President's Message

I hope this newsletter finds you all well. Life here in Britain is good, though we are in the middle of an epidemic regarding a certain animal disease spread by sheep and cows. It has meant widespread disruption of (inter)national rugby, football and horse racing events because the British, French, Irish, and Italian governments have banned many traditional sporting fixtures because they do not want fans inadvertently to spread the disease. Those of you in smaller countries may find this easier to understand!! This aspect of the epidemic has been the main discussion point in the media, despite the fact that rural economies have been very significantly undermined. It is, of course, further evidence of the centrality of sport in our lives (I can see a student essay title arguing against Huizinga looming in the back of my mind as I write!).

May I draw your attention to the membership applications (through Alun Hardman ahardman@chelt.ac.uk) and the upcoming conference in Williamsburg and ask that you promote the conference through your own contacts and networks. I know that John Charles and Nick Dixon are working hard on the academic and social programs to ensure it will be a memorable event. I am feeling already guilty at not having started work on my own paper. But I am asking John to save a slot for an idea that I have been thinking about for a while and which I would like to share with you to see if you will contribute too.

In my own college, Cheltenham and Gloucester (a medium sized liberal arts institution in England) we recently revised our undergraduate provision in sports-related undergraduate degrees. These range from Sports Education to Sports and Exercise Sciences. Setting up new degree programs gave Alun Hardman (Secretary-Treasurer and a new colleague at the College) and me an opportunity to reflect on the nature and scope of philosophical courses. In addition to this, I was chatting with some other philosopher-friends regarding our area, and relating the point raised in last year's minutes, regarding alternative modes of presentations at philosophical conferences. I wondered whether there might be significant value in holding a session to share with each other the kinds of courses we teach, the types and formats of assessments we use, and the branches of philosophy we attempt to relate to sport and its close cousins (whether, say, coaching, or Physical Education, or dance). In many traditional areas, one knows what to expect in a level 1 course in epistemology or aesthetics. What might one expect to cover in such a course in philosophy of sport whether in Melbourne or Missouri? What pedagogical devices work well for you (I still have in mind a memorable guest lecture by Scott Kretchmar back in 1994 on his test/contest paper). If you are interested in contributing to such a session, and generally in finding a space in the upcoming conference to talk about some professionalization issues rather than the wonderful philosophical ones we customarily address please email me in the near future at mmcnamee@chelt.ac.uk and I will be in touch with the Program Committee about finding suitable spaces.

On a related point, I have had some conversations with the organizers of the European Congress of Sports Sciences (where the term "sciences" is given the most catholic of interpretations) about the potential of philosophers of sport to make contributions. I am conscious that for many of us, there is only one venue for philosophy of sport discussion at conference level. In Europe, as in the rest of the world I imagine, our scientific colleagues have many more outlets and I was pleased to hear that the ECSS would welcome offerings from philosophers of sport too. I will pursue this link and report back at the conference. In a closely related point, ICSSPE have invited IAPS to be represented at their annual committee and conference for the first time. As a Board member I hope to represent you at the Beijing meeting and gain an insight into the operation of ICSSPE and how we may promote the association through them. If you have any matters you would like me to raise please contact me or any other member of the executive.

I hope you enjoy the newsletter. Please feel free to use the listserve and the website to generate discussions that may arise from it. With best wishes

Mike McNamee, MmcNamee@chelt.ac.uk

Springtime greetings to you from Colonial Williamsburg - the site of the 2001 IAPS Conference next fall. We are gearing up for an outstanding event at the Colonial Williamsburg Woodlands Hotel and Conference Center. The program committee is in the process of accepting and considering papers and presentations and of crafting them into an event to remember. The quality of the conference will certainly be enhanced by the setting and amenities of Colonial Williamsburg. By taking advantage of the special hotel rates at the Woodlands Conference Center, you will have free use of the conference center meeting rooms, free transportation around Colonial Williamsburg and heavy discounts to all facilities, including the green and gold golf courses at The Golden Horseshoe (rated by Golf magazine as 2 of the top 12 courses in the country). Paper abstracts should be submitted to Nicholas Dixon by April 20, 2001. Abstracts are welcome on any area of sport philosophy, including metaphysics, epistemology, aesthetics and ethics, and from any theoretical approach, including analytical philosophy and critical theory. Abstracts should be no more than 500 words long. Alternative presentation formats, such as round-table discussions or themed papers by more than one presenter are welcome. The preferred mode of submission is by e-mail and in Word format. Please paste a non-formatted text copy of the abstract at the end of your e-mail message. Submit e-mail copies of abstracts and direct any questions about the program to dixon@alma.edu. Contributors who do not have access to e-mail should feel free to send a hard copy instead. Please send hard copies (only if e-mail is not available) to Nicholas Dixon, Department of Philosophy, Alma College, Alma, MI 48801-1599, U.S.A. Abstracts will be blind-reviewed by a program committee of three peers in IAPS, who will base their decision on the quality of the abstract, not the presumed quality of the final paper. Contributors will be notified of the acceptance or rejection of their abstracts by May 31, 2001. Occupancy has been reserved for us at special rates at the Woodlands Hotel. The hotel rates are $95 for a suite and $89 for a guestroom. Because you may want to enjoy the sights and sounds of the area before or after the conference, the special guestroom rates are available Wednesday through Sunday night inclusive. Reservations must be accompanied by one night's deposit for room and tax (refundable up to 3 days prior to the conference). Reservations may be made through calling the Colonial Williamsburg toll-free phone number(1-800-261-9530). Please ask for the group reservations Department, ext. 5200, Monday through Friday, 9-5. We encourage you to make your reservation early because Colonial Williamsburg will only hold our specially priced room block until September 11.Registration details are as follows. The pre-registration fee this year is $120. After September 11, the registration fee increases to $140. Your registration fee includes all plenary and concurrent sessions, meeting breaks every morning and afternoon, all conference services, reduced greens fees, free transportation around Colonial Williamsburg and the Saturday night Conference Banquet. If you would like to bring a guest to the banquet, there is an additional cost of $30. Friends and partners accompanying you are very welcome and will find that there is much to do and to enjoy in the area. However, because of the demand for many of these activities, we recommend that you make reservations when you register for such "hot items" as:

(1) A "Conference Guest Ticket" which is valid for the duration of the conference and provides admission into all exhibits.

These tickets are available on a pre-sold basis only, at a cost of $30.

(2) Dinner at one of the Colonial Taverns (for any night except Saturday when we will be having our banquet).

(3) Tee times on one of the wonderful Colonial Williamsburg golf courses.

Book your reservations early using the toll-free number (check out the web site at www.colonialwilliamsburg.org; or call 1-800-History: 1-800-447-8679). Without prior reservation, it is very unlikely that any of these most popular of activities will be available by the time you arrive in Williamsburg! Travel arrangements to Williamsburg may be made in consultation with either the Hotel or Conference Services. For those who are traveling by air, there are three airports that serve Williamsburg. Norfolk and Richmond are about 45 minutes to an hour away, and Newport News/Williamsburg is about 20-30 minutes away by car or limousine. Ground transportation is available from all airports, with one-way costs ranging from $15 to $35 per person.

Williamsburg Limousine is available from all airports(call 757 - 229 - 4020). Alternatively, you can fly into Washington D.C. and rent a car to get to Williamsburg . The ride is about 31/2 -3 hours drive from Washington DC. Williamsburg is also served by AMTRAK from Washington DC. Schedules are available at http://www.amtrak.com

If you have questions about the conference, please contact the Conferences Services Office at 757-221-4804, fax 757-221-2090, or send your questions by email to wmconf@mail.wm.edu

The IAPS board is seeking competition in selection of a new Logo to match our new name, the International Association of Philosophy of Sport. This Logo will be used on all official publications of IAPS. We look forward to your input and creativity. The deadline date for submission of this logo will be September 1, 2001

IAPS Journal News

The first issue of volume 28 has gone to press. It includes five articles, four discussions, and two book reviews. Members of IAPS should be receiving their copies in April. The second issue, one that will include three or four articles on "nature and sport," will come out in October. It is already full.

This year, 31 essays have been submitted to the Journal for review, approximately ten more than our highest total in recent years. And we still have three months remaining in the annual publication cycle!!! The Editorial Board, recently expanded to 15 members, has been kept very busy. It would appear that the Association is fully ready to support this more aggressive publication schedule--even without a reliance on special topics.

This is something we will need to discuss at our Business Meeting in Williamsburg.

R. S. Kretchmar, Journal Editor, rsk1@psu.edu

(Each issue, as space is available, will run information on the individuals who formed IAPS in 1972. )

Earle Zeigler (A letter from him)

Life has been good, but somewhat rainy here in the Vancouver area. Enormous leaky condo-repair, plus changed lifestyle in my eighties, has brought about sale of my lakeside condo down near Bellingham, WA. So I changed my address with membership renewal for Newsletter.... I'm still chugging away over here in Lower Mainland of BC. In the fall of 2000, I served as consultant and visiting professor for a series of lectures at the Hong Kong Baptist University. My "Who Knows What's Right Anymore?", a manuscript, has been completed (for trade-book publication hopefully). It has to do with ethical decision-making for the general public. The "Assessing Your 'RQ' (Recreation Quotient" a manuscript I completed last year has been accepted for publication by AAALF & cooperating publisher in 2001. So that, plus articles that will be published in 2001 in The Physical Educator and the Journal of Physical Education and Recreation (HONG KONG), have kept me busy in the several hours a day that I can find time for such efforts. I'm still an advocate of the 32-hr. day. That's about it for now. Frankly, I've given up on anything in sport that smacks of commercialism or overemphasis. Question: Is sport still a social institution that is working for "the good?".. Earle can be reached by email at: zeigrog@axion.net

Shinobu Abe

I regret to inform you that Shinobu Abe (MD., Professor .Emeritus of Nippon College of Physical Education) passed away on the 30th of October 2000 from pneumonia. He was born February 1920 in northern Japan. He graduated from Sapporo Normal School, and went to Tokyo Higher Normal School. He excelled in physical education, specializing in Kendo (Japanese sword fencing), his main sport. From there he went to Tokyo Bunrika National University to study literature and science. This University later developed into the University of Tsukuba which is now the top university for sport studies. His major at the university was Philosophy. He was awarded an 8th Grade (8^th dan) in Kendo at the age of 48. He was, at the time, the youngest person permitted to challenge for an 8th grade examination. This examination is reputed to be the most difficult formal examination in Japanese culture and represents a great honor. Moreover, he was also awarded the title of Master of Kendo. He was known for his deep love of Kendo and practiced it almost until the end of his life. In the Philosophy of Physical Education and Sport he was simply pre-eminent. He was the president of the Japan Society of Physical Education, from 1992-1997. In "Principles of Physical Education of JSPE, he was universally known for half a century (1950-2000). Professor Abe was also dedicated to international activities through PSSS. Given that English is the international language of the philosophy of sport, he had a custom of English language training by radio and TV school at 6 o'clock in the morning. He served as the President-Elect, President , and Past President of PSSS with distinction. He attended conferences and had many good friends all over the world. He was a pure person who always kept a youthful zest for life. He was widely respected professional who united the fields of philosophy and martial arts wisdom throughout his life and in his papers and books. He was always a good friend to PSSS/IAPS who fostered and recruited many Japanese scholars to our Association. His Buddhist funeral service was attended by many friends and students from all over Japan. His wife died two years ago. We all miss very much his smiling and conversation. I pray for his peace. Submitted by Akio Kataoka, Professor, Kokushikan University

Olympic Scholars Network

Andy Miah has sent the following information. A new project is seeking to link academics interested in researching the Olympic Games. The Olympic Scholars Network and the Young Olympic Scholars Network provide an electronic discussion forum about social issues relating to the Olympic Games and the Olympic Movement. Already, the OSN has attracted nearly 80 scholars from approximately 20 countries and its membership continues to grow. Individuals from a variety of backgrounds are present within the group. This ranges from governmental officials involved with the organization of Olympic Games, to academics from philosophy, history, sociology, anthropology, media, economics, and tourism. There are two components to the Network, the Olympic Scholars Network and the Young Olympic Scholars Network. The details of each are as follows:

Olympic Scholars Network - for academics and post-graduates researching in Olympic issues (for news, discussions, and resources):

http://www.geocities.com/olympism_xxi/osn.html To subscribe, send blank message to: olympism-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

Young Olympic Scholars Network - for undergraduates and non-researching young scholars interested in the Olympic Movement: http://www.geocities.com/olympism_xxi/yosn.html To subscribe, send blank message to: young_olympism-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

If you have any queries or would like more information, please do not hesitate to the Olympic Scholars Network moderators at: olympism_xxi@hotmaill.com or visit the website at http://www.geocities.com/olympism_xxi

International Text

Haag, H. (1995). Sportphilosophie (Sport Philosophy). Frankfurt: Diesterweg/Sauerländer, 192 pages (published in the German language).

A comprehensive book on sport philosophy was published in a book series ('Studienbücher') for senior high school and beginning college students. The following major topics are covered in the book:

1. Anthropological Foundations of Movement, Play, and Sport

2. Philosophy of Movement

3. Philosophy of Play

4. Philosophy of Performance in Sport

5. Aesthetics and Sport

6. Social Philosophy of Sport

7. Ethics and Sport