Keynote speakers revealed for 2023 conference

04/05/2023

Luminaries from the world of Para sport and academia have been announced as the keynote speakers for the 2023 World Abilitysport Conference on Physical Activity and Health for People with Cerebral Palsy and other Neurological conditions, taking place from 20-21 October.

Dr Mike Peters, Professor Brett Smith, Dr Sarah Reedman and Dr Phoebe Runciman will take to the stage in Edinburgh for what are expected to be insightful sessions covering a range of topics.

Dr Mike Peters is the Chief Executive Officer of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) and former captain of the USA Paralympic 7-a-side football team. Prior to joining the IPC in 2015, Peters had an extensive career in the fields of academia and advocacy.

Professor Brett Smith, the Director of Research in the Department of Sport and Exercise Science at Durham University (United Kingdom), specialises in research concerning disability sport, physical activity and health and advises a number of organisations including Sport for Confidence.

Joining them is Dr Sarah Reedman, a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Queensland Cerebral Palsy and Rehabilitation Research Centre group within the University of Queensland Child Health Research Centre in Australia.

Completing the line-up is Lecturer and Research Co-ordinator at the Institute of Sport and Exercise Medicine at Stellenbosch University in South Africa, Dr Phoebe Runciman. Runciman specialises in Para sport, injury and illness epidemiology and biomechanics in athletes and individuals with disability, mostly in individuals with cerebral palsy and amputations.

You can read the full biographies of the keynote speakers here. Their session topics will be released shortly.

The 2023 World Abilitysport Conference on Physical Activity for Health for People with Cerebral Palsy and other Neurological Conditions will take place at the University of Edinburgh from 20-21 October 2023. It aims to bring together experts from Para sport, academia and physical health to stimulate discussion and debate around access to, and benefits of, grassroots, recreational and high-performance sports and activity.

For more information about the Conference, please click here