Session Formats and Key Dates
Here Are the Key Dates for the 7th IOC World Conference on Prevention of Injury and Illness in Sport:
- Opening of proposal submission: 10 April 2023
- Closing of proposal submission: 9 June 2023
- Notification to proposal submitters: end of June 2023
- Opening of abstracts and workshops submission: 28 June 2023
- Closing of abstracts and workshops submissions: 8 September 2023
- Notification to successful abstracts submitters: end of October 2023
- Early bird registration deadline for abstracts and workshops presenters: 31 October 2023
1. Unopposed keynote lectures (45-60 minutes):
The keynote lectures are the most important and prestigious sessions at the IOC World Conference on Prevention of Injury and Illness in Sport. They should feature one recognised expert in the area of sports injury/illness prevention delivering an in-depth, scientific and state-of-the-art lecture in an area of interest to the general audience (physicians, physical therapists, athletic trainers, coaches and officials). In special cases, the opening keynote lecture may be delivered as a tandem lecture by two speakers – proposals for this are also welcome.
2. Head-to-head debates (60-minutes):
Head-to-head debates are designed to discuss contentious issues in sports injury and illness prevention – with a pro-and-con debate. They should address a specific question; an example would be cardiac screening of athletes debating the question: “Is it time to stop recommending cardiac screening in athletes and focus on reactive care?” Proposals should include a Chair briefly setting the scene with a pre-debate audience vote, followed by two speakers, one speaking for the affirmative and one for the negative, followed by rebuttals by both speakers and a final summary, an audience vote by the Chair and discussion with the audience.
3. Symposia with a 90-minute format:
These consist of a series of in-depth scientific and state-of-the-art lectures in important areas of sports injury and illness prevention. Typically, they will cover different aspects of injury or illness prevention (epidemiology, injury mechanisms, risk factors, pathophysiology, prevention methods) as they relate to a particular injury type (e.g. hamstring injuries, ACL injuries), health problems (e.g. asthma, sudden cardiac death, REDS) or sport (e.g. rugby, volleyball), but other approaches are also welcome. Ninety-minute symposia should include four to five speakers with time allotted for a general introduction and overview, as well as a minimum of 20 minutes for overall discussion at the end. The maximum time allotted to each lecture is 15 minutes, but the same speaker may give up to two lectures in the same symposium. The Chair must be one of the speakers. We encourage gender-balanced proposals and diverse geographical representation.
4. Symposia with a 60-minute format:
These are the same as 90-minute symposia, except 60-minute symposia include three to four speakers, as well as at least 15 minutes for overall discussion at the end. The maximum time allotted to each lecture is 15 minutes. Note that there is only room in the programme for a limited number of 90-minute symposia. To increase your chances of acceptance, we therefore encourage you to submit alternative proposals in BOTH formats, 90-minute (with a maximum of five speakers including the Chair) and 60-minute proposals (with a maximum of four speakers including the Chair), on the same topic.
5. Workshops (45 minutes):
Workshops are interactive discussions or demonstrations on a relevant topic or issue in sports injury/illness prevention. They could be related to practical injury prevention programmes (e.g. exercise programmes), skills (e.g. taping, bracing), or methodological issues of particular relevance to researchers in the area. Workshops are informal, with one to two speakers, and include active audience participation, intended to give a maximum of 25 attendees a chance to "meet the expert".
6. Abstract presentations (8+2 minutes oral presentation or poster presentation):
Abstracts should describe relevant research and will be presented orally or as posters. In order to be considered by the Scientific Committee, abstracts must include new data not published at the time of submission. Abstracts will be presented in dedicated sessions with an eight-minute presentation followed by two minutes of Q&A or as posters. Posters will be presented in groups of 8-10 during dedicated, themed poster sessions with a three-minute presentation followed by two minutes of Q&A. Submitters will be asked to indicate their preference: oral or poster. The posters will remain on display throughout the whole duration of the Conference.