Emma Beckman and other award winner
at 2008 ICSEMIS, Photo: IPC

Bonn, Germany - From 1 to 4 August, the 2008 International Convention on Science, Education and Medicine in Sport (ICSEMIS) took place in Guangzhou, China.

More than 1,500 attendees, representing 40 different countries, enjoyed 350 oral presentations, 1,000 poster presentations and a series of workshops in the wide area of sports science, sports education and sports medicine. For the first time ever, four major international sports organizations, the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the International Council for Sport Science and Physical Education (ICSSPE), the International Federation of Sports Medicine (FIMS), and the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) joined forces to discuss the advancement of science and practice of human movement.

Said IPC President Sir Philip Craven, who attended the Opening of the convention: “A get-together of so many scientists with the same interest, but targeting different populations (eg, Olympic athletes versus Paralympic athletes) is of extreme interest to all partners. By learning from one another and incorporating scientific findings in the all day practice of athletes, trainers and coaches, we can progress sports participation from the grass root level of sport development up to the elite performance and role modeling of Paralympic and Olympic athletes.”

“The Conventions’ emphasis on integrated scientific symposia and thematic sessions lead to a scale enhancement and multi-disciplinary approach to sport through science, education and medicine that is more than the sum of what the four international partners can realize on their own. It furthers invites to a critical revisit of your own research approach on the basis of the work done by colleagues in different conditions, with different populations, and even in different disciplines. In particular, I want to extend my appreciation to all delegates that contributed with Paralympic sport related themes in the programme”, Dr. Peter Van de Vliet, IPC Medical and Scientific Director, added.

During the Closing Banquet of the 2008 ICSEMIS, Emma Beckman, PhD student to Dr. Sean Tweedy, who is a member of the IPC Classification Committee, was awarded the "Young Scientist Award" in the category of best oral presentation. Ms. Beckman presented preliminary findings on the IPC Athletics Classification Research project.

Along the 2008 ICSEMIS, ICSSPE celebrated its 50th anniversary and elected Prof. Dr. Margaret Talbot, Chief Executive of the Association for Physical Education, UK, as President to succeed Prof. Dr. Gudrun Toll-Tepper from January 2009 onwards.

The four international partners (ICSSPE, FIMS, IOC, IPC) expressed their commitment to continue the successful co-operation and met with the bid applicants for 2012 ICSEMIS which will take place in Great Britain.

A programme overview and more information on the conference can be found from on www.icsemis2008.org

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Notes to the Editor:

The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) is the global governing body of the Paralympic Movement. The IPC organizes the Summer and Winter Paralympic Games, and serves as the International Federation for nine sports, for which it supervises and co-ordinates the World Championships and other competitions. The IPC is committed to enabling Paralympic athletes to achieve sporting excellence and to developing sport opportunities for all persons with a disability from the beginner to elite level. In addition, the IPC aims to promote the Paralympic values, which include courage, determination, inspiration and equality.

Founded on 22 September 1989, the IPC is an international non-profit organization formed and run by 162 National Paralympic Committees (NPCs) from five regions and four disability specific international sports federations (IOSDs). The IPC Headquarters and its management team are located in Bonn, Germany.

For further information, please contact Steffi Klein, IPC Media and Communications Senior Manager, on e-mail: steffi.klein@paralympic.org or go to www.paralympic.org and www.ParalympicSport.TV.