Category Archives: Conference

Symposium: We are writing the future

Following the success of our past annual conferences the next event in 2020 will be a symposium style focus on developing the people who develop coaches. Supporting these people is an important component in any coaching system, and this symposium provides an opportunity to discuss, debate and share ideas, thoughts and opinions about their future role. The symposium should be of interest to policy makers, system-builders, researchers, programme managers, coach developers, tutors, mentors and coach educators. It is a chance to explore, converse and contribute towards the future.

The symposium will be organised around a series of semi-structured conversational style workshops led by a ‘workshop guide’ which explore key themes, these are:

  1. Supporting coaches in virtual spaces and through digital technologies
  2. Creating professional recognition and qualifications for those who support learning and development in coaching – how, when and by whom?
  3. Educators or developers (or both?) – exploring how coach learning is supported by others.
  4. ‘Inside’ or ‘outside’ the system – in what spaces do those who support learning and development exist and where should the support of coaches take place.

 

The symposium is supported by Sport England and will contribute to the consultation for the next Coaching Plan.

 

 

Date: Wednesday 25th March 2020

Venue: The Open University, Milton Keynes

Booking details:
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/sports-symposium-tickets-83967819007

However you support and learning and development of coaches this is an opportunity to explore the landscape and contribute to making it a better landscape. Please join us as we venture into the wilderness of coach development and endeavour to discover what has yet to be discovered.

Abstract Call for 4th Annual OU Sport & Fitness Conference – My Child: The Athlete

My Child: The Athlete

Tickets are on sale now – Click here to register!

The 4th annual OU Sport and Fitness Conference focuses on youth development in sport with particular attention paid to contemporary issues such as:

  • Youth physical development

    E.g. Strength and conditioning, injury prevention, physical literacy, skill acquisition

  • Psychological development

    E.g. Building resilience, coping with and learning from failure

  • Parental support for talented athletes

    E.g. Research to support parents of talented athletes, effects on siblings and family members, family dynamics and youth development

  • Coaching considerations when working with children

    E.g. planning training and practice, coaching behaviours, managing expectations, managing the needs of each athlete

With three world-leading keynotes confirmed, this promises to be an illuminating and thought provoking two days:

Toni Minichiello – Coach to GB’s 2012 gold medal-winning Olympian Jessica Ennis-Hill. (Day 1 evening keynote presenter)

Dr Jean CôtéProfessor at Queen’s University, Canada and world-renowned researcher within the fields of youth sports and coach development. @JeanCote46

Dr Camilla Knight – Associate Professor at Swansea University and leading expert on the psychosocial experiences of children in sport, with a particular focus upon the influence of parents. @cjknight

Whether you’re an academic, a student, a coach, teacher or parent, we invite you to join us for two action packed days full of dissemination, discussion, and learning opportunities.

Call for Abstracts (Now Open for Submissions):

The OU Sport and Fitness Conference team invites the submission of abstracts for consideration as either an oral or poster presentation. Submissions may have either an academic or applied focus resonating with the themes of the conference (see above bullet points). We would also welcome submissions which report on research in progress or the initial stages of development.

Please download the abstract submission guidelines here:

Abstract Submission Guidelines

Delegates:

Click here to register!

Full conference packages:
Access to the whole two days – keynotes and breakout sessions
Three course conference dinner on day 1*
Lunch and refreshments on both days

*Please note – we have a limited number of tickets for the evening session – book early to avoid disappointment.

Evening only package*:
Access to the evening session on day 1
Keynote presentation from Toni Minichiello
Q&A Panel with Toni, Dr Jean Côté and Dr Camilla Knight
Three course conference dinner

*Please note – the evening session will take place at Kents Hill Park Training and Conference Centre, MK7 6BZ. There are a limited number of tickets available for this session so please book early to avoid disappointment. 

Twitter

Don’t forget to follow us for all the latest conference updates: @OU_SportConf and use the hashtag #OUSportConf to share that you’ve registered!

 

We look forward to welcoming you to My Child: The Athlete in March 2019!

For any conference queries please contact WELS-Research-Events@open.ac.uk

 

Review of the Competing in the Dark: Mental Health in Sport Conference, March 2018

On 21st March 2018 we held our third annual sport and fitness conference, which explored the important topic of mental health in sport. By chance the conference coincided with the announcement that the government would be putting in place a mental health action plan for elite athletes. This timely event fuelled the enthusiasm for the topic before the day had even begun. We were joined by top class presenters and delegates from a wide range of backgrounds which led to some rich discussions on mental health.

MORNING SESSION

The morning session saw three diverse presentations from three of our keynote speakers. These presentations allowed us to examine mental health from the perspective of the athlete, researcher and professional body.

Keynote 1: Helen Richardson-Walsh, MBE
Reflections on a career in elite sport

The day kicked off with and inspiring and often emotional presentation from 2016 Olympic Gold Medallist Helen Richardson-Walsh.

Keynote 2: Jessie Barr, University of Limerick
Mental health stigma within an Irish sport context

Next up was our our invited PhD student speaker Jessie Barr who shared her research exploring mental health in elite athletes. Jessie’s presentation saw her draw on her fairly unique position of being a both a researcher and an Olympian.

Keynote 3: Richard Bryan, Rugby Players’ Association
Lift the weight: A player association perspective on mental health in professional sport

In our final keynote presentation before lunch Richard Bryan shared some of the the positive work that is being done to support the mental well-being of rugby players.

AFTERNOON SESSION

The afternoon session started with the parallel sessions where a wealth of diverse and informative presentations took place. These were followed by the poster presentations. Congratulations to Emily Lake (Career ending injury experiences of professional rugby players: A loss perspective) for winning the prize for best poster (sponsored by Switch the Play).

The day ended with our final keynote session from Dr Kitrina Douglas and Dr David Carless ‘“I couldn’t be successful without it being the most important thing”: The impact of stories on mental health in sport‘. This innovative session explored mental health in sport using stories and narrative case studies. The session was highly impactful and a fitting end to what was excellent day thanks to all of our presenters and delegates.

Click on the links below to view other posts about the Competing in the Dark Conference.

Conference: Competing in the Dark – Mental Health in Sport, The Open University, Milton Keynes, 21st March 2018

Competing in the Dark Conference Flyer

 

Competing in the Dark: Mental Health in Sport Conference

** Registration for the conference is now closed, but we are hoping to provide a live stream of keynote speakers for OU staff and students on the day here and we will share some videos from the conference on this blog after the event **

If you have already registered for the conference, don’t forget to make your payment!

For more information please click here

To register for the conference please click here

To view the conference booklet and programme please click here

To download an abstract submission form  click here (completed forms should be sent to WELS-Sports@open.ac.uk)

To download a copy of this flyer  click here

Conference: Competing in the Dark – Mental Health in Sport, The Open University, Milton Keynes, 21st March 2018

On Wednesday 21st March 2018 the Open University Sport and Fitness Team will be hosting their 3rd annual conference. This year’s conference will be exploring the contemporary issue of mental health in sport.

While top level athletes are often idolised and portrayed as figures of supreme physical and mental strength, more and more are speaking out about the mental health challenges they have faced. This conference seeks to raise awareness of mental health issues in sport and explore contemporary research in the field and strategies to support athletes.

Confirmed speakers

  • Olympic Gold Medallist (hockey) Helen Richardson-Walsh
  • Kitrina Douglas and David Carless (Leeds Beckett University)
  • Richard Bryan (Rugby Players’ Association)
  • Jessie Barr (University of Limerick)

Click here to view the conference booklet and programme

Registration

** Registration for the conference is now closed, but we are hoping to provide a live stream of keynote speakers for OU staff and students on the day here and we will share some videos from the conference on this blog after the event **

To register for the conference please complete the online registration form on the link below. Details on how to pay for the conference can be found here.

Online Registration Form

The delegate fees are listed below:

  • Standard = £110
  • Early bird = £100 (available up to Friday 12th January 2018)
  • Student = £50
  • OU Student = £20

(fee includes lunch and refreshments)

Oral and poster presentations

Academics, researchers, students and professionals are invited to submit abstracts for oral or poster presentations that relate to mental health in sport. We are particularly interested in submissions that relate to the negative impact of sport on mental health, rather than those that focus on sport and exercise as a strategy to improve mental health.

Please submit your abstract (maximum of 250 words) on the form below to:
WELS-Sports@open.ac.uk

Competing in the Dark Conference – Abstract Submission Form

  • Deadline for oral presentation abstracts = Friday 5th January 2018
  • Deadline for poster presentation abstracts = Sunday 4th February 2018

 

There is a prize worth £100 for the best poster presentation (sponsored by Switch the Play)

Advertising opportunities

Opportunities are available to advertise in the conference programme and abstracts booklet, which will be provided to all delegates. For more information on this please contact WELS-Sports@open.ac.uk

Conference updates

 

To keep up to date on conference developments please follow us on Twitter @OU_SportConf