| ICSSPE News | No.43 January 2005 |
2004 Pre-Olympic Congress |
The 2004 Pre-Olympic Congress started with the ICSSPE meetings as well as the annual meetings of several Associations – ICSSPE members, 2 days before its official opening. This two days time was indicative of how this organization would progress, a preview of the whole organization and a very successful test. The Congress Opening Ceremony was crowned by success with an impressive performance of students of the Department of Physical Education & Sport Science of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and members of the national acrobatic team. The good impression about the organization of this exceptional event in the Sport Science community was evident since the beginning of the congress. From the first day until the last, people were completely satisfied with the services provided. The 2004 Pre-Olympic Congress was the largest ever held in terms of parallel sessions (12 parallel sessions in each time slot), and the Congress venue was the most suitable choice for this “feat”, considering the fact that the Aristotle University is the most convenient place in Thessaloniki, in terms of its location in the heart of the city, as well as because it is the only place where one can find so many large halls for this purpose. The Congress was held in the New Building of the Philosophy Faculty as well as in the University Administration Building. It was attended by 1 253 people from approximately 70 countries with presentation from Europe, America, Asia, Africa and Australia. A very interesting point was the attendance of people coming especially from Asian countries, about 36% of the total number of participants, as well as from developing countries, that is 45% of the total number of participants. We were extremely pleased to welcome the Delegation of the Chinese Olympic Committee as well as the approximately 200 Chinese delegates who attended the Congress, many of whom visited a European country for the first time. One of the Congress’s interesting points was that several Sport Associations-ICSSPE members organized their annual meetings and General Assemblies prior to or during the Congress. We, as the Congress Organizers, are quite grateful for the holding of those meetings, and would like to thank: The International Council of Physical Activity and Fitness Research (ICPAFR), for having chosen to hold their annual general assembly and board meeting during the Congress. The Fédération Internationale de Chiropratique du Sport (FICS), for holding their General Assembly and their National Sports Councils Meeting. The International Council for Coach Education (ICCE) for holding their annual meeting and most especially Prof. Dr Uri Schaefer for his kind cooperation and his spirit of cooperativeness and good will, which helped us enormously at a certain point during the Congress. The International Society for the Advancement of Kinanthropometry (ISAK) and its President Prof. Dr Mike Marfell-Jones for the excellent cooperation during the holding of the ISAK Council Meeting and Biennal General Meeting as well as the ISAK Re-accreditation Exams. The ISAK has also contributed to the Congress Scientific Programme with 3 sessions. We would also like to express our special thanks to the members of the International Federation of Adapted Physical Activity (IFAPA) and the European Federation Adapted Physical Education (EUFAPA) for holding their annual meetings as well as for their contribution to the Congress Scientific Programme by holding 3 sessions but also by contributing to several other sessions concerning adapted physical education. Two of the Associations-ICSSPE members incorporated their annual congresses within the 2004 Pre-Olympic Congress framework. The Association Internationale d’Ecoles Supérieures d’Education Physique (AIESEP) contributed with 5 sessions, one of which was the Cagical Lecture, presented by the Congress invited speaker J. Baur. The International Sociology of Sport Association (ISSA) also included their annual congress in the 2004 Pre-Olympic Congress scientific programme by organizing 7 sessions. Both Associations organized their annual meetings during the Congress. Special thanks are in order to the board members of the two above-mentioned Associations, but most especially we would like to express our gratitude to Prof. Drs R. Feingold and D. Macdonald (AIESEP) and Prof. Drs G. Pfister (ISSA President) and J. Maguire (previous ISSA President) as well as Dr S. Jackson (ISSA Secretary) for the excellent cooperation during the Congress preparation. The free presentations during the Congress totalled 1 013 (440 oral and 573 poster). In terms of session statistics, 5 keynote speakers were hosted in the Congress, 1 every day presenting their lecture on an important topic of international interest during each day’s plenary session and one presenting the Ernst Jorkl Lecture before the Congress Closing Ceremony. This Pre-Olympic Congress was characterized by the great variety of sessions. There were 4 interdisciplinary round tables, 11 disciplinary current issues sessions, 3 Socratic debates (a session presented for the first time at an ICSSPE Pre-Olympic Congress), 13 workshops, 45 symposia, 3 colloquia, 2 tutorial sessions, and 2 special events sessions. The total number of presentations in those various Congress sessions reached 230. During each of the 4 Congress days, there was a plenary session in the morning including a keynote lecture and a Interdisciplinary Round Table dealing with the same theme. For each of the four days the themes were the following: Ethics and Professionalization; Healthy Living across the Life Span; Human Performance/Human Development Continuum; Quality Physical Education. There was also on the same day, and in most cases, the Socratic debate (morning), one workshop (afternoon), and one colloquium (evening) with focus on the plenary session theme. Let us also mention that several organizations-ICSSPE members also participated in the Congress scientific programme by organizing symposia and workshops, which is a common practice during Pre-Olympic Congresses. An interesting parameter concerning the organization of various sessions by associations is that during the congress there were few sessions organized by associations that were not involved with ICSSPE, for instance the Gatorade Sport Science Institute organized a satellite symposium prior to the Congress, as well as Sport Physiotherapy Australia organizing a symposium and workshop. The National Women Sport Societies Associations of the Physical Education Organization of the Islamic Republic of Iran also contributed to the Congress Programme by presenting a video on the Iranian women and sports during the IAPESGW workshop. The Congress cyber café was once again organized by the International Association of Sport Information (IASI). We would like to thank Drs A. Poncet, G. Ghent, and A. Maharik for hosting the cyber café with great success, giving delegates the opportunity to have access to sport information from the web as well as make contacts through it. The Congress Scientific Programme was characterized by more pedagogy and sociology sessions, making up 35% of the total number of sessions. This was, however, up to a certain point inevitable considering the AIESEP and ISSA involvement in the Congress. There was, on the other hand, an evident concern on behalf of the Congress Scientific Committee that all, or at least most of the scientific fields were covered and for this reason, some sessions were included in the Scientific Programme quite late, after the realization of not having included specific scientific areas in the programme, as was the case with the two physiotherapy sessions, supported by the Sports Physiotherapy Australia. Another Congress goal succeeded during the 2004 Pre-Olympic Congress, as in previous Pre-Olympic Congresses also, was its multidisciplinary character not only in terms of the sessions’ variety of themes and scientific areas covered but also in terms of multidisciplinary sessions viewing an issue from different scientific aspects, that being the case of the ECSS symposium as well as a few others. Another interesting point was that 10% of the Congress sessions were dedicated to Adapted Physical Education issues. We were also extremely happy that the President of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) Mr. Phil Craven was one of our distinguished invited VIPs, who contributed with his presence as a Congress chairperson, and speaker during the opening ceremony, as well as with his presence as a Congress delegate, during the whole Congress. A great scientific event as the 2004 Pre-Olympic Congress would not have been possible without the support and assistance of several organizations/associations, public, private and international, which have contributed enormously to the congress financial support as sponsors. The local (Municipality and Prefecture of Thessaloniki, Region of Central Macedonia) and public (OPAP S.A., Ministry of Macedonia & Thrace, Ministry of Education & Religious Affairs, etc) Greek authorities, the International Organizations (IOC, UNESCO) are some of the important Congress sponsors that we feel necessary to mention. Moreover, several groups of people and smaller associations have offered their support to the Congress, like the Gatorade Sport Science Institute and the National Alliance for Youth Sport, which have contributed financially to the Congress organizing and at the same time, a session, as well as Mercedes for offering 8 cars to meet the Congress transportation needs. Another important factor for the Congress was the 90 volunteers who in various posts. Their work and willingness was one of the factors determining the Congress’s success. These people, mostly students of the various Departments of Physical Education & Sport Science of the country, who were always eager to assist delegates during the Congress, have actually displayed the spirit of Greek hospitality and good will, manifesting one of our most important cultural traits. We would also like to express our gratitude to the company responsible for the Congress’s technical support as they have been one of the principal reasons for its success during these 5 days. Our special thanks should also go to SYMVOLI, the PCO which has assisted us enormously in organizing the Congress during the last year and a half of its preparation. Special thanks are in order for the Rector of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki as well as the Dean of the Philosophy School for their valuable support. Moreover, we would like to thank our colleagues of the Organizing and Scientific Committees for their work and most important contribution to the Congress’s four-year organization. We would like to think that the 2004 Pre-Olympic Congress has given delegates the opportunity to meet people from all over the world, develop new scientific and personal contacts, learn and acquire an experience to remember. This is mostly the greatest satisfaction the Congress Organizers (Organizing and Scientific Committee) have aimed at and have succeeded after 4 long years of hard work. We are certain that this extraordinary spirit and effort will be continued by the ICSSPE Pre-Olympic Congress’s next organizers in China. Professor Ioannis Mouratidis President of the Organizing Committee of the 2004 Pre-Olympic Congress Professor Spiros Kellis Secretary of the Organizing Committee of the 2004 Pre-Olympic Congress http://www.icsspe.org/portal/bulletin-january2005.htm 2004 Pre-Olympic Congress