ECSS Vienna 2016 de-briefing

Vienna, July 20, 2016: The 21st annual congress of the European College of Sport Science was a fantastic congress in the amazing city of Vienna, Austria. Multidisciplinary sport science was presented in many different session formats by both already high profiled sport scientists and the younger, upcoming generation.

Altogether there were 2,783 international congress participants at ECSS Vienna 2016. The scientific programme was built with expertise and it emphasized the congress theme “Crossing Borders through Sport Science”, bringing, for example, interculturality, technology, and impairment to the platform.

Exciting science was presented in different session formats, such as plenary, invited, oral, mini-oral and conventional poster sessions. Also E-posters were part of the congress and have been available on 5 E-poster screens for open discussions. Together with great exchange lectures, symposia and workshops every congress participant had something to choose from.

The ECSS Young Investigators Award (YIA) showcased once again the high quality science practiced by young scientists around the world and the best 10 in two categories (oral and mini-oral) were awarded on Saturday afternoon. Please find all winners HERE.

The beautiful city of Vienna offered diverse entertainment for the congress participants with its stunning architecture and cultural scenery as well as the vivid shopping and cafeteria culture.

Vienna treated the ECSS society with exceptional hospitality and ECSS would like to thank everyone who helped to make ECSS Vienna 2016 such a great congress. Without your contribution this unique event would not have been possible. Thank you!

Congress facts
Total number of registrations 2.783
Total number of participating countries 76
Total number of abstracts submitted 2.327
Total number of abstracts presented 1.911
Plenary sessions 4
Invited sessions 38
Exchange sessions 2
Sponsored sessions 3
Oral sessions 120
Mini-Oral sessions 69
Conventional print poster sessions 36
E-posters 362

Top five abstract topics
Physiology 329 17,22 %
Training and Testing 304 15,91 %
Health and Fitness 254 13,29 %
Biomechanics 165 8,63 %
Psychology 108 5,65 %

Total number of exhibitors 54
Total number of volunteers 75

Social media reach out during
the congress #ECSS2016
Contributors 962
Tweets posted 2.452
Global reach 1.179.825
Source: HashtrackingTM

ECSS Young Investigators Award 2016
• Total number of YIA applicants: 421
• Total number of YIA finalists:116

ECSS Young Investigator Award Winners 2016
• Oral presentation
o 1st Nattai Borges, Australia
• Mini-Oral (Poster) presentation
o 1st Reid Reale, Australia
See all winners HERE.

Congress venue

Austria Centre Vienna (ACV) provided outstanding facilities for the 21st annual congress of the ECSS. Without the support of many stakeholders and employees involved in the organisation of ECSS Vienna 2016 the congress could not have been such a success.

Scientific highlights
Plenary sessions
Wednesday, 6th July 2016
• Crossing the limits of impairment – lessons from neuromuscular and cardiovascular function after spinal cord injury
o Chairs: Alfred Rütten (University of Erlangen-Nürnberg, Germany) and Sylvia Titze (University of Graz, Austria)
o Speakers:
 Life-Long Activity-Dependent Neuromuscular Plasticity in Optimizing Performance in the Presence of Neuromotor Disorders, Edgerton, V.R. (United States)
 Cardiovascular Function During Exercise – The Spinal Cord Injury Model, Theisen, D. (Luxembourg)
Thursday, 7th July 2016
• Promoting physical activity – environmental and economic health approaches
o Chairs: Alfred Rütten (University of Erlangen-Nürnberg, Germany) and Sylvia Titze (University of Graz, Austria)
o Speakers:
 Urban Environments – Key Determinant in Promoting Active Living, Bull, F. (Australia)
 The WHO Health Economic Assessment Tool – In What Way Can It Support Physical Activity and Sustainability?, Racioppi, F. (Denmark)
Friday, 8th July 2016
• Crossing borders through technology
o Chairs: Natàlia Balagué (INEFC Barcelona, Spain) and Arnold Baca (University of Vienna, Austria)
o Speakers:
 Computer Vision in Sports, Moeslund, T. (Denmark)
 Innovative Technology in Sport: Ethical Perspectives, Loland, S. (Norway)
Saturday, 9th July 2016
• Crossing cultures and nations – interculturality and transnational mobility as challenges for sport and sport science
o Chairs: Aage Radmann (University of Malmö, Sweden) and Petra Giess-Stueber (University of Freiburg, Germany)
o Speakers:
 Interculturality in Sports as Social Challenge – an Overview of Theoretical Foundations and Empirical Results, Grimminger, E. (Germany)
 Globalising Sport Across Boundaries: Creating Sustainable Futures, Nauright, J. (United States)
Tom Reilly Memorial Lecture
Saturday, 9th July 2016
• Tom Reilly Memorial Lecture
o Introduction: Tim Cable (Liverpool John Moores University, United Kingdom)
o Speaker:
 Atkinson, G. (United Kingdom)

Satellite Symposia
Wednesday, 6th July 2016
• Sports Nutrition then and now – hosted by GSSI
• Chair: John Hawley, Australian Catholic University, Australia
• Speakers:
o Welcome and Opening Remarks, James Carter (GSSI)
o Science on the road: Nutrition in Cycling, James Morton (Liverpool John Moores University, United Kingdom)
o Integrating Technology and Nutrition: Innovations from CBF and FCB, Ian Rollo (GSSI)
o How Science Feeds Rugby Players, Graeme Close (Liverpool John Moores University, United Kingdom)
o Future Insights into the Translation of Science to Sport, Stuart Phillips (McMaster University, Canada)
• Crossing Borders in Martial Arts Development
• The Evolution of Critical Power Testing in the Laboratory and in the Field. —- ECSS