Dear ISHPES Members,
ISHPES was founded in 1989. That year the International Committee for the History of Physical Education and Sport (ICOSH) and the International Association for the History of Physical Education (HISPA) fused into one society. While at the beginning ISHPES was a very Eurocentric organization, its membership has meanwhile become increasingly international, as reflected by the more than 30 countries from which our more than 150 members come from.
ISHPES’ 30th anniversary was celebrated in July 2019 at our congress “Milestones in the Histories of Sport and Physical Culture” which was held in Madrid at the Universidad Europea de Madrid. Around 110 scholars presented papers.
At the congress a number of awards was given. Among the six participants who sent in their papers to participate for the Gigliola Gori Early Career Award, the Canadian scholar Ornella Nzindukiyimana won with her paper “That’s Jean Lowe: On Being A Black Canadian Female Track Athlete in 1940s Toronto.” The 2019 ISHPES Award was given to Heather Dichter who also serves on the ISHPES council and is the webmaster for many years. Pierre-Olaf Schut delivered the 2019 Routledge keynote.
The minutes of the General Assembly in Madrid are available, as are all the minutes from the General Assembly held at each congress.
Save the Date
This congress is over and we are already preparing the next one. The 2020 ISHPES Congress take place in Sapporo, Japan from August 20-24, 2020.
Additional information
At the annual congress of the European Council of Sport Science (ECSS) in Prague (July 2-6, 2019) one invited session “The Role of Sport History in the Scientific Community – Aims, Opportunities, Challenges” was dedicated to sport history. A mixed international group of ISHPES members gave the following presentations:
- Sport History in the United States: Status, Future Directions, and Influence (Gerald Gems, USA)
- Sport History in Europe: Dispensable or Essential for the PE Teacher Education? (Sandra Heck, Luxembourg)
- The Role of Sport History in Gender Studies (Gertrud Pfister, Denmark)
This was the only session dedicated to sport history at this huge sport science congress with about 3000 participants or more each year. ISHPES tries every time to get at least one or two sessions to make our field visible.
Since 2019 ISHPES is also represented in both commissions of the International Council of Sport Science and Physical Education (ICSSPE): Annette Hofmann, ISHPES President, continues her work in the development committee and Sandra Heck, ISHPES General Secretary, was elected into the ICSSPE Executive Board.
While some are still on the summer break, others have to get ready to start teaching.
Many greetings to all of you around the world,
Annette Hofmann
ISHPES President