Athletic Wellness and Substance Abuse

The APPLE Conferences, developed and coordinated by the Gordie Center for Substance Abuse Prevention at the University of Virginia, are the leading national training symposiums dedicated to substance abuse prevention and health promotion for student athletes and athletics department administrators.  The goal of the APPLE conference is to assist colleges in promoting student athlete health and wellness by empowering teams of student- athletes and administrators to create an institution-specific action plan.

Introduction to APPLE Model and Conferences

The APPLE Conference offers teams of student-athletes, coaches, athletic trainers, administrators, and alcohol, tobacco and other drug (ATOD) prevention specialists an opportunity to evaluate the ATOD environment within their athletics departments and develop specific actions plan to enhance prevention efforts.

Watch our 4 minute video to learn more about APPLE!

The APPLE model was developed jointly by the Institute for Substance Abuse Studies (now known as the Gordie Center for Substance Abuse Prevention) and the Department of Athletics at the University of Virginia.  The conferences have been funded by a grant from the NCAA Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports since 1991.  The APPLE model is built on the belief that all members of an athletics department must be enfranchised and empowered to help create an environment that promotes healthy lifestyles, including responsible use of alcohol for those of legal age and avoidance of illegal and performance-enhancing drugs.  The formal components–policies, regulations, enforcement procedures and consequences of infractions — are the necessary foundation on which to build prevention efforts.  But these efforts can only be successful if the informal components — recruitment messages, role models, and unwritten expectations — reflect and extend the message that substance abuse prevention is a departmental priority and is everyone’s concern.

Photo by Ginger Beered