News from the Institute

In the new book ‘Psychology of Crises in Sport’ by Bernd Strauss, Stephanie Buenemann, Charlotte Behlau, Maike Tietjens and Katherine Tamminen, readers learn about the theoretical and empirical background of concepts related to crises. They then learn how apply this knowledge and these methods to prevent and cope crises. Well-known examples and case studies are used throughout the book to provide a comprehensive understanding of crises. 

(Strauss, B., Buenemann, S., Behlau, C., Tietjens, M., & Tamminen, K. (Eds). (2024). Psychology of crises in sport. Springer)

Fascinating! Christiane Bohn and Heiko Wagner show us how complex our body sensation is. Using innovative measurement methods such as “ComputerMyoGraphy” developed by Heiko Wagner, they investigate whether our movements really happen the way we perceive them. The example of the talented B-girl Jilou shows how important the connection between brain and body is.
Link to the report (3sat/German)
 

The University of Münster and SC Preußen Münster have signed a cooperation agreement to promote competitive and elite sport in soccer. The cooperation, which has already existed for several years, is to be intensified in the coming years in order to systematically expand existing synergy effects between science and competitive and top-class sport. Among other things, the University and Preußen want to work together to optimize the conditions for footballers who study at the University of Münster and play top-class sport at the same time.

Important information for all those who are attending the swimming courses this semester and want to take the coursework and/or exam and have already attended the seminar!
Please write Maike an e-mail by this Friday (18.10.) that you are enrolled in the Learnweb course. In the course you will find a declaration of consent that you cannot use the showers and toilets of the Ostbad due to the legionella infestation. The declaration must be printed out and completed in its original form and handed in to Maike by October 27.
Without this declaration, you will neither be able to attend the AGs in the Ostbad nor take the exam if the infestation is still present at that time.
More detailed information can also be found in the Learnweb course.

On 10.10.24, sport psychology celebrated its 50th anniversary. The special event was celebrated with almost 100 international and national guests. Two keynote speakers, Prof. Rouwen Canal Bruland, University of Jena and Dr. Rebecca Rienhoff, Helmholtz Gymnasium Essen, Head of Sports - ZfsL Krefeld, Sports & Counselling in School Sports (NRW Sports Schools) - District Government Düsseldorf (Dec. 43/ Dec. 48) Sports Coordination Representative in the Speakers' Committee of NRW Sports Schools, paid tribute to the achievements of Prof. Willi Essing and Prof. Bernd Strauß, which can also be read here in the brochure.

The Institute of Sports Science started the WS 24/25 on 9.10.24 with an information session and a subsequent closed day on the topic of sustainability. The Sustainability Commission prepared a practical input on the topic with the speaker S. Ziegler and then all employees of the Institute continued to work in small working groups on developing sustainability strategies for the Institute and implementing these in research and teaching.

The FISU World University Games 2025 will be coming to the Rhine-Ruhr region from 16 to 27 July 2025. And you can be there as a volunteer. The official registration phase has been extended until 15 October 2024. Apply as a volunteer now!

According to the organisers, working as a volunteer at a multi-sport event of this magnitude ‘offers students a unique opportunity to gain valuable experience that will benefit them both in their studies and in their future careers. During their assignment, they will also receive access to competitions, food and drink, a public transport ticket, a volunteer certificate and official event clothing.’

All information about the volunteer programme and registration can be found on the website: https://rhineruhr2025.com/volunteer

 

Teaching for the winter semester 2024/25 starts on 07 October. 
Just like last summer semester, teaching starts at 08:00!
We wish everyone a great semester an a pleasant start.

At the 3rd Cologne Day of School Sport, Dr Marion Golenia (Dept. of Physical Education and Teaching Research) and Junior Professor Dr Helga Leineweber (Dept. of Education and Culture in Sport) held a theoretical and practical workshop for PE teachers in which they presented current scientific findings on the connection between body images in social media and body images among children and young people. Following on from this, they tested and discussed ways of addressing the topic in PE lessons together with the teachers. The content and materials developed as part of the BMBF-funded ComeSport project were thus subjected to an initial ‘rigorous test’. Further ideas and materials for sports lessons on this complex topic are now being successively developed and trialled.
 

At this year's Research Day of the Centre for Educational Research in Sport on 11.09.24, Brigitta Höger (Pädagogische Hochschule Oberösterreich) presented her exciting research on the perspectives of young people on sport-related social media offerings. In addition, Marion Golenia and Kathrin Aschebrock (AB Bildung und Unterricht im Sport) from the project Quality at the all day education presented current results on participation opportunities in primary schools, comparing the children's perspective with that of adults (teachers and OGS staff).

From 17-18 September, the international ‘Workshop on Systematic Observation in Educational Research’, organised by Dr Kathrin Kohake, took place for the 8th time at the University of Münster. At the annual network meeting of European users of the Classroom Assessment Scoring System, current study results from various educational contexts were presented and discussed. The programme was framed by two renowned keynote speeches: Dr Bridget Hamre from the USA and Prof Dr Charalambos Charalambous from Cyprus. The event was sponsored by the DFG, the University of Münster's Internationalisation Fund and the Unfallkasse.

Dr Barbara Halberschmidt gave a presentation on psychological factors in dealing with injuries at this year's Dreiländerkongress DACH in Hamburg.

From 16th to 18th September 2024, the hybrid COST Action PhysAgeNet training school “Artificial Intelligence meets Physical Activity” will take place in Ankara at the NÖRÖM Center (Neuroscience And Neurotechnology Center Of Excellence). We invite all interested people to join online without any costs. You can find the programme and zoom link here.  

As part of “AgeWell Europe”, the members of the Erasmus project met in Athlone from August 30 to 31, 2024. Led by the “EduFit” team from Ireland, the project partners from Italy, Slovenia and Germany focused on the successful implementation of sports and fitness courses with older adults and the effects of ageing on sport and exercise.
 

On August 7, our guest researcher Prof. Demet Iangil from the University of Health Sciences in Istanbul presented her expertise on movement-based, individualized fall prevention programmes for older adults in a LabTalk. We hope that we will be working together on this topic in the future. Zhao Liu, who is in the final stages of his Master's degree in Sports Science at the University of Göttingen, took the opportunity to visit our department as well. Thank you both for visiting us!
 

PhD students at the Institute of Sport Science once again had the opportunity to take part in a two-day writing workshop to work on their dissertations in an undisturbed atmosphere. A total of 10 doctoral students from various fields of work went to the Willi-Michels-Bildungsstätte in Hattingen from August 5-6, accompanied by two postdocs. The feedback was very positive - the doctoral students particularly appreciated the structured writing times and the interdisciplinary exchange. The next writing workshop is planned for spring 2025.

This year's Prüfungsshow took place on July 24th, 2024 under the motto "Very big cinema" in front of a sold-out house in the HH. Almost 100 participants once again showed their best choreographies and were celebrated by the 800 spectators.

The “Quality in all-day education” (QIG) project, which was conducted by the department of Physical Education and Teaching Reseach in collaboration with the Reinhard Mohn Foundation (RMS) has now been successfully completed. Under the direction of Dr. Marion Golenia and Kathrin Aschebrock, a modular online questionnaire instrument was developed and tested. The tool helps all-day schools to optimize the quality of their work in the areas of learning time, participation and room design.

The Sports Psychology Department was represented at the European Congress of Sports Psychology in Innsbruck from 15 to 19 July 2014 with numerous presentations, symposia and poster contributions. Under the congress motto "Performance under pressure in sports, military/police, performing arts, medicine, business and daily life", 1000 sports psychologists from all over the world came together.

Michael Brach, AB Movement Science, was appointed to the Ulysseus Steering Committee, which provides strategic advice to the Rectorate and the project management. The vision of the European University Network Ulysseus is to develop an excellent European university based on the European values of social cohesion and respect for human rights. The alliance firmly believes that European universities should be open to the world, institutions of solidarity beyond European borders.

 

Another successful aptitude test took place at the Institute of Sports Science on 3 July. We are looking forward to welcoming great new students who will start studying sport here on campus in the winter semester 24/25. A great day in which the entire Institute was involved. Thanks to everyone involved!

As part of Prof. Nils Neuber's project seminar "School sport and democracy", students carried out practical research projects in schools and sport clubs. Over the course of several weeks, they worked on topics such as participation in performance assessment, children's rights in school sport, federalism in the education system and democratic education throughout the day. They have now presented their results in a poster session and discussed them with external guests.

We mourn the loss of Dr Walter Kurpiers (11.07.1934 - 26.06.2024), who passed away shortly before his 90th birthday. In "Donald", as he was known to students and colleagues alike, the Sports Institute has lost a much-loved and respected sports educator. Our thoughts are with his wife, his children and his entire family.

The Special Olympic NRW project seminar was successfully concluded with a poster session on 20.06.24 with guests from the Special Olympic team. The students investigated self-selected research questions during the NRW state games and mainly interviewed or observed people involved in the state games. They presented their research results on scientific posters and presented them during the event. Afterwards, students discussed their personal impressions and experiences with the guests in a plenary session.

Once again this year, the Roundnet Seminar is organising a Roundnet Tournament together with the Sportevenmanagement Seminar, including a raffle and a self-organised flea market.
The tournament will take place on 29 June 2024 on pitch 2 of the campus grounds.

 

Bernd Strauß and Maike Tietjens successfully presented several posters and two lectures at the NASPSPA in New Orleans, USA, on behalf of the entire sports psychology team.
They came back with exciting suggestions.

The UniMS Centre for Europe has appointed Michael Brach to the ‘EU Mentoring Network’. It aims to identify suitable young scientists, encourage them to apply for ERC starting grants and support them. The ‘Class of 2024’ covers a broad spectrum from chemistry to education. Soon to include sports science?

Dr. Maria Campos from the University of Coimbra (Portugal) came to visit the IfS to coincide with the Special Olympics State Games, most of which took place at the University Sports Campus. Maria Campos is one of this year's fellows of the Women in Research (WiRE) program of the University of Münster. Together with JProf. Dr. Helga Leineweber, Dep. Education and Culture, she is conducting the project "Fostering Physical Education 4 All Abilities". This transnational project aims at analyzing the self-efficacy of prospective physical education teachers in Portugal and Germany in order to develop professional skills in inclusive settings.

The roundtable of the University of Münster's project "Sportpaten" met at the Mathilde Anneke School on May 16, 2024, with OECD Education Director Andreas Schleicher in attendance. The one-to-one sports sponsorship and sporting activity offers the opportunity to develop courage, opportunities for change and the skills to develop one's own cognitive, social-emotional resources.

A research day was held on Wednesday, 22 May, to mark the start of the Special Olympics NRW state games. The event, which was jointly organized by the Department of Education and Culture in Sport (Prof. Dr. Helga Leineweber) and the Department of Sport Psychology (Dr. Lena Henning) in cooperation with the Willibald Gebhardt Institute, aimed to bring together different stakeholders in the field of sport for people with intellectual or multiple disabilities. Scientists and students from Leipzig, Münster, Stuttgart and Graz not only gave presentations on current teaching concepts and research findings, but also discussed practical implications and further research and development needs with representatives from Special Olympics Germany and some state associations as well as athletes, coaches and supervisors. The event was supported by Unfallkasse NRW.
We would like to thank you for the exciting exchange and the stimulating discussions.

A research day was held on Wednesday, 22 May, to mark the start of the Special Olympics NRW state games. The event, which was jointly organized by the Department of Education and Culture in Sport (Prof. Dr. Helga Leineweber) and the Department of Sport Psychology (Dr. Lena Henning) in cooperation with the Willibald Gebhardt Institute, aimed to bring together different stakeholders in the field of sport for people with intellectual or multiple disabilities. Scientists and students from Leipzig, Münster, Stuttgart and Graz not only gave presentations on current teaching concepts and research findings, but also discussed practical implications and further research and development needs with representatives from Special Olympics Germany and some state associations as well as athletes, coaches and supervisors. The event was supported by Unfallkasse NRW.
We would like to thank you for the exciting exchange and the stimulating discussions.

This year, the German Sports Teachers' Association DSLV (NRW state association), in cooperation with Unfallkasse NRW, is once again awarding the prize for the best university thesis in the subject of sport. The prize is awarded to both Bachelor's and Master's theses and is endowed with a total of €3,000.
We encourage all students with outstanding theses in the above-mentioned subject area to take part. The prerequisite for application is a grade of 1.0 or 1.3 for the submitted thesis (please enclose proof). You can find more details in the announcement text or under this link.

The 37th annual conference of the sports education section of the German Association for Sports Science took place at the University of Duisburg-Essen in Essen under the title “Limits and dissolving boundaries in Sports Education”. A total of four days were spent discussing issues of social disadvantage, non-professional physical education, the digitalization of school sport and much more. The Institute was comprehensively represented with the departments of education and culture in sport, physical education and teaching research and sport psychology.

In order to promote competitive and top-class sport in boxing, the University of Münster and the Boxzentrum Münster e. V. signed a cooperation agreement. The collaboration, which has already existed for several years, is to be intensified in the coming years in order to systematically expand existing synergy effects between science and competitive and elite sports.

In the summer of 2022, the 35th annual conference of the Sport Pedagogy Section of the German Association for Sport Science took place at the Institute of Sport Science in Münster. The event addressed the question of the extent to which knowledge transfer is a central topic in sports education. Based on selected conference contributions, an anthology on this topic has now been published in the “Education and Sport” series by the Center for Educational Research in Sport (CeBiS). In a total of 17 contributions, the authors present the basics, topics and formats of sports education knowledge transfer.

For the winter semester 2024/25, Pro Talent scholarships will be awarded at our department for students from the first and higher semesters. The scholarships are paid out with 300 euros per month as part of ProTalent, the university's Deutschlandstipendium. You can apply from 10.06 to 01.07.2024 (cut-off date) here.

On Friday, 17 May, Dr. Rebecca Rienhoff and Michael Wolf from the Essener Verbundsystem des Leistungssports were guests in Dr. Barbara Halberschmidt's MA seminar "Sport Psychology in Schools". They presented the "Development of dual careers in the field of tension between sport <-> school? Professional potentials of selected fields of action of elite schools of sport/NRW sports schools using the example of the Essen network system". In an interactive exchange, the students were able to ask questions about this special promotion of dual careers in the school system and gain an insight into the day-to-day processes and possible career potential. In addition, the University of Münster was presented as a partner university of elite sport.

For the seventh time, the City Sports Association and the School Department of the City of Dortmund organized a symposium on the topic of 'education needs movement'. Around 280 professionals discussed the communal interaction in the educational triangle of daycare centers, schools and sports clubs in numerous workshops. Prof. Dr. Nils Neuber gave the keynote speech on the topic of “Anchoring the joy of movement and sport at an early age”. Nils Kaufmann led a workshop on promoting boys in sport.

PD Dr Dennis Dreiskämper, Department of Sport Psychology, has been awarded the "Jürgen Nitsch Prize for Theory Development in Sport Psychology" by the Sport Psychology Section of the German Psychological Society (DGPS). The "Jürgen Nitsch Prize" is awarded every two years by the Sport Psychology Section. The prize is intended in particular to recognise contributions to theoretical development in the field of sport psychology.

The Sports Psychology department was successfully represented at this year's conference of the Arbeitsgemeinschaft für Sportpsychologie (asp). The main conference took place from 9 to 11 May at the Business & Law School in Berlin. As usual, the conference was preceded by the junior researchers' conference and a post-doc workshop. The entire research area presented its own research at the poster exhibition, workshops and working groups, with the doctoral students from the research area receiving support from the Santander Mobility Fund.

On 25 April 2024, the IfS opened the newly equipped psychomotor room as part of a moving reception.
The visitors, who were made up of Münster daycare centres, head teachers and teachers from various schools, representatives of the accident insurance fund (Unfallkasse NRW) and the LWL Berufskolleg vocational college as well as the psychomotor skills association (Verein für Mototherapie und psychomotorische Entwicklungsförderung), had the opportunity to try out psychomotor skills materials for themselves and gain different movement and sensory experiences through creative use. At the same time, ideas for collaboration could be exchanged.
 

As part of the BMBF joint project ComeSport, the members of ComeNet 5 met at Paderborn University from 29 to 30 April 2024 to discuss the topic of "Body images and social media in school sport". The participants from the universities of Leipzig, Münster and Paderborn are jointly developing training courses for PE teachers on the ComeNet topic. At this project meeting, initial ideas for the individual training modules at the locations were presented and discussed.
The Institute of Sport Science was represented at this meeting by staff from the Education and Culture in Sport and Education and Teaching in Sport departments.

 

The Center for University Development (CHE for short) published the latest results on student-satisfaction at German universities. The sports science department performed particularly well.

As part of Girls Day, 15 girls aged between 13 and 15 were given an insight into scientific research at the IfS. The Movement Science, Neuromotor and Training and Sports Psychology departments prepared various test stations and experiments for the girls to try out, listen to and experience sports science in small groups. During the joint lunch break in the canteen, the participants were able to get a first impression of life as a sports student and ask any questions they had about the university, the various degree programmes or the facilities on a sports campus (why are there actually so many different halls?). They ended the day at the IfS with a discussion about the meaning of Girls' Day, which was led by the Equal Opportunities Commission.

120 Bachelor's and Master's graduates accepted the congratulations of the Dean of Studies, Prof. Dr Heiko Wagner, on graduation on 2 May 2024 in the auditorium of the castle, which was filled to capacity. The speech was held by Prof Dr Claudia Voelcker-Rehage. The best Bachelor's graduates, the 6 best Master's theses from the respective fields of work and the doctoral candidates of the last academic year were also honoured.

At the invitation of the German Sports Youth (dsj) and the DFL Foundation, a two-day symposium on the quality of physical activity, play and sports programs in daycare centers and all-day schools took place in Mannheim. Around 140 participants discussed the content and standards for high-quality physical activity and sports programs for children. Prof. Dr. Nils Neuber gave a presentation on the quality framework for all-day schooling and participation in all-day schooling.

Tell us what you think! We want feedback on your degree programme. All Bachelor's and Master's students in their 2nd to 7th semester received an email on 22 April 2024 with an invitation to take part in the student survey. Please take part in this survey until 05.05.2024. Your feedback on study-relevant topics forms the basis for future change and further development processes of the study programmes at the Institute of Sport and Exercise Sciences at the University of Münster. Thank you for your feedback!

Prof. Michael Brach and Ellen Bentlage from the Movement Science department, as well as Prof. Claudia Voelcker-Rehage and Piesie Asuako Gyimah from the Neuromotor Behaviour and Exercise department attended the self-organised PhysAgeNet event at the Lithuanian Sport University. They contributed in various roles over four days to the workshops and the PhysAgeNet/EGRAPA scientific conference on the topic of “Evidence-based physical activity in old age”. Further information: here and here

On April 22, 2024, a symposium was held at the State Chancellery of North Rhine-Westphalia to present the results of completed pilot projects from the NRW Children's and Youth Sports Research Network, which were funded by the State Chancellery of NRW. The five presentations covered the topics of inclusion, all-day  and the monitoring of children's and youth sports. One of these pilot projects (SpoPsy4Health) was carried out by employees of the Institute of Sports Science in cooperation with Münster University Hospital. A short summary of the event can be found here.

Three female employees from the Institute of Sports Science have successfully completed the fourth cohort of the University of Münster's further qualification program "Women managing universities". The Prorector for Academic Career Development and Diversity, Prof. Dr. Maike Tietjens, awarded the certificates to the graduates at a ceremony on April 24, 2024. Dr. Ellen Bentlage ( Department of Human Movement Sciences), Kathrin Aschebrock and Dr. Stefanie Dahl (both Department of Physical Education and Teaching Research) received a scholarship from the University of Münster for the program.

The panel discussion as part of Dominik Krüßmann's seminar "Commercialisation and Professionalisation" was very well received. 125 participants on site and around 50 in the livestream produced by the media lab listened intently to Sebastian Kienle and David Schönherr as they talked about their lives as professional athletes, their sporting highs and lows and their marketing strategies.

Around 15 sports scientists met at the Department of Sport and Exercise Science at the Paris Lodron University of Salzburg to establish a Democracy and Sport Network. For two days, the participants discussed previous work in this field and developed perspectives for future activities in research, teaching and transfer. The Institute of Sport Science was represented by Nils Kaufmann and Prof. Dr. Nils Neuber at the kick-off conference.

Congratulations to Ellen Bentlage on her "Dr. rer.nat."!

"Promoting Physical Activity among Older Adults through Information and Communication Technologies: The relation between user needs and technology requirements" is the title of the dissertation that Ellen Bentlage successfully defended on 12 April 2024.

Public panel discussion: Sebastian Kienle (Ironman World Champion 2014) and David Schönherr ( 3x winner Wings for Life Run Germany) discuss their life as a professional athlete, their sporting highs and lows, their marketing strategies and how they continuously expand them.
Time: Tue, 23.04.2024, 12-14 am.
Venue: Schloss Münster, Schlossplatz 2, lecture theatre S1 (ground floor)

As part of the introduction of the new study program teaching for special educational needs, a psychomotor room was set up in our university sports hall. It will be opened on 26th April 2024 in a festive ceremony with colleagues. In addition to a short keynote speech, invited guests will have the opportunity to discover and experience the psychomotor materials.
 

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 project is financially supported by Kinderkrebshilfe Münster e.V.

In exactly one week, on 8 April, teaching will start in the 2024 summer semester.
Unlike in previous years, this time teaching starts at 08:00!
We wish everyone a great semester and a pleasant start.

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.

Franziska Duensing-Knop wrote her dissertation on "Inclusion in physical education teacher training - an explorative study of university didactic concepts to promote an inclusive attitude" as part of the teacher training quality campaign. She has now successfully defended her doctoral thesis. The doctoral committee included Prof. Nils Neuber, Prof. Michael Pfitzner (University of Duisburg-Essen) and Junior Prof. Helga Leineweber. We would like to congratulate Dr. Duensing-Knop on her successful doctorate!

As a partner university of top level sports, the University of Münster sponsors a total of 73 top athletes, including twelve rugby players. One of the sponsored players is Noëlle Bouchette, who plays for both the NRW team and the Rugby Tourists and also studies biosciences at the University of Münster. Thanks to the "Partner University of Elite Sports" project, which is managed by Prof Bernd Strauß and Barbara Halberschmidt as university representatives and by Jan Müller and Tim Seulen from Münster University Sports, Noëlle can easily combine her studies and sport.

Following an invitation of the Federal Ministry of Education (BMBF) and the Federal Youth Ministry (BMFSFJ), a threeday conference on all-day education took place in Berlin. Experts from politics, administration, science and the practice discussed the challenges of multi-professional collaboration in all-day schools. Prof. Bernhard Kalicki (DJI), Prof. Miriam Kehne (University of Paderborn), Prof. Jessica Süßenbach (University of Lüneburg) and Prof. Nils Neuber (University of Münster) presented perspectives on the development of all-day schools on behalf of sport. Julian Lagemann (German Sports Youth) moderated the workshop.

The first transnational meeting of the AgeWell Europe project took place in Münster on March 5 and 6. Together with partners from Ireland, Slovenia, and Italy, the Active Ageing Lab team developed the structure and content for the digital physical activity and health intervention and identified important steps for the further course of the project. Further information and impressions can found here

 

In March, the fourth symposium on "Promoting development in school sport - for everyone!?" was held at the Institute of Sports Science. In three lectures and a total of 12 workshops, around 240 participants discussed questions of mental, social and emotional support in physical education. The conference was organized by the Department of Physical Education and Teaching Research (Prof. Neuber) and the Developmental Diagnostics and Support working group (Prof. Tietjens). Partners included the NRW State Chancellery, the NRW Statutory accident insurance institution, the Münster District Government and the Willlibald Gebhardt Institute.

At the invitation of the Federal Ministry of the Interior and the Federal Ministry of Health, the 2nd Federal Physical Activity Summit took place in Berlin. After a year of intensive, interdisciplinary work, five working groups had submitted their proposals for a sports development plan. Unfortunately, the federal government, the federal states and organized sport were unable to agree on a mutual final declaration. Nevertheless, the recommendations of the expert groups are helpful for the development of sport in general and children's and youth sport in particular. The working group 4 "Anchoring the joy of exercise and sport at an early age" was led by Prof. Miriam Kehne (Paderborn) and Prof. Nils Neuber (University of Münster).
 

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.

The German Track and Field Association (DLV) held its third Future Congress in cooperation with the Cologne Sports University. Under the title " Track and Field - Opportunities & Challenges", experts discussed the future of children's and youth track and field. Prof. Dr. Nils Neuber opened the conference with a lecture on the topic "Between school, all-day sports and clubs - perspectives for children's and youth sports".

As part of the "Subject Didactics" module in the M. Ed. program, a group of students spent a week working on the section "Perceiving the body, developing movement skills". They experimented with topics such as tension, posture, breathing, body center of gravity and balance and developed possible approaches for physical education in schools. The event took place at the KSB Emsland education center in Sögel. Karsten Hoppe, Dr. Kathrin Kohake and Prof. Nils Neuber led the seminar.

Last year, the first Germany-wide representative survey on the sport and exercise behaviour of children and young people in over ten years was conducted by researchers from the IfS together with the German Sports Youth, funded by the BMFSFJ, as part of the Move for Health project.
On 22/23 February, the results were presented to the political, scientific and practitioner public in Berlin as part of an expert hearing. The German Sports Youth has therefore sent out a press release and a brochure in which the most important facts, figures and results are presented in a way that the general public can understand.

Just like last year, a group of 9th grade students from Hopsten (Hüberts'sche School) visited the Movement Science department. As part of their school subject sport science, they carried out an analysis of their counter movement jump height and power in the OpenLab using the Qualisys system. The main goal of the visit was to introduce the students to sports science in a lab setting. 

The examination show on 7.2.24 was once again a complete success! 800 guests and 60 guests of honor were thrilled by the almost 70 athletes who performed their extraordinary choreographies once again. The program was extended by Victor Fiedler, winner of the dvs Science Slam and the team from the Wagner Lab, who showed the Motion Capture System to the enthusiastic audience! The video of the exam show is already available on YouTube.

 Dr. Charlotte Behlau was selected as the German representative of the psychological associations from science (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Psychologie e.V.; DGPs) and practice (Berufsverband Deutscher Psychologinnen und Psychologen; BDP) for participation in the European Federation of Psychologists' Associations (efpa).

On Thursday, January 18, 2024, the elementary school volleyball cup took place in the Berg Fidel sports hall. Around 200 children played volleyball in 24 teams according to simplified rules and were coached, among others, by bachelor's and master's student teachers. They had previously planned, carried out and evaluated introductory units at selected primary schools in Münster under the direction of Nils Kaufmann.

As part of the conference of the 16 state sports youth associations, Prof. Dr. Nils Neuber gave a presentation on "Establishing the joy of exercise and sport at an early age - perspectives for children's and youth sport". In his presentation, he reported on the recommendations of the Federal Ministry of the Interior's Working Group 4 on the Sport Development Plan. Together with Prof. Dr. Miriam Kehne (Paderborn), Prof. Neuber chaired the working group 4. The results of the consultations will be presented on March 12 at the Federal Government's 2nd Physical Activity Summit in Berlin.

The legal entitlement to all-day schooling from 2026 brings fundamental challenges for organized sport, but also offers opportunities and possibilities for the development of children's and youth sport. The annual conference of the sport youth NRW in January 2024 was precisely dedicated to these challenges and opportunities. For the Research Association for Child and Youth Sport NRW, Prof. Dr. Miriam Kehne (University of Paderborn) and Prof. Dr. Nils Neuber (University of Münster) provided scientific input on the topic of "Exercise, play and sport in all-day schools".

Maike Tietjens, Ulla Ellermann and Flora Thielbörger have published a new book entitled "Basiswissen Tanz", which explains the theoretical foundations of dance and provides examples for prospective dance teachers in (high) schools and other institutions. It also provides background knowledge from the fields of theater, sport and music for pedagogical training work.

As part of the Special Olympics NRW State Games from May 22 - 25, 2024 in Münster, SO NRW is looking for a committed and competent full-time intern.
The position is to be filled from 22.04.2024 and is limited until 31.05.2024. Further job advertisements can be found here.

The next graduation ceremony of the Sports Institute will take place on 03 May 2024. The student council is also organising a party in the evening in the Viva Campus Café.
Further information will follow.

PD Dr Dennis Dreiskämper has been appointed to the W2 professorship for sport psychology at the Institute of Sport and Sport Science at TU Dortmund University.
The Institute would like to congratulate Dennis on this honour.

From 15 January to 2 February, the sports library will have longer opening hours. Monday to Thursday you can visit the library from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Friday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. From 5 February, the opening hours of the lecture-free period will apply: Monday to Thursday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

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.