Trio to speak on athletes’ and coaches’ education at VISTA 2015

A trio of world class speakers will cover the topic of “Athletes’ and Coaches’ Education - Strategies and Tools to Improve Athletic Performance” at October’s VISTA 2015 conference in Girona, Spain, organisers have announced.

Between 7-10 October, Daniel Theisen, of the Sports Medicine Research Laboratory, Luxembourg Institute of Health; Osnat Fliess-Douer of the Zinman College of Physical Education and Sport Sciences at the Wingate Institute and Netanya, Israel; and Argentine para-athlete Daniela Luchina, will deliver a symposium at the conference which this year has the theme of “securing the future of young para-athletes”.

Theisen will present on strategies to improve physiological responses and athlete performance, whilst Fliess-Douer, a member of the IPC Sports Science Committee, will cover current equipment and technological innovation to monitor athletics performance.

Argentinian wheelchair rugby player Luchin, who is the athlete representative on the IPC Sports Science Committee, will then give an athlete perspective on performance development.

“This symposium is particularly useful for trainers and athletes, as it aims to present strategies and tools to improve athletic performance,” said Theisen.

“Athletic performance is influenced by a combination of physiological, psychological, and socio-cultural factors whilst performance analysis provides the athletes and coaches with objective information that helps them understand performance.

“Successful coaching depends, among other things, on the accuracy of the observation of performance and how well it is translated into training practice. This symposium will give three different views on the subject covering an athlete’s view, technology and equipment and physiological responses.”

Other speakers confirmed for VISTA 2015 are:

• Ciro Winckler of Sao Paulo Federal University and Raymond So of the Hong Kong Sports Institute who will cover the topic of athlete health and performance.

• Viola Altmann of the Sint Maartenskliniek rehabilitation centre in Nijmegen, the Netherlands, and Professor Yves Vanlandewijck, the Chairperson of the International Paralympic Committee Sports Science Committee, who will present on conceptual applications of evidence-based classification.

Registration for VISTA 2015 is now open at www.vista2015.com and hundreds of experts and sports specialists from around the world are expected to attend.

Organisers are currently offering an early bird discount of 300 EUR, a 15 per cent discount on the listed price, to anyone who books before 15 June 2015.

VISTA is designed to promote and advance the mission, goals, objectives and reputation of the IPC and provides a platform for the academic world to meet with athletes and professional experts in the field of sport for athletes with an impairment.

It provides a forum for exchange on the latest information, research and expertise related to the Paralympic Movement and promotes cross-disciplinary interaction among sport scientists, athletes, coaches, administrators and the media.

It was first held in 1993 and has since developed a global reputation for acting as a platform for debate, discussion and dialogue on key issues relating to the growth of the Paralympic Movement.