Rugby League Cares are delighted to kick off 2026 with a new partnership with the York RLFC Foundation that will bring the charity’s acclaimed Offload mental fitness programme to the City of York for the first time.
Rugby League is currently booming in York, with the Knights preparing for their first season in the Men's Super League, and the Minster City joins numerous other Foundations in hosting an Offload programme.
This has been made possible thanks to funding awarded by the York Centre for Voluntary Service (known as York CVS) through the Community Mental Health Transformation Grant Programme.
Offload is an evidence-based, independently evaluated mental fitness programme for men.
It has been proven to improve mental health literacy, increase help-seeking behaviours, and empower participants to adopt practical tools that enhance and protect their own wellbeing, as well as the wellbeing of those around them. In addition, Offload helps build strong support networks and fosters greater community connectedness and resilience.
This life-changing project will be delivered in two parts:
· Offload for 16 to 19-year-olds outreach programme.
· Offload for men aged 18+ set at the LNER Community Stadium
Offload involves free mental fitness and wellbeing sessions run over six weeks where current and former players and coaches share practical techniques designed to help participants handle stress, anxiety and depression in a supportive, team-focused environment.
The sessions will be delivered in community settings across the City of York - including sessions at LNER Community Stadium - prioritising areas with high deprivation, poor mental health outcomes and low male help-seeking. The sessions will be open to both people seeking to improve their own mental health and those at risk of poor mental health.
Our model is to take support ‘to where men are’ in the places they already feel safe, connected and valued. Sessions will be hosted in a variety of locations including community hubs, community sports clubs and workplaces, rather than traditional health settings. This non-clinical, familiar environment removes stigma and creates psychologically safe spaces where men can open up.
York RLFC Foundation already has a well-established, trusted community network across the city, and that will be utilised to ensure the programme is well integrated and has the most impact.
The aim is to have a blended outreach community engagement programme consisting of Offload, a men’s mental fitness and wellbeing programme predominantly for men aged 18+, and a separate initiative for young men aged 16 to 19 which focuses on prevention by helping this group develop healthy habits as they transition into adulthood.
To achieve this, we will visit and give talks to 16 to 19-year-olds as part of the “outreach” section of Offload. In this strand of delivery, further signposting will be communicated, including some focus on tackling the stigma of talking about mental health, loneliness and isolation. These factors may well impact those who are looking to go to university and will be away from home for the first time without their parents.
Since its launch by RL Cares in 2017, Offload has enhanced the lives of men of all ages and in recent years has been delivered successfully to mixed age groups. As many of the challenges faced by over-18s may be different to those impacting 16 to 19-year-olds, we are keen to differentiate and run these separately.
Offload will give individuals the chance to step behind the scenes at York RLFC and learn how leading professionals from the Rugby League industry maintain their mental strength alongside competing at the top level of the sport. Offload seeks to tackle men’s mental health challenges through the power of Rugby League.
Adam Prentis, York RLFC Foundation said: “Sport brings people together like few other things can. By uniting professional and grassroots organisations, we are ensuring that every level of sport can play its part in supporting mental health, tackling suicide, and giving communities hope.
“With the news that York Knights will play in the elite level of Rugby League’s premier tier, the Super League, it provides an opportunity to engage with young people and the community like never before!
“I am excited by the news and would like to thank all parties for working collaboratively.”
RL Cares Director of Community Emma Goldsmith said: “We are delighted to have the opportunity to deliver our brilliant Offload programme in York and are looking forward to working alongside the York RL Foundation.
“Since its launch almost a decade ago, Offload has had a profound and lasting impact on the lives of thousands of people across Rugby League communities and beyond.
“Offload helps men tackle many of the health and lifestyle challenges they face on an everyday basis by equipping them with coping mechanisms and the tools and techniques needed to flourish in all aspects of their lives.
“We would like to thank York CVS for their foresight in awarding the funding through their Community Mental Health Transformation Grant Programme that is enabling men across York to enjoy the transformational benefits of Offload.”
For more information, please contact Adam Prentis on 01904 670880 or email a.prentis@yorkrlfc.com.
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