Pre-Congress

Dr. Henning Plessner

University of Heidelberg

Heidelberg, Germany

Science and Practice of Sports Officiating Symposium

Monday, July 15 : 9 a.m. – 3 p.m.

Concurrently with the increasing professionalism in international sports, sports officiating (e.g., by referees, judges or umpires) has received more and more scientific attention in recent years. Among others, this is mirrored in recently published overviews on corresponding research (e.g., MacMahon et al., 2015; Pina et al., 2018).
The present workshop ties on the idea of a conference held 2014 in Clermont-Ferrand that aimed at bringing together researchers with various theoretical and practical backgrounds who are interested in the study of sport officiating and provide them with a discussion forum in order to increase and improve scientific networking in this area. The main focus of the workshop will lie on two selected topics of current interest: career development and striving for excellence. Corresponding research will be presented by leading experts in the field. In addition, possible future efforts to improve scientific exchange and research funding in this area will be discussed by an expert panel.

In addition to the invited talks, we offer the opportunity to present related research in a poster format throughout the symposium. Researchers who are interested in presenting a poster should submit a short abstract (max. 250 words) via the congress website.
The deadline for poster submissions is March 31st 2019.

Together, the workshop offers a first-class opportunity to gain new insights into the fascinating field of studying sports officiating and meet people who are conducting corresponding studies.

 

Dr. David Mann

VU Amsterdam

Amsterdam, The Netherlands

 

 

 

 

 

Dr. Rouwen Cañal-Bruland

University of Jena

Jena, Germany

Perceptual-motor expertise Symposium

Monday, July 15 : 9 a.m. – 3 p.m.

This symposium will cover emerging topics and new trends that are likely to play an important role in future research in perceptual-motor expertise.
Prominent international speakers including:

• Mark Williams – University of Utah, United States
• Geert Savelsbergh – VU Amsterdam, The Netherlands
• Nicola Hodges – University of British Columbia, Canada
• Joe Baker – York University, Canada

These scientific experts will provide theoretical insights, new empirical approaches, and novel methodological advances that will help to guide those seeking to improve our understanding in these emerging fields. Further speakers are welcome to join the speakers circle.
Moreover, a limited number of early-career researchers will have the opportunity to give a short presentation to showcase their research and receive feedback from experts in attendance. Together, this pre-congress symposium will serve as a platform to junior and senior researchers across the globe to exchange ideas and experiences, to stimulate future research in the field of perceptual-motor expertise, and to offer an opportunity for establishing new and refreshing old networks.

Early career researchers (<5 years since PhD graduation) who are interested in giving a brief 10-minute presentation in the symposium should submit a short abstract outlining the idea of their presentation (<250 words). The deadline to submit abstracts for this symposium is March 31st, 2019. Applicants must also be enrolled to attend the FEPSAC conference to qualify for consideration. The symposium organizers will review the abstracts and select those for short oral presentations in the symposium.

 

Dr. Nikos Ntoumanis

Curtin University

Perth, Australia

Workshop on Introduction to Structural Equation Modelling

Monday, July 15 : 9 a.m. – 1 p.m.

The purpose of the workshop is to provide an introduction to structural equation modelling (SEM), a frequently used analytic technique in the sport and exercise psychology literature.
The workshop will have a theoretical and practical part. In the first part, the workshop participants will be introduced to key concepts and considerations when testing measurement and structural models (e.g., identification issues). These are important for participants to understand and correctly interpret outputs and error messages from statistical software. The second part of the workshop will provide practical illustrations of some models covered in the first part using a well-known software for SEM, Mplus (https://www.statmodel.com). Examples of models that will be covered in the workshop include confirmatory factor analysis, path analysis, latent growth modeling, exploratory structural equation modeling, and bifactor modeling. Participants will benefit from this workshop if they have a good working knowledge of regression analysis and factor analysis. No prior experience of using Mplus is required.

 

 

Dr. Brett Smith

University of Birmingham

Birmingham, United Kingdom

Workshop on Qualitative Research: Data Collection, Post-Qualitative Research and Generalizability

Monday, July 15 : 9 a.m. – 1 p.m.

The objective of this introductory research workshop is to expand knowledge on qualitative research by discussing untapped data collection methods, the turn to post-qualitative research, and generalizability.
For over 15 years the dominant method for collecting qualitative data in sport and exercise psychology has been the interview. In the workshop a rationale for expanding data collection methods beyond simply interviewing is first offered.
Next some untapped ways of collecting qualitative data are discussed. These include relational mapping, digital methods, and story completion. Post-qualitative research is then introduced. The critiques of conventional qualitative research offered by post-qualitative researchers are highlighted. Some implications of post-qualitative inquiry for sport and exercise psychology are also discussed.
The workshop closes with a discussion on generalization in relation to qualitative research.

 

 

Dr. Zella Moore

Manhattan College

New York, United States

 

 

 

 

 

Dr. Frank Gardner

Touro College

New York, United States

Workshop on Mindfulness Interventions in Sport: An Interactive Workshop

Monday, July 15 : 9 a.m. – 1 p.m.

Mindfulness-based theory and interventions, such as the Mindfulness-Acceptance-Commitment (MAC) model, have gained increasing empirical and professional support for both performance enhancement and the enhancement of general psychological wellbeing. Over the past two decades, sport psychology practitioners and training programs worldwide have increasingly sought to integrate mindfulness-based theoretical and intervention models in their work with competitive athletes of varying levels. In this interactive workshop, developers of the MAC program will, through lecture, discussion, and role play exercises: 1) present the foundation of mindfulness and mindfulness-based interventions; 2) present the differences between informal (stand-alone) and formal (protocol-driven) use; 3) discuss the importance of utilizing mindfulness and mindfulness-based protocols in a manner consistent with theoretical foundations; and 5) assist participants in the development of knowledge of critical elements of mindfulness-based interventions, and in the formation of mindfulness-based skills/techniques. Worksheets and forms will be provided and utilized, which can also be incorporated into future practice among sport practitioners.

 

Dr. Stiliani Chroni

Inland Norway University

Elverum, Norway

 

 

 

 

 

Dr. Kristen Dieffenbach

West Virginia University

Morgantown, United States

 

 

 

 

 

Sigurd Pettersen

Inland Norway University

Elverum, Norway

Workshop on Providing Sport Psychology Services for Coaches

Monday, July 15 : 9 a.m. – 1 p.m.

Majority of sport psychology consultants do not work at the elite level and the bulk of our work is with sub-elite athletes and teams. At the sub-elite level of sport it is very common to have sub-elite coaches, who are young, inexperienced or both. In most cases, when hired to work with a team or athlete, either directly or indirectly we also work with the coach and in our applied practice experiences when the coach is actively involved with athlete mental training everyone can benefit. The athletes have the coach and sport psychology consultant working together for their benefit, and when the coach learns from the mental skills work, his/her coaching practice gets stronger. As professionals, we are uniquely positioned to help enrich the coaches’ professional development through our roles in coaching education and consulting.

The objective of this workshop is to share new research findings and practical tools that can strengthen our education services and applied practices for early career coaches. Too many early career coaches come to coaching right out of athletic retirement and are challenged by the job having not shifted mindsets from being the athlete to being the coach, from caring for oneself to caring for others (and often many) and often with context different from their most recent athletic experience. Elite and non-elite athletes from all sports around the world experience this ‘within sport’ transition with little or no preparation and support.

In the first part of the workshop, we will share the known challenges experienced by those who ‘jump’ from competing to coaching and what is missing from their education and preparation. In the second part, we will share practices employed by national sports federations from different countries for supporting this athlete-to-coach transition for those who wish to stay involved post career. In the final part, we will share how we, as sport psychology consultants, can support early career coaching via facilitating the shift from being the “flower to becoming the gardener,”

In attending the workshop, participants will

• understand the challenges experienced by early career coaches
• generate a toolbox foundation suitable for coach education and development for coaches experiencing the athlete-to-coach transition
• generate a toolbox foundation for working with the sport organizations (clubs, teams, federations) who hire these early career coaches
• generate a toolbox foundation for effective consulting with coaches who are transitioning into the profession from athletic careers

Note: The Olympic Training Center of Norway has supported financially our work in this area.