Sink or swim: the impact of having a child with Olympic potential on family well-being

Abstract

Behind every young successful athlete, there is always a passionate and supportive social network, most often called ‘family’. Whilst the importance of family on athletes’ development became established, limited effort has been put in exploring the role of sport on the family unit. The aim of this study was to explore the role of elite swimming on the well-being of Cypriot families, which have an adolescent swimmer with Olympic potential. Adopting the Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis approach, this study explored through four rounds of interviews (during the pre-season, beginning and peak of the competition season and off-season) the experiences of the members of four Cypriot swimming families, that took place within a year. The findings provide an in-depth understanding of the phenomenon of family well-being (FWB) in the context of elite swimming in Cyprus, and detail the complex influence that elite sport can have on FWB, through impacting the personal well-being of the individual members and the mutual sense of FWB. It highlights the unique characteristics of each family and discusses how they shape their experiences as well as how specific socio-cultural characteristics of the Cypriot society contribute to similar experiences. This study draws attention on the impact of swimming on individuals’ self-satisfaction and social well-being and highlights the significance of effective communication and members’ ‘togetherness’, as key factors in maintaining FWB during challenging moments in sport. This study offers a framework that can be used in future studies for examining the FWB of other Cypriot families, proposes topics for future studies and suggests potential implications for policy and the practice of sport practitioners, to safeguard FWB.