Welcome from the IAPS Chair

On behalf of the Executive Council for the International Association for the Philosophy of Sport, I welcome you to attend the 37th Annual Conference from August 27-30, 2009 in Seattle, Washington. Seattle University and the Center for the Study of Sport & Exercise will serve as host of the conference, with Dr. Dan Tripps, as Chair of the Site Organizing Committee.

The purpose of the IAPS is to stimulate, encourage, and promote study, research, and writing in the philosophy of sporting (and related) activity. The Association publishes the Journal of the Philosophy of Sport twice a year and is the most respected medium for communicating contemporary philosophic thought with regard to sport. The annual conference brings together leading and emerging scholars from around the world to exchange ideas and critically review cutting edge research.

The academic program will feature paper presentations from scholars representing countries from around the world, in addition to two Warren P. Fraleigh Distinguished Scholar Lectures.

One of these lectures will be delivered by Nicholas J Dixon, Chair & Dykstra Professor of Philosophy, at Alma College where he teaches courses including virtue ethics, symbolic logic, ethics and medicine, and philosophy of sport. Dixon has research interests in social philosophy, virtue ethics, philosophy of law, medical ethics, and philosophy of sport. He has served as President of IAPS (2001-2002) and Editor for the Journal of the Philosophy of Sport (2002-2006).

The other lecture will be delivered by Sigmund Loland, Professor of Sport Philosophy at The Norwegian University for Sport and Physical Education where he teaches sport philosophy, theory of science, and alpine skiing. He has published extensively in national and international journals on topics such as sport ethics, the epistemology of movement, the history of ideas of sport, and sport and ecology. Loland also served as IAPS President (2002-2003).

If you would like further information about the IAPS, please visit its website at: www.iaps.net. We invite you to peruse the conference website and attend the upcoming 2009 Conference in Seattle.

Best regards,

Douglas R. Hochstetler
Conference Chair
International Association for the Philosophy of Sport