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Caribbean sport and inequities – UWI’s 2nd Sport Studies Conference takes in-depth look

For Release Upon Receipt - August 20, 2015

St. Augustine


How you feel about sport depends on which side you sit, but one thing is clear, whether you are a spectator or sporting superstar – sport is a uniting factor. People celebrate the athletic achievements of those in the amateur arena as much as the professionals on a global stage. Yet, Caribbean societies still experience gender disparities in access and equity and struggle to maintain healthy lifestyle initiatives since many do not meet the recommended guidelines and do not reap the benefits. The University of the West Indies (The UWI), St. Augustine Campus, will address these issues and more as it hosts the 2nd biennial Interdisciplinary Conference on Sport Studies and Higher Education under the theme “Physical Literacy: Gender, Science, and Sport for Development” at The UWI St. Augustine Campus, January 13-15, 2016.

UWI St. Augustine Deputy Principal and Conference Chair, Professor Rhoda Reddock, notes that it will contribute to the research and scholarship on sport for the benefit of sport programmes in tertiary and higher education institutions. In turn, such knowledge would also support the needs of athletes, sporting and fitness professionals, organisations and practitioners at all levels of society, bringing into focus a new evidence-based approach to sport. “Caribbean practitioners recognize the importance and potential of sport as a vehicle that has allowed citizens to reach the highest levels of human achievement”, he said. “In short, sport has already proven its merit for our societies and as such its impact and potential within these societies needs to be studied.”

The call for abstracts is open and submissions may be based on quantitative or qualitative studies, including but not limited to the following sub-themes: the Role of the State; the History of Sport in the Caribbean; Literary Discourses on Sport; Sport for All - Development of the Whole Person; Sexualities and Gender Identities in Sport; Women and Sport: Issues and Challenges; Physical Education; Sporting Facilities; Sport and Persons with Disabilities; Movement and Physicality; Sport Science; Anti-Doping Policy and Sport Tourism. Selection of abstracts will be based on scientific merit and relevance to the sporting areas of the Caribbean and should be no more than 250 words. Abstracts should be submitted by: October 31, 2015 and emailed to sportstudiesconference@sta.uwi.edu.

For full conference and call for abstract details, please contact Conference Secretariat via email: sportstudiesconference@sta.uwi.edu  or call 662-2002 ext. 83808.

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About The UWI

Since its inception in 1948, The University of the West Indies (UWI) has evolved from a fledgling college in Jamaica with 33 students to a full-fledged, regional University with well over 40,000 students. Today, UWI is the largest, most longstanding higher education provider in the Commonwealth Caribbean, with four campuses in Barbados, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, and the Open Campus. The UWI has faculty and students from more than 40 countries and collaborative links with 160 universities globally; it offers undergraduate and postgraduate degree options in Food & Agriculture, Engineering, Humanities & Education, Law, Medical Sciences, Science and Technology and Social Sciences. UWI’s seven priority focal areas are linked closely to the priorities identified by CARICOM and take into account such over-arching areas of concern to the region as environmental issues, health and wellness, gender equity and the critical importance of innovation. Website: www.uwi.edu

 

(Please note that the proper name of the university is The University of the West Indies, inclusive of the “The”, hence The UWI.)

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