UoG hosts British Philosophy of Sport Association Conference

University of Gloucestershire will welcome global experts in sport philosophy research for the 23^rd British Philosophy of Sport Association (BPSA) Conference.

It marks a return to the conference’s birthplace as the association was founded at University of Gloucestershire in 2002 by Professor Mike McNamee who, after moving to work at both Swansea and KU Leuven, will be delivering one of this year’s conference keynote lectures, on the ‘Spirit of Sport and its purpose in anti-doping’.

The annual conference focuses on the nature and values of human movement research, specifically around sport, games and play, and seeks to encourage discussion surrounding the increasing debate of fairness, technology and integrity within sport.

This year’s event will be held at the University’s Oxstalls Campus from 8-10 April. It will feature more than 50 presentations on a wide degree of topics related to sport and human movement.

Oxstalls Campus is home to many of the University’s sport and exercise courses and serves as a central hub for its sports and exercise research.

Alongside Professor McNamee, the conference will also feature a keynote lecture on ‘Sports technology and its impact on fairness’ by Professor Pam Sailors, Professor of Philosophy at Missouri State University, USA. Professor Sailors is one of the world’s leading scholars in the philosophy of sports.

Additionally, the conference will provide an opportunity to formally launch the new Gloucestershire Play Research Laboratory, hosted within the Arts, Health and Wellbeing Centre.

A pre-conference symposium on play will provide conference delegates and visitors with opportunities to participate in an exploration of play as both a subject of research and a method of investigation.

This symposium will include three workshops: a consideration of the provision of play and spatial justice in community settings, by Dr Wendy Russell, Senior Research Fellow in Play; a comparison of Chinese and Western conceptions of play, by Bolin Li, PhD student; and playful practice as research, by Dr Alison Harmer, post-doctoral researcher.

Conference organiser, Dr Emily Ryall, said: “We are delighted to welcome colleagues from across the UK and further afield to the 23^rd BPSA conference.

“The fact that this conference began at University of Gloucestershire over 20 years ago and is still going strong, demonstrates the strength of the discipline, and I am particularly pleased to welcome one of its core drivers, Professor Mike McNamee, back to the University where he founded the organisation, to deliver one of the keynote lectures at this event.”