| News | No.37 February 2003 |

Report - ICPAFR News 23rd International Council for Physical Activity and Fitness Research Symposium (5. - 8. September, 2002, Tartu, Estonia) The International Council for Physical Activity and Fitness Research (ICPAFR) - founded in 1964 - has the tradition to organize an international symposium biennially. This year, the ICPAFR's 23rd International Sport Science Symposium was organized in Tartu, Estonia under the topic "The Measurement and Testing in Physical Fitness, Physical Activity and Health: New Perspectives". Host of the Symposium was the Faculty of Exercise and Sport Sciences, University of Tartu, Estonia, under the chairmanship of Prof. Dr. Toivo Jürimäe, who is a well-known specialist in the area of sport pedagogy and kinanthropometry. The University of Tartu, founded in 1632, is one of the oldest universities from all over the world, and the Faculty of Exercise and Sport Sciences is known as one of the leading institutions in sport sciences from former Soviet Union and East-European countries. Within the history of the ICPAFR, it was the first time that a former socialist country hosted this prestigious symposium. The topic of this symposium was chosen to reflect new perspectives of measurement in different areas of physical fitness, physical activity and health as one of the main objectives of the Council among others, such as: 1) standardize tests in physical fitness and the assessment and measurement of physical activity; and 2) encourage research based upon the standardized tests and measurements. About 80 participants from over 20 countries participated in this symposium (see photo). Key-note speakers of this symposium were experts in their respective area from all over the world. Dr. Neal Armstrong (Exeter, UK) talked about the anaerobic fitness and anaerobic performance during childhood and adolescence. The topic of Dr. Don Bailey (Saskatchewan, Canada) was "Physical activity and bone strength: old and new perspectives". Dr. Andrew Hills (Queensland, Australia) presented a paper in the area of childhood obesity: "Obese children and adolescent: gait issues.". Dr. Raija Laukkanen's (Helsinki, Finland) topic was connected with the presentation of the validity of the supervised and self-administered UKK-test for predicting maximal oxygen consumption. Dr. Paavo Komi also from Finland (Jyväskylä) talked about eccentric and concentric contractions: "Is eccentric exercise more fatiguable than concentric exercise?". Finally, Dr. Jim Sallis (San Diego, USA) presented new findings in the area of physical activity assessment: "Presenting and measuring youth physical activity throughout the school day: project M-SPAN". Abstract and proceeding books were printed before the symposium with all presented oral and poster papers. The Proceeding Book was printed as a supplement of the annual research book of the Faculty of Exercise and Sport Sciences, within the series of the Acta Kinesiologiae Universitatis Tartuensis (volume 7, 2002). The editors were the main organizers of the symposium, Dr. Toivo Jürimäe and Dr. Jaak Jürimäe. In total, 43 peer-reviewed articles were included to the Proceeding Book. Within the series of the ICPAFR-symposia, printing a proceeding book as a result of the symposium is a traditionnal event. "The 23rd ICPAFR Symposium in Tartu, Estonia was organized at the high level and presented papers were also excellent" as said by ICPAFR's president, Prof. Dr. Albrecht Claessens from the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium. This Symposium was organized under the patronage and financial support of ICCSPE. The organizers would like to thank all participants and all those who helped to organize this very prestigious event at the University of Tartu, Estonia. Jaak Jürimäe, PhD Chair of Sport Pedagogy University of Tartu 18. Ülikooli St. University of Tartu Tartu 50090 ESTONIA Email: jaakj@ut.ee http://www.icsspe.org/portal/texte/area/bulletin/ ICPAFR News