGB’s base in Cortina, traveling in and out of the Athlete Village when needed, and being available at competition sites if necessary.

When asked about differences in a Games environment, Oliver said: “Between the Olympics and the Paralympics, the importance is equity and understanding individual needs”.

“From my perspective, as someone with a disability working with Paralympic athletes, the really important thing is remembering you’re human first, then an athlete. Then there’s also understanding the specific impacts – difficulties on planes, hotel space requirements, and accommodation needs based on disability level”.

Oliver added: “There are athletes and staff from Paralympic teams who have said how well a competition goes can sometimes be determined when you arrive and see if the hotel and environment support what they need to achieve simple day to day tasks”. So, mental health at a Paralympic Games, it’s not just about caring for the athlete, but also ensuring the environment works for them – and finding solutions when it doesn’t.”

Oliver shared that looking after someone’s mental health involves both pre-planning and being reactive: “We do a lot of work pre-Games with all sports across Team GB and ParalympicsGB, which we then implement during the Games”.

“Mental Health can easily have a planning element that’s the same as a nutrition or strength and conditioning plan. You can identify what stresses you out, your usual coping strategies, and what balance looks like during Games time.”

In terms, of being reactive, Oliver described how knowing what is important to athletes and staff is key: “For example, some athletes always take rice cookers, or other specific things, to competitions. It’s part of their routine and self-care. If that rice cooker doesn’t work, maybe my role that day is finding one that does – even in the middle of the Italian mountains. If it’s important to that person, it makes a difference.”

Oliver added that there are also unique challenges to supporting winter athletes compared to summer ones: “As a skier or snowboarder, you’re quite decentralised. There’s a great team around you, but between competitions, you’re often in different parts of the world in an isolating environment.

“There’s also much more equipment – skis, snowboards, waxing. I’m learning more about equipment requirements, who does what, and how to fit everything in a mountain-based Athlete Village.”

Oliver added: “ParalympicsGB did fantastic work for the Paris Summer Games with Eurostar’s help – being on platforms and trains, adapting for wheelchairs and sports equipment. The same adaptation and support will be key for the Winter Games.

“It’s not necessarily a direct mental health job, but it has massive potential impact if equipment doesn’t arrive or journeys don’t go well. Therefore, being involved in that process is key to my role.”

Another initiative from the UKSI Mental Health Team is the Games Time Journals, which athletes will receive in physical and digital versions to support reflection during the Winter Games.

Oliver said: “It’s a way to reach out to athletes and provide space to understand how they’re managing their well-being, plus areas in the journal to help relax. When we do mental health training in calm environments, people can think about processes clearly, but during travel and Games, that’s harder. Our education focuses on helping people stay mindful of these things.”

“It’s been fantastic to embrace having both Paralympic and Olympic versions, recognising each as its own Games with potentially different support needs. We’ve had retired athletes contribute to the design and content as well – it’s created with athletes in mind, ready to drop into their kit bag.”

Mental health support isn’t just vital for athletes; it is equally important for practitioners and support staff.

Oliver emphasised that when conducting educational sessions about mental health awareness and stress management, they actively encourage staff to participate alongside athletes: “It’s really important for them as well, but it also promotes a shared culture within the team.

“This collaborative approach helps everyone understand what mental health looks like in their environment and fosters better relationships.”

Support staff wellbeing has continued to become a priority, with UK Sport partnering with Sporting Chance to provide support spaces for staff when needed. During educational sessions, they specifically address how various factors like travel and family separation impact staff members.

Oliver’s role with ParalympicsGB provides continuity of care, working with sports teams before, during, and after the Games. This model has enabled comprehensive preparation for the Games year, regardless of selection outcomes.

“For athletes that unfortunately aren’t selected, that can be a challenging period,” Oliver pointed out, stressing the importance of anticipating these difficulties. Similarly, staff members who work tirelessly to prepare athletes for competitions don’t always get to attend and “see the fruits of their labour,” creating another dimension of challenge that requires mental health support.

At the core of both Oliver’s UKSI and ParalympicsGB work is the Paralympic Movement, which extends far beyond sports competitions, representing a broader mission for positive change.

“The Paralympic Movement is focused on the idea of how that work continues to improve changes for disabled people in the community.

“Great strides and changes have been made, but there’s still so much more to be done. For example, in Paris, you had athletes doing amazing things in wheelchairs, but then people watching in wheelchairs having to queue to be lifted down to the Metro.

“Most people that work in Paralympics want to see those changes. That’s a key factor of what I do and why I do it.”

For Oliver, this role holds profound personal significance: “As someone with a disability, being part of ParalympicsGB and contributing to this Movement is one of my biggest highlights.

“Beyond the professional aspects, there’s definitely a personal motivation. Getting to represent ParalympicsGB and being part of this Movement is truly a dream come true.”