President’s Message December, 2018

This is an exciting time for the International Society of Sport Psychology. The society is active and progressively, ever more engaged with our membership. During the Summer of 2017 a crucial step forward was taken in relation to membership engagement. Committees were opened to members so that you might join and contribute your expertise. Since then, a gradual increase of members have joined the various opened committees found in our organizational structure map. The contributions of these members is permitting this society to see the world from beyond our Managing Council and e-mail correspondences with members, to more regular opportunities where we might benefit from help with tasks relating to such areas as cultural activities and technological advancement.

You will find that our website continues to be reinvented at the pace of the society. For several years we were blessed with a website that was highly recognizable at the current site location. The website had the essentials of what ISSP was offering at the time, including access to reading materials, events, an ethics code, a mission, and history, among further informative sections. Over the last, nearly 18 months, the website has seen two quick revisions as we have attempted to find a modern formula that could support projects new to our society. These projects, such as the Ambassador’s Program (where one of our MC members, Tatiana Ryba was recently hosted this past month by Ghana as they launched their national sport psychology society) are now much more visible. Each new initiative we are developing is now accompanied by application forms and evaluation criteria so that this society can become increasingly transparent, accessible, and professionalized.

The Accreditation Committee continues to take steps forward as we move closer to a launch date. Our launch will be in 2019, though before we do so, at the forefront of our minds is that the accreditation and accompanying supervision roles be made accessible to all countries, both in terms of being understandable, and with some effort, attainable. ISSP’s role has always been to advance sport psychology worldwide, and this Managing Council continues to engage in this process, seriously. We are simply doing so on more levels than ever before!

The International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology is also developing in leaps and bounds. This year, though we have yet to reach the end of December, there will be a record number of submissions, beyond 200 for the first time, from more countries than previously encountered. Our journal is running well and installment numbers are increasing from the original four, onward from the present five, to six releases per year in 2019. Though our rejection rates are increasing well above 80%, so too are submissions and acceptances, offering the society an enviable opportunity to advance global perspectives on knowledge through our flagship journal.

The dates for proposals for the 2025 Congress are now also closed and the Site and Relations Committee is now beginning to look through the locations that have met the deadline with their initial proposals. We are excited by the prospects. Central to our thinking is the determination of a location that is accessible, safe, and attractive to you, the members. We will then, once more, be able to convene as worldwide sport psychology researchers and practitioners in a high quality locale, where cultural and academic opportunities will be at the forefront.

Finally, we are excited by the addition of five newly minted ISSP Fellows: Gangyan Si (ISSP Past President), Ernest Hung, Athanasios Papaioannou, Judy vanRaalte, and Natalia Stambulova. Congratulations to each of these fine ISSP Members on this fine achievement and recognition. They have been staunch supporters of the ISSP, whilst also achieving global  recognition in our field.

On behalf of the Managing Council and those already engaged in our committees, I wish you every success in 2019. We look forward to (and await) further engagement from you in the coming months and year. Continue to correspond with us, join our committees, and if you see places where we might better meet your needs, please reach out to the appropriate Executive Board Member, including me.

Warmest wishes,
Robert Schinke, President
International Society of Sport Psychology