Division of Sport and Exercise Psychology 2025 Annual Conference

Our conference theme this year is "Beacons of Hope: Mapping the Value and Direction of Sport, Exercise, and Performance Psychology."

Our theme this year addresses long-standing concerns for many existing or aspiring psychologists practicing, researching, and teaching within sport, exercise, and performance contexts. Despite notable progress within the last few decades, significant concerns remain regarding the extent to which our field offers value, where it offers value, and subsequently, how does this value shape both the wider identify of the field and the identities of those operating within? These questions often arise in response to the many challenges the field faces across applied and academic contexts, including regulation and titles, the remit of psychology within these domains, and the sustainability of careers within the field. While the challenges we face here may seem insurmountable, hope – defined by the philosopher Thomas Aquinas as "a future good [that is] difficult but possible to obtain" is a quality we strongly feel can unite us. Hope, like the Greek myth of Pandora's box, always remains in the face of challenge and hardship.

Our conference theme highlights that we all have a role to play in moving the field forward. We can be the hope we want to see. Twenty years since our first DSEP conference, we believe that through mapping both the value and direction of sport, exercise and performance psychology, DSEP 2025 can provide an opportunity for us to pause and reflect. Specifically, to reflect on the positive impact of our work, to identify opportunities progress and expand the field, and to innovatively address the common issues that we face in ever-changing landscapes.

With our theme in mind, the DSEP Conference Team welcomes submissions from all within our community: Academics, practitioners, trainees, and students. Your insights will provide incredible value and will enable us to not only reflect on our value as a field but to also highlight those important opportunities for growth, innovation, and expansion.

When putting together your submission, please consider the various submission types that we are looking for: Lectures (12+3 minutes), Five-Minute Presentations, Poster Presentations Symposiums, Workshops. In Conversation With, and Panels. We welcome submissions across the breadth of sport, exercise, and performance psychology in line with our conference theme. Subsequently, submissions will be reviewed by members of the conference team and assessed with the following conference values that anchor our conference theme in mind:

Curiosity and Openness:  We invite submissions to challenge extant viewpoints, explore novel perspectives, and or serve as a starting point for thought-provoking discussion. DSEP 2025 will be a place for developing curiosity that leads to enhanced perspective-taking, with openness fostering new learnings from diverse voices across the field. As such, we value submissions that questions, seeks to build greater understandings, and expands our horizons as a discipline.

Collaboration and Community:  A real strength of the sport, exercise and performance psychology industry is the strength of the connections between its members. Building on the previous conference in Belfast, DSEP 2025 will seek to enhance these further, building on solid foundations by championing the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration, bidirectional learnings between practitioners and researchers, and shared explorations of new and evolving concepts. We therefore welcome submissions that seek to foster collaboration and community through their work.

Growth and Inspiration:  The progression of our field significantly relies on continual professional development and the process this involves. Therefore, we encourage submissions that will inspire our attendees – whether this be through sharing examples of the innovative connections between theory and practice or providing compelling insights that have led to moments of realisation and growth. At DSEP 2025, we aim to create an environment where attendees leave feeling re-energised, equipped with new knowledge, and motivated to drive meaningful change in their respective domains.

Please read the abstract submission guidelines carefully and note that the conference team may need to request revisions to abstract submissions and make decisions on the suitability of submissions for various submission types based on our schedule and capacity.

These conference values will also inform the criteria that we use to determine the conference awards. These will be awarded for the following categories:

There will be five prizes on offer at this years' conference. You will need to note on the abstract submission form if you would like to be considered for an award (and if so, which).

The awards are:

• Best student presentation (from oral or symposia presentation)
• Best student poster Best overall presentation (oral or symposia presentation made by a non-student)
• Best overall poster (by a non-student) Best workshop, panel, in conversation with, or debate
• Best 5-minute challenge

Eligibility criteria include either currently registered on a university course (undergraduate or postgraduate) and/or enrolled on the BPS Qualification in Sport and Exercise Psychology (QSEP).