News from the Institute

The cooperation project with the university hospital took place again in Kleinwalsertal in March. Students from Module 10 were involved in the project. The team, led by Eike Boll, offered ski courses at all skill levels for the 22 participating children and young people and their families and was also able to adequately resolve therapy-related restrictions. As a pilot project, two of the participating patients were tested in advance using the "Movement Assessment Battery for Children (M-ABC-2)" motor skills test. Initial results in the re-test showed strikingly positive results, particularly in the area of balance.

The Special Olympics National Games will take place in Münster from 22 May to 25 May 2024. The organisers are still looking for motivated helpers who can support them in exciting and varied activities.
Registration and further information can be found here.

Announcement Special Olympics Research Day on 22 May 2024 The fifth Special Olympics NRW State Games will take place in Münster in May 2024. On the occasion of this event, we would like to invite you to a scientific research day immediately beforehand. The aim of this day is to bring together and discuss the current state of knowledge on the topic of sport by and with people with intellectual and multiple disabilities from different perspectives and disciplines and to exchange ideas with each other. Further information can be found here.

The weekly event series "Olympia" in spring/summer 2024 will take place on Mondays from 16.00 to 18.00 (start: 08.04.2024 | end: 08.07.2024) in seminar room Ho101.
The event takes place hybrid. After registering, you will automatically receive a Zoom link by e-mail.

Wir wünschen allen ein frohes Fest und einen guten Rutsch ins Jahr 2024!

Robert Stojan has been honored with the University of Münster's dissertation prize for his exceptional work on "Brain Functional Aspects of Cognitive Aging During Ecologically Valid Motor-Cognitive Behavior". This prestigious award is presented annually during the summa cum laude event, recognizing the best dissertations in each faculty. Here you will find a brief summary of this year's honored dissertations. Heartfelt congratulations on this achievement!

Ronja (Ru) Kim Haase was recently announced as the winner of the German Sports Teachers' Association NRW's sponsorship award for her master's thesis on "School sport in a cisnormative society - a qualitative study on the perspective of trans*, inter* and non-binary pupils". The award comes with a cash prize donated by the Unfallkasse NRW. The sponsorship award is issued each year by a jury for outstanding final thesis projects. The thesis was supervised by Dr Marion Golenia and Prof Nils Neuber. Our warmest congratulations!

We congratulate Hannah Pauly on receiving a doctoral scholarship from the Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes. With a duration of 36 months, Hannah will receive both financial and non-material support for her doctorate. Hannah is conducting research together with her doctoral supervisors Prof. Bernd Strauss, Prof. Svenja A. Wolf (Florida State University) & PD. Dr Dennis Dreiskämper to expand the "Theory of Challenge and Threat States in Athletes" with the help of "Effort".

The examination show for summer semester 2023 took place under the motto "1001 Examination Night - Arabic alf laila wa-laila". The show featured numerous top sporting performances by the students. As always, the media lab was on site with a camera and shows the best moments in a video that has now been published. 

The photo exhibition "Top talents in competitive sport" was opened in the NRW state parliament in Düsseldorf. Speakers at the opening included State Parliament President André Kuper and LSB President Stefan Klett. The portrayed young athletes also had their chance to speak in an interview. A very special thank you went to the photographer Andrea Bowinkelmann from LSB NRW, who took photos with the Department of Physical Education and Teaching Research on their field trip to Baltrum. Prof. Nils Neuber also attended the exhibition opening.

The cooperation between the Hungarian University of Sport Science (HUSS) in Budapest and the Institute of Sport Science at the University of Münster was deepened by a further visit by the Diploma Sports Teacher Axel Binnenbruck in autumn 2023, who was welcomed by the Vice-Rector for General Affairs, Dr. Csaba Ökrös.

On 7 February 2024, the legendary examination show at the Sports Institute will enter the next round under the motto "Simply the Best". To revive the 80s and create a glittering, colourful show, bring out your best outfits from the last 80s party. Everything is allowed, from leggings to VoKuHiLa.
Many talented students will show off what they have learnt in gymnastics/dance, gymnastics and acrobatics during their studies. Of course, there will also be outstanding guest performances, so you can expect a great, spectacular and varied show.
We look forward to seeing you!

AOR Dr Barbara Halberschmidt was appointed to the scientific advisory board of the "Safety in Sport" foundation (NRW). The foundation works to understand how, when and why sports accidents and injuries occur and how they can be prevented. To this end, they work together with associations, sports organisations, science and politics in projects. The results are passed on to athletes, trainers, coaches and sports clubs.

The cooperation project between the Institute of Sports Science and Münster University Hospital, led by Eike Boll, is being expanded to include climbing and bouldering. The aim is to introduce children and young people with cancer to new exercise options. Students from the Institute of Sports Science support this project by teaching safety techniques and accompanying all participants on their way to independent climbing.

On November 27, 2023, the University of Münster invites you to this year's Day of Teaching on the topic of "University Teaching in Times of Social Challenges".
Students will have the opportunity to actively exchange ideas on innovations in teaching and directly address suggestions for the further development of teaching.
The Sports Institute is also participating with two contributions. The complete program can be viewed on the University of Münster homepage.
All students, lecturers and staff are cordially invited to participate in the discussion and networking.

The contribution of sport to the fulfillment of the legal entitlement to an all-day school place was part of the agenda at a joint conference between the Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs (KMK) and the Conference of Sports Ministers (SMK) in Berlin. Stakeholders from politics, administration, associations and science met at the NRW state representation. Prof. Nils Neuber moderated a workshop on sport-related qualification in all-day education.

Last Thursday, the University Day 2023 successfully took place in Münster.
A total of 13,500 prospective students visited the university and took part in around 500 courses. At the Institute of Sports Science, 14 courses were open to students. The student council had an information stand and around 150 - hopefully - future students took part in the central information event at the BSH!

We bid farewell to Andreas Mühlbeier, a valued member of our Human Movement Science department, who left us on 1 November. Andreas started his PhD under Heiko Wagner in 2015 and has been with us since then as a PhD student and later as a PostDoc. During his time at the institute, Andreas focussed primarily on crash tests and their effects on the cervical spine, but contributed to numerous other projects. We will miss his commitment and presence. Andreas, we wish you all the best for your future career!

A specialist conference on mental, emotional and social support through sport will take place on March 15, 2024. Under the title “Promotion of development in school sport – for everyone?!” the question is examined as to whether school sports also reach children with special needs. At the same time, the new special education degree programme in Münster is being discussed. Further information will follow.

As part of the seminar "All-day school as an opportunity for school sport", a launch discussion will take place for the second time at the IfS on November 30 from 2pm to 4pm. In the context of the legal right to an all-day place, Prof. Dr. Anne-Christin Roth (German Sports Teachers' Association NRW), Prof. Dr. Miriam Kehne (Research Association for Child and Youth Sport NRW), Laura Hantke (Sports Youth NRW), Martin Wonik (State Sports Association NRW) and Martin Schönwandt (German School Sports Foundation) will discuss the opportunities and risks of child and youth sport in the context of all-day school development. The discussion will be moderated by Prof. Dr. Nils Neuber (IfS). Guests are more than welcome!

For the third time, members of the German Sports Youth Research Association and the Research Association for Child and Youth Sport NRW met with colleagues from the German Youth Institute (DJI) to discuss a child and youth sport study. The event was hosted by the German Sports Youth in Berlin. Stefanie Dahl, Dennis Dreiskämper and Lena Henning represented the IfS Münster.

Sport keeps you healthy - this truism is as banal as it is true. But how much exercise is necessary, especially for adolescents? The WHO recommends around one hour of exercise per day for children and young people. The study carried out as part of the "Move for Health" project under the direction of Dr. Dennis Dreiskämper provides worrying figures: The federally funded study found that fewer and fewer young people are doing regular sport in their free time.

As part of the BMBF joint project ComeSport, the kick-off meeting of ComeNet 5 on the topic of "Body images and social media in school sport" took place from 2 to 3 November in Münster. The meeting focussed on deepening the joint research work and preparing the upcoming work phases.
The universities of Leipzig, Münster and Paderborn are involved in the project. The Institute of Sport Science was represented by staff from the Education and Culture in Sport and Education and Teaching in Sport departments.

Around 40 people from sports administration, sports politics, sports clubs and academia discussed participation opportunities for people with disabilities in sport on November 2 as part of the "Inclusion in sport" trialogue. The event was organized by the Institute of Sports Science in cooperation with the Research Association for Child and Youth Sports NRW, the Münster City Sports Association and the Münster Sports Youth.

During a two-day expert discussion in Frankfurt, representatives of sports associations, sports practice, foundations, and academia explored the question of what role the topic of performance currently plays in children's and youth sports. The Institute of Sport Science was represented by staff from the departments of Education and Culture in Sport, Movement Sciences, and Physical Education and Teaching in Sport. The event was partly organized by the research network for children's and youth sports in North Rhine-Westphalia, whose office is located at the University of Münster.

On 20.10.23, Prof. Klaus Völker was awarded an honorary doctorate in a festive ceremony. The laudation by the Dean of Studies, Prof. Heiko Wagner, revealed that it is and was an inner passion for Prof. Völker as a medical doctor to point out the importance of physical activity for the healthy development of people. For more than 50 years, Prof. Völker has been researching and teaching on this topic and is still doing so as a senior professor at the IfS.
We heartily congratulate him on this well-deserved honour!

 

Just before the start of the new semester, Christiane Bohn and Tabea Christ from our department’s psychomotor learning and development lab, visited the 15th annual conference of the dvs-committee “Development of Sports Infrastructure” centered around the topic “Skating and wiseassing – scientific perspectives on skateboarding” in Dortmund.
 

Prof. Bernd Strauss, Prof. Maike Tietjens, Stephanie Bünemann, and Birte Brinkmöller presented their current research at this year's SCAPPS. In addition, many interesting discussions were held, and new project ideas were developed.

The dissertation of Stefanie Dahl deals with the topic of health and physical activity in the field of nursing care. In the thesis she presents a comprehensive evaluation of the successful EU project "Wellbeing and healthy choices for older adults and their carers" (WHOLE). She has now successfully defended her dissertation. The doctoral committee included Prof. Dr. Nils Neuber, Prof. Dr. Michael Brach and Dr. Marion Golenia. We congratulate her warmly!

At the 26th sport scientific university day held by the dvs (German society for sport science) in Bochum, Tabea Christ from the department movement science presented her poster on skateboard therapy for children with ADHD which is part of her PhD topic. For this, she was awarded the poster award in the category natural sciences. Congratulations on this success!
 

In 2024, the state games of the Special Olympics NRW will be held in Münster. On this occasion, the "Trialogue Inclusion in Sport" will take place on November 02, 2023 in Münster, where Ms. Wilkens (City of Münster), Dirk Henning (Stadtsportbund Münster) and Prof. Dr. Michael Pfitzner (University of Duisburg-Essen) will discuss the possibilities of participation for people with intellectual disabilities. Further information can be found here.

In the textbook series "Basic Knowledge of Learning in Sport" the third volume on subject didactics by Prof. Nils Neuber has been published. Thus, the subject didactics lecture in M.Ed. is completely covered. While the new volume under the title "Subject didactics sport - fundamentals and models" lays the general foundation, the other two volumes deal with the specific requirement and decision fields of subject didactic concepts.

The reform of the Federal Youth Games has triggered far-reaching discussions about the idea of performance in physical education and in children's sports. Professor Klaus Zierer and Professor Nils Neuber have now discussed in a guest article on the Robert Bosch Foundation's German School portal on what this debate might say about the culture of performance in the school context as a whole.

At this year's dvs General Assembly Bernd Strauß, Dennis Dreiskämper and Barbara Halberschmidt invited to the dvs Congress 2025 in Münster under the motto 'Diversity and Sustainability in Sports Science ?!'!

The congress will take place from 17 -19.9. 2025 at the castle and surrounding buildings. Sports scientists from all disciplines can participate in the congress.

On September 13 and 14, this year's second research meeting of the project team on "Subject-based Education in Sport", FaBiS for short, took place. The focus was on the joint research work, in which exercise processes in physical education were analyzed on the basis of instructional videos. In addition, initial preparations were made for a research proposal. Four universities are involved in the project: Ilka Lüsebrink (missing on the photo) from PH Freiburg, Vera Volkmann from the University of Hildesheim, Helga Leineweber from the University of Münster and Petra Wolters from the University of Vechta.

AOR Dr Barbara Halberschmidt attended the 8th school sports day of the dslv Lower Saxony at the University of Oldenburg on September 13th, 2023 and was able to network and make new contacts on site. Former IfS colleagues were also there (Prof. Büsch, Prof. Schorer, Drs. Pöppel and Rienhoff).

14 doctoral students were guests at the Willi-Michels educational center in Welper from September 5th to 7th to work on their dissertations in a focused manner. Besides writing, the conference concentrated on the exchange of information on questions concerning the career after the doctorate. The head of the Career Service from the University of Münster, Dr. Andreas Eimer, came to the event especially to hold an exciting workshop with the doctoral students. In addition to the writing time, there was plenty of opportunity for exchange among the doctoral students in more informal rounds, which everyone experienced as profitable. The writing workshop was led by Birte Brinkmöller, Dr. Kathrin Kohake and Dr. Robert Stojan on behalf of the Young Researchers Initiative. The next writing workshop is planned for February/March.
 

At the beginning of the new school year, the students of the 10th grade from Hopsten (Hüberts'sche Schule) visited our department of movement sciences and the OpenLab of the IFS. During their visit, they conducted an exemplary analysis of their running style while walking, jogging, and sprinting using the Qualisys program.

In the third week of August, the project seminar "Discovering Play and Utilizing the Play Spaces" took place at the NTB educational facility on the North Sea island of Baltrum. The 28 students discussed topics such as play and performance, play and structure or play and exploration. The excursion based on the concept of experiential learning took place for the 15th time already. It was led by Uta Kaundinya, Katharina Ludwig and Nils Neuber.

 

As part of the BMBF collaborative project ComeSport, the research areas Education and Culture in Sport and Education and Teaching in Sport have been granted a project on the digitization of PE teacher education. The project will be conducted in cooperation with the universities of Paderborn and Leipzig and will focus on the question of how sports teachers can address students' body images, which are influenced by social media.

In the August 11th episode of BBC's captivating "The Naked Scientists Podcast," an intriguing query emerges: " Why does my left brain control my right side?" 

Matthias Hendricks, Swantje Buse and Dr. Ross Julian (Department of Neuromotor Behaviour ans Exercise) visited the training camp of the junior squad of the German speed skaters in Inzell. The athlete monitoring system REGmon, which was used as part of the MonitorEis project, was presented on site. From now on, athletes can use REGmon to provide various information on their training load, well-being and health status on a daily basis in order to identify symptoms of fatigue as early as possible. Information that can then be used by trainers to customize the training. MonitorEis is a service research project funded by the Federal Institute for Sports Science, which is carried out in cooperation with the German Speed Skating and Shorttrack Association.

Jona Greve, Edda van Meurs and Bernd Strauss have addressed this question in their recently recently published study "Elite darts performance and the social influence of real crowds and simulated crowd noise" in Nature's prestigious journal “Scientific Reports”.

Physical Education is the stepchild of education policy. It only receives public attention when there are problems, such as the current change to the Bundesjugendspiele. Yet it has an important function for school and culture: motor skills, self-concept, health, integration, playfulness and much more can be promoted by well-done Physical Education. The renowned sports journalist Bianka Schreiber-Rietig has now pointed this out in a commentary worth reading and has also called for a new school sports study. For the article, she interviewed Prof. Nils Neuber, among others.

During a second workshop in Frankfurt, members of the research network of the German Sports Youth and of the research network for children's and youth sports in North Rhine-Westphalia intensified their cooperation with colleagues from the German Youth Institute (DJI). The goal of the cooperation is a collaborative study on children's and youth sports. The event was hosted by the German Sports Youth. Stefanie Dahl, Dennis Dreiskämper, Lena Henning and Nils Neuber participated for IfS Münster.

Prof. Dr. Michael Krüger, a member of the Council of the International Society for the History of Physical Education and Sport (ISHPES), represented the Institute of Sport and Exercise Sciences of the University of Münster alongside Cand phil. Yoonkyu Song at the ISHPES International Congress held from July 12th to 14th, 2023 in Lausanne. The congress was dedicated to the topic of "biographies." Krüger gave a presentation on Ommo Grupe, the doyen of German sport science in the Federal Republic of Germany. 

For the third time this semester (July 8th, 2023), the tournament between sports students from the Inline Skating seminar (Dr. Kai Reinhart) and the beginners from Münster Mottek with trainer Dennis Schwabe took place. All teams performed at a similar level, making it an intense evening in the midst of high summer temperatures.

The Federal Youth Games are to become more child-oriented and less performance-oriented. The Committee for the Federal Youth Games and the Commission for Sport (SpoKo) of the Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs of the Federal States in Germany (KMK) have therefore decided on a reform of the games, which is currently being discussed intensively. Prof. Nils Neuber has now given an interview on this issue for Zeit online, in which he argues for a differentiated view.

As part of the BMBF's ComeSport joint project, the Education and Culture in Sport and Education and Teaching in Sport work areas have approved a project on the digitalization of sports teacher training.
The project addresses the question of how physical education teachers can address students' body images, which are influenced by social media.

After 25 years of service at the Institute of Sports and Exercise Sciences, Prof. Dr. Michael Krüger will retire at the end of the summer semester.On July 3rd, Prof. Krüger was ceremoniously bid farewell within his lecture series "Sportpädagogisches und sporthistorisches Kolloquiums". We sincerely thank him for his many years of work and wish him a wonderful retirement.

Our members of the Active Ageing Lab from the University of Münster successfully accomplished with the other 13 project partners the objectives of the PROCare4Life project “Personalised Integrated Care Promoting Quality of Life for Older People”, which took place from January 2020 until June 2023. An interactive care system interactive care system for persons with chronic diseases, for their caregivers and for health professionals was currently being developed. We are so proud that the University of Münster could take part in this exciting European Union's Horizon project with the great consortium.
 

Over the last few weeks, the Active Ageing Lab (Dep. Movement Science) has been running a course to promote digital skills, creativity, emotional self-care and physical activity. Now the team received the happy news that the interim report of the EU project IntegraLab+ was accepted, which is an important step for the further design of the project.
 

The dissertation of Lorena Menze is entitled "Participation of students in performance assessment - A qualitative study on the perspective of physical education teachers". She has now successfully defended her thesis. On the doctoral committee were Nils Neuber, Ahmet Derecik (Berlin) and Marion Golenia. We sincerely congratulate her!

Last Saturday, July 1, the Sports Events Seminar and Roundnet Seminar held the IfS Roundnet Tournament for the third time.
In relatively good weather conditions, over 50 teams played on the campus' Court 1.
A great success and congratulations to the winning team "Spike Culture"!

At the Department of Neuromotor Behavior and Exercise, the project "Parkinson Vibrating Socks" will start in July 2023 ( running until June 2027). In close collaboration between partners from science, industry and clinical practice, a vibrotactile cueing system for individualized improvement of freezing of gait in Parkinson's disease will be developed over the next four years. The Department of Neuromotor Behavior and Exercise will take the lead of the consortium and is responsible for the scientific evaluation of the cueing system in everyday like virtual environments. The total budget of the project is 4.246.012€. It is financed by the European Union and the InterregVI program Germany-Nederland. More information about the project and funding can be found here. 

The UT-WWU Collaboration Grants are funded with 80,000 Euro each and are financed 50 % each by the University of Münster and the University of Twente for a period of twelve months. Thanks to this funding, the department of Neuromotor Behavior and Exercise, together with collaborators from the University of Twente, Medisch Spectrum Twente and other partners from the Netherlands and Germany (feelSpace GmbH, Sherpa, Universitair Medisch Centrum Groningen), were able to successfully apply for a project grant from the InverregVI program Germany-Netherlands, which aims to develop a vibrotactile cueing system for Parkinson's patients with Freezing of Gait. The final meeting of the multidisciplinary team took place in June in Enschede. More info can be found here.

We mourn the loss of our colleague Dr. Stefan Nielsen, who died on Monday, June 26 after a long, serious illness while on active duty at the age of 61.
With Stefan Nielsen we lose far too soon a highly qualified, respected colleague and loyal friend. We will miss him. Our thoughts are with his wife Silke and the entire family.

From June 16-20, students of the IfS visited the Special Olympic World Games in Berlin as part of a project seminar in the field of didactics. In addition to a spectacular opening ceremony and many exciting competitions, the students pursued small research projects on topics that arose during the preparation. The results of these projects will be presented as part of the lecture series "Inclusion in Sport" on 06.07.2023 from 4 to 6 pm in Leo 21. All interested parties are welcome to attend! The Tagesspiegel published an article about the students' visit to Berlin.

Dr. Csaba Ökrös, Pro-Rector of the Hungarian University of Sports Science, visited the Institute of Sports Science of the University of Münster from June 19 to 23, 2023 for the second time after 2022. The guest was supervised by Axel Binnenbruck, the module coordinator for sports games, since the connecting intersection is the sport of handball and the throwback game Qatch. Furthermore, discussions took place with the institute's management as well as the internationalization coordinator in order to deepen the existing ERASMUS cooperation.

To mark the conclusion of the "Learning and Movement" project, a ceremonial event was held in the Freiherr-vom-Stein-Saal at the district government in Münster. In addition to the teachers and school administrators of the participating project schools, representatives of the district government of Münster and the state office for school sports were present.  After Mr. Schmied, Head of the Department of Schools, Culture and Sports, opened the event with a greeting, the project results were presented.
 

We are looking for enthusiastic students who are interested in experimental research in the field of multitasking. This bachelor’s thesis offers the opportunity to gain experience in psychological research under more ecologically valid conditions using a driving simulator. Are you interested in the thesis? Then please contact Piesie Asuako and/or Dr. Robert Stojan. Topic:  Factors influencing the modality compatibility effect in a classical laboratory environment and in a more naturalistic driving environment.

On the 13th and 14th of June students of the IfS organized a diverse program of physical activities with the Dutch athletes as part of the Host Town Program of the Special Olympic World Games. Dancing together, sports activities and a great closing evening at the harbor were a successful start for the visit of the World Games in Berlin.
 

AOR Dr. Barbara Halberschmidt was invited by the adh to a symposium on the topic of dual careers in elite sports on June 22 in Berlin and gave a keynote speech on the Münster model. A poster was also presented.

On 19 July it's that time again - the ExamShow of the Institute of Sports Science will take place again from 19h in the main hall of the university!
VVK: 04.07 and 11.07 from 15-16h in the Campus Café!
Motto of the show: 1001 exam night

Older adults show reduced motor skills, which is attributed to three factors: Decrease in central and peripheral sensorimotor functions, decrease in information processing and/or changes in the motor system. Therefore, older subjects sometimes show pauses in movements (inter-segment intervals / ISI), which consist of individual movement segments. ISIs are generally longer or more variable when participants' motor control or planning is reduced. Therefore, measuring ISIs during target movements is a useful measure for assessing human movement control. You'll find the full length paper here 
 

The Teaching Council consults the university rectorate on fundamental questions concerning academic studies and teaching. This includes the development of quality, enhancing the profile of teaching degree programs, as well as developing strategies for new degree programs. The members of the Teaching Council provide expertise on competitive procedures in the area of study and teaching. Professor Nils Neuber from the Sport Sciences Department has been appointed to the current Teaching Council.

On June 12, Egon Steinkamp passed away at the age of 96. From 1980 until his retirement in March 1988, he was a university professor for didactics of physical education at the WWU Münster.
Professor Steinkamp was not only a popular and respected university teacher, but also a researcher in the field of American literature and sports.
 

Dr. Emanuel Hübner, a long-standing and now external collaborator in the Department of Sports Pedagogy & Sports History at IfS Münster, is one of the authors of the five-year research project on "Planen und bauen im Nationalsozialismus", which is funded by the German government. He authored the chapter on "Nationalsozialistisches Bauerbe und Denkmalpflege am Beispiel Westfalen". The book also addresses the Berlin Olympic Stadium in 1936.
The exhibition "Power, Space, Violence," designed as part of the research project, is being showcased at the "Akademie der Künste" in Berlin until July 16, 2023.

The dsj joint project move4health, funded by the BMFSFJ, aims to investigate three central topics with the help of a representative survey and qualitative in-depth studies. (1) the potential of exercise, play and sport for the psycho-social health of children and adolescents, (2) the attractiveness of sports clubs for children and adolescents, (3) conducive and obstructive conditions for children and adolescents to access and remain in sports, with a particular focus on socially disadvantaged target groups and those who are not involved in sports. The project is led and coordinated by members of the Department of Sport Psychology (PD. Dr. Dennis Dreiskämper & Dr. Lena Henning). The Research Unit Education and Instruction in Sport is responsible for an in-depth study in the area of all-day sports (Prof. Nils Neuber & Nils Kaufmann).

The Special Olympics World Games will take place in Berlin from 17.06. to 25.06.2023.
Already last week (12.06.-15.06.2023) the delegation from the Netherlands was welcomed and hosted in Münster in the course of the 'Host-Town-Program'.
In an interview with Münster aktiv, Junior Professor Dr. Helga Leineweber explains the significance of the Special Olympics in connection with inclusion and inclusive sports.

The departments of Education and Teaching in Sport, Sport Psychology and Education and Culture in Sport attended the 36th Annual Conference of the dvs Section of Sport Education in Hamburg. Posters on current research projects were presented as well as lectures in working groups. The informal parts of the conference offered the opportunity for collegial networking and exploration of the city of Hamburg.
 

The yearly Roundnet Tournament will be held on July 1 starting at 10:00 am on Court 1. More information are available on our Instagram channel, the website, via announcements and the IfS event Instagram channel.
We are looking forward to many participants!

On June 6th and 7th, the International Conference on Sports, Politics, and History in Germany and Korea took place at the castle. The event was organized by the Department of Sports Pedagogy & Sports History in collaboration with the Willibald-Gebhardt Institute, under the leadership of Prof. Dr. Michael Krüger, Prof. Dr. Roland Naul, Prof. Dr. Andreas Niehaus from Gent, and Cand. Phil. Yoonkyu Song. The speakers from Korea and Germany were welcomed by Vice-Rector Prof. Dr. Michael Quante and the Korean Consul General, Huh Seung-jae. As a result, further forms of exchange and collaboration were agreed upon to explore the role of sports in the process of German reunification and the divided Korea.

The 8th Self-Determination Theory Conference took place from May 31 to June 3 in Orlando, Florida. Dr. Kathrin Kohake from the Department of Education and Teaching in Sports attended the conference with a presentation on "The Need for Competence in Childrens' Sports". After an opening lecture by SDT co-founder Richard Ryan, more than 600 participants exchanged new concepts, theories, methods and results over the course of 4 days.

On Saturday, June 3, this year's Qatch tournament took place in cooperation of the sports event seminar under the direction of Dr. Barbara Halberschmidt and the Qatch seminar under the direction of Axel Binnenbruck. Ten (international) teams competed on the beach courts in beautiful sunshine.
After an exciting preliminary round, the Hungarian team "Two and a half man" won the final against the team "Bier Elite".
The tournament ended in the evening on the campus in glorious sunshine.

At the world's largest inclusive sports event, the Special Olympics World Games, several thousand athletes with intellectual and multiple disabilities compete with and against each other in 26 sports.
This year, the Special Olympics World Games will take place in Berlin from June 17 to 25, 2023, and thus for the first time in Germany.
As part of the project seminar "Special Olympics", the Sports Institute will also participate in the Host Town Project in Münster from June 12 to 15, 2023. A subsequent visit to the Special Olympics World Games is also part of it.

Prof. Nils Neuber has further developed the cooperation with the School of Sport and Exercise of the Universita degli Studi di Urbino Carlo Bo with a one-week Erasmus exchange. In addition to some courses with students in Urbino, he also made agreements on collaborative research activities with Ass. Prof.' Ercia Gobbi. The next meeting will take place at the Special Olympics World Games in Berlin.
 

The fifth State Games of Special Olympics NRW for people with intellectual and multiple disabilities will take place in Münster from May 22-25, 2024. For this purpose, the joint framework agreement was signed by the Lord Mayor Markus Lewe and the President of Special Olympics NRW - Gerhard Stiens - on May 22, 2023. The event is expected to attract 7,000 athletes and showcase 18 sports. Students are also welcome to attend.
Junprof. Dr. Helga Leineweber coordinates the implementation of the event with a working group, consisting of all work areas, at the IfS.

With its publication Twelve Months, Twelve People - Portraits the WWU would like to acknowledge the diversity at the University of Münster and present outstanding people of the respective past year. The current issue features a portrait of Prof. Nils Neuber, who has been awarded with the NRW State Prize for Sports Science in September 2022. His primary concern is to harness the educational potential of sport.
 

On the 23^rd of May, our colleagues Mona Ahmed, Ellen Bentlage and Michael Brach visited the “International Conference of Integrated Care” (ICIC23) in Antwerp-Belgium and attended the PROCare4Life session and the public event after 42 months project time. By the end of this month, Mona will leave our institute. We wish her much success in her future career.

The PhysAgeNet COST Action is organizing a hybrid Training School on "From narrative to systematic living review" from May 30th to June 1st. The places on site (Kaunas, Lithuania) are already fully booked, but online participation is also possible for free without prior registration.

Congratulations to Robert Stojan from the Department of Neuromotor Behavior and Exercise for successfully completing his doctoral defense titled "Brain Functional Aspects of Cognitive Aging during Ecologically Valid Motor-Cognitive Behavior." We are delighted to announce that Dr Stojan has been awarded the esteemed distinction of "summa cum laude" by his committee members, Prof. Dr. Claudia Voelcker-Rehage (Münster), Prof. Dr. Otmar Bock (Köln), and Prof. Dr. Louis Bherer (Montreal), for his exceptional presentation and defense

As part of the MA seminar "Sport Psychology in Schools", Daniela Gundlach, motopaedist and sports teacher at the BK, gave a lecture on motopaedic and psychomotor support options in physical education. With numerous case studies, the students worked out a variety of possibilities for dealing with conspicuous children and adolescents in physical education.

During the 55th annual meeting of the Arbeitsgemeinschaft für Sportpsychologie in Stuttgart, Dr. Barbara Halberschmidt was elected vice president for the area of "School Sport and Teaching".
We congratulate her on her election and wish her every success for her work in the next two years.

On June 6th and 7th, a conference on Sport Politics in Germany and Korea with german and korean experts will take place in  in the castle's banquet hall. Registration for participation in the event is possible via the following link: 

Registration

At the end of this year's 55th Annual Meeting of the Working Group for Sport Psychology in Stuttgart, the Hermann Rieder Medal of Honor was awarded to Prof. Dr. Bernd Strauß for his many years of commitment and service in and to the asp.
We congratulate warmly on this special award.

Quotch? Quotch? Kuatsch?" - "QATCH!" The Institute of Sports Science at the University of Münster is planning a new edition of the beginner-friendly Qatch tournament in Münster on June 03, 2023!
No matter if amateur or professional - everyone can join so be there and register your team (mixed) for a participation fee of 5,00 € per team here.
 

The WWU has published a new image video about the teacher training program at the University of Münster. The video also includes sports.
 

Workgroup 4 " Embodying the joy of movement and sport at an early age" met for the first time in Berlin as part of the German government's sports development plan. The workgroup was established after the 2022 Physical Activity Summit and is intended to develop guidelines for children's and youth sports. It brings together representatives of the federal ministries, the Conference of Ministers of Sport and Education, sports organizations, and other civil society stakeholders. The workgroup is headed by Prof. Miriam Kehne (Paderborn) and Prof. Nils Neuber (IfS). Kathrin Aschebrock (IfS) is the managing director.
 

The second hybrid PhysAgeNet conference (April 25th-27th at Riga Stradins University) presented major advances from the Working Groups on evidence-based physical activity research and practice in older adults. Membership has doubled to over 250 from 45 countries. The future of COST Action was discussed. Members of the AB Exercise Science and Neuromotor Science lead various Working Groups and the overall network.

As in years past, the Institute of Sport and Exercise Sciences opened the door for this year's Girls'Day. Twelve interested girls were able to participate in small experiments and gained an exciting insight into sports science research.

Around 50 participants from sports practice, child and youth welfare and science discussed the topic "Protection concepts in sports" with Marisa Kleinitzke (Stadtsportbund Münster), Martin Wonik (Landessportbund NRW) and Dr. Kathrin Kohake (WWU Münster) on April 27, 2023. The new event format "Trialog", which brings practice, politics and science into conversation, was opened by Professor Wessels (Rector of the WWU Münster) with a welcoming speech. The event was organized by the Stadtsportbund and the Sportjugend Münster, the Institute for Sports Science Münster and the Research Association for Child and Youth Sports NRW. The moderation was done by Thomas Lammers (SSB Münster).
 

The Book "A History of Sport in Europe in 100 Objects", edited by Daphné Bolz and Michael Krüger, is now published by the arete-Verlag Hildesheim. More than 100 authors in europe were involed. It was a result of the project "Training the people. A transnational history of sport in interwar Europe" from prof. Bolz at the University of Münster, wich was sponsorded by the EU. 

Members of the Research Network of the German Sports Youth as well as of the Research Network Child and Youth Sports NRW discussed with colleagues of the German Youth Institute (DJI) in Munich about possibilities of systematic child and youth sports research. Stefanie Dahl, Dennis Dreiskämper, Lena Henning and Nils Neuber represented the IfS.

On Wednesday, May 24, 2023, the Münster School Sports Talk "Perceiving Diversity in Physical Education - a key component of teacher expertise" will take place from 6-8 p.m. in Ho101. The speaker Junior Professor Dr. Helga Leineweber will present selected empirical findings as well as approaches to promote the professional perception of teacher*education, and give suggestions for dealing with own perceptions. The registration can be done here. All interested parties are welcome to attend.

At the CeBiS Research Day on April 19, 2023 (3:30 p.m. in Ho 101), Dr. Christiane Fischer-Ontrup and Eva Schönweitz will be giving a presentation at the Institute of Sport Science on the topic "BeSt! - A  movement-based self-regulation training in the classroom for the grades 4 to 6".
 

The Tech-Werkstatt for elite athletics in Münster brought together over 120 participants from sports science, industry, and sports practice to learn about the latest technologies and discuss their applications in high-performance sports. The event included exhibitions, workshops, panel discussions, and pitches, and was positively evaluated by experts from different fields. The Tech Workshop was a joint initiative by WVL, the High-Performance Sports Innovation Hub, WISS-Netz, DOSB, BISp, the University of Münster, and Predimo GmbH

The "iHand" innovation project is the development of an AI-based assistance system for controlling hand therapy using a rehabilitation robot. Two partners from the AIMECA innovation network - LIME medical GmbH and the Neuromotor and Training department of the Institute for Sports Science at the University of Münster - are working together on the data-based solution.

This year's sports aptitude test will be held on June 21, 2023 on the grounds of the Institute of Sport and Exercise Sciences. Prospective students can register here until June 11, 2023. We have compiled information about studying sports in Münster on this page.

In July, 2019, Bernd Strauß and the sportpsychology department of the WWU Münster held the FEPSAC convention, which takes place every four years, at the Münster Schloss for five days. Almost 1000 sport psychologists from more than 60 countries took part in an extensive scientific program that celebrated the 50th birthday of the European Association of sportpsychology FEPSAC.

The city of Münster prized this and two more conventions out of several hundreds from the last two years by handing over the award as the best and specifically forward-looking congress. This award was last handed over in 2019.