It was following the Games of the XXIIX Olympiad in Athens in 2004, that the idea of a joint world scientific conference on ‘science, education and medicine and sports’ grew in the minds of the leadership of four major international sports organisations. In June 2006, representatives of 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) met in Beijing and agreed to join forces to discuss the advancement of science and practice of human movement. The ‘International Convention on Science, Education and Medicine in Sport’ (ICSEMIS) was born.

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, at the occasion of the first ICSEMIS in Guangzhou, China, from 1 to 4 August, 2008.

A get-together of so many scientists with the same interests, but targeting different populations (education versus medicine, sociology versus biomechanics, Olympic athletes versus Paralympic athletes) is at the same time a unique initiative as well as a challenging exercise. Without doubt, the learning from one another and incorporating scientific findings in the all day practice of athletes, trainers and coaches, leads to progress in sports participation from the grass roots level of sport development up to the elite performance and role modeling of Olympic and Paralympic athletes. The challenge is to make the right choice of sessions, presentations, workshops and informal contacts to experience the Convention in full.

This report therefore should be read as a ‘case study’ approach to the 2008 ICSEMIS, rather than a comprehensive summary of ‘the’ scientific program. The readers who joined us in Guangzhou hopefully recognise themselves in parts of the report, and can complement it with their own experiences. The readers who did not join us in Guangzhou are invited to consider doing so at the next occasion.

The scientific section of the 2008 ICSEMIS opened with speculation about the future development of competitive sport on the basis of key values attributed to performance and progress in sport. Referring to both ideologically driven state sport systems as well as to the commercially driven sport entertainment industry, rule systems in sport, and moral agents associated with sports, the pace was set for the wide variety of views that go with sports performances. Other speakers referred to those as ‘Evidence and Influence’ when talking about, for example, increasing knowledge and understanding for women in sport and physical education, or sport as a social activity that provides a platform for equal participation and representation across gender, ability, cultural and religious diversity.

The ‘Evidence and Influence’ aspect certainly was a red wire through a series of contributions in the area of physical education. Different symposia and presentations focused on sharing perspectives from different parts of the world in the area of pedagogical strategies, political challenges and professional preparation while planning, establishing and evaluating sports, activity and education programs. While targeting sports in rehabilitation, school sports programs, raising the bar on health and well-being and lifelong physical activity, and the costs of health programs on workers, the conference emphasised the importance of looking at the broad spectrum of factures that determine the benefits that can be gained from sports and physical activities. Valuable insight could furthermore be gained when sports go beyond their role as a global entertainment commodity to serve as a vehicle for international relations and cooperation and further development.

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 could realize on their own. This invited a critical revisit of ones own research approach on the basis of the work done by colleagues in different conditions, with different populations, and even in different disciplines. ICSEMIS provided a unique framework on globalisation, including presentations on technology, talent mobility, coaches’ education and legacies of hosting Olympic and Paralympic Games for the host city and country. While impacts of major competitions and events often are ‘obvious’ (e.g. urban planning, architecture and sports infrastructure, city marketing, economy and tourism), the importance to education, production of ideas and cultural values was stressed at multiple occasions. This was clearly the approach by many (Chinese) young researchers and scholars who contributed to the success of the Convention in the multiple poster presentations on ‘Olympic study’.

Current knowledge on physiological and sports medicine conditions revealed how incidence of injuries can be reduced as a function of appropriate training and diagnostic strategies with a focus on individualised examinations. New paradigms in, for example, shoulder injuries in sports, anterior cruciate ligament injury and tendinopathy in athletes were presented, all with the aim to make the decision for the timing of return into sport more objective without increased risk of re-injury. Through both fundamental clinical research as well as the need to have applied clinical science, a call for the further development of expertise in sport and the application of new technology in sports rehabilitation is launched, without however losing the ‘holistic’ approach of comprehensive care of athletes. The uniqueness of hosting ICSEMIS in Asia allowed the participants to furthermore gain understanding of the role of traditional Chinese medicine in this perspective through both oral presentations on such things as the use of herbs, as well as workshops on acupuncture. Early risers could further expose themselves to exercise sessions in Chinese Health Qigong Yi Jin Jing.

With more than 4000 abstract submissions, the scientific committee was challenged to drastically reduce this number to a 4 day convention format, ensuring a variety of themes were addressed but without compromising the scientific value of an expert international conference. The outcome was a unique initiative during the 2008 ICSEMIS, called ‘Meet the Speaker’ sessions. Keynote presenters and symposia chairpersons made themselves available to enter into discussion with young researchers who attended the conference. While the initial abstract perhaps did not meet the scientific validity to be a convention speaker or poster presenter, the opportunity to discuss their own abstract submission with an expert in the domain was highly appreciated and made those participants leave with moral support from the leadership in their domain. Without the facilitation of travel grants, scholarships and waiving of registration fees, many of those young researchers never would have made it to Guangzhou and subsequently could not be exposed to the exceptional environment created by the Convention. This initiative certainly is to be repeated in 2012.

‘Sports Sciences and Harmonious Society in the 21th Century’ was the theme of the first joined initiative of the 4 international partners, supported by a well-staffed local organising committee. It is left to the appreciation of the attendees if the goal of multi-disciplinarity has been achieved. We hope an exceptional environment was created for this purpose. The 4 international partners (ICSSPE, FIMS, IOC, IPC) expressed their commitment to continue the successful cooperation and, at the occasion of the 2008 ICSEMIS, already met with bid applicants for 2012 ICSEMIS which will take place in the United Kingdom.

Finally, a word of great appreciation should be addressed to Prof. Tony Parker and his research team from Queensland University of Technology, Australia. The almost full-time commitment of Tony and his team lead to a balanced day-by-day program, synchronised organisation of sessions, workshops and seminars, and impressive proceedings that make you refrain from a post-convention depression because you were not able to attend all sessions. Congratulations!

Meet you all again at the 2nd ICSEMIS in 2012!