First Ever ISESA Conference Concludes in SETU Waterford

4 Jun

Written By ISESA

The Irish Sport and Exercise Sciences Association ('ISESA') held their first ever annual conference in SETU Waterford on 22 and 23 May, in front of over 200 delegates.

The two-day conference brought together some of the leading practitioners in their field from across Ireland and Europe, under the theme of 'The Past, Present and Future of Sport and Exercise Sciences Research and Applied Practice in Ireland'.

The ISESA was established in 2023 and is the representative body for the sport and exercise sciences community in Ireland. It is an all-island, not-for-profit organisation and is also an associate member of the International Confederation of Sport and Exercise Sciences Practice.

There were over 200 delegates in attendance at the conference which included practitioners, athletes, researchers, postgraduate and undergraduate students, as well as policy makers and industry experts.

After the conclusion of the two-day event, ISESA Chair, Prof Tom Comyns, acknowledged the success of the event and looked forward to many more.

"As with any event it takes a huge amount of work and organisation, and especially when it is your first and I'd like to thank the committee at ISESA for all their efforts in getting it off the ground and for such a well-run event.

"It was brilliant to see it all come together on the SETU Waterford campus and to see such an engaged and invested group of practitioners, researchers and students come together under the one roof in Ireland for the first time.

"The area of sport and exercise science is growing hugely in Ireland across professional, amateur and para-sport and the community of practitioners and researchers that work in that area are hugely motivated to grow and to learn.

"Bringing that know-how together, and celebrating that work, it was a privilege to be there and we are already looking forward to next year's conference."

Over the course of the two-day conference the ISESA also introduced delegates to the launch of their new accreditation pathway for sport and exercise scientists in Ireland.

As of January 2024, the ISESA took over the responsibility of the Sport Ireland Institute Professional Accreditation (SIIPA) programme, which has been in place since 2006.

The new Accredited Sport and Exercise Scientist pathway will provide a nationally recognised benchmark for excellence across all disciplines in sport and exercise sciences.

The new pathway was developed in collaboration with leading academics and industry professionals and will offer a structured and transparent route for practitioners to demonstrate their qualifications, professional experience, and commitment to ethical, evidence-based practice.

Prof Kate Pumpa, Chair of the ISESA Accreditation Committee said, “this is a major development for the sport and exercise science community in Ireland.

“Our goal is to support and recognise practitioners who meet high professional standards, and to strengthen the impact of sport and exercise science on health, wellbeing and performance across the country.”

The ISESA will host a lunchtime webinar on 26 June 2025, where further information about the accreditation pathway and how to apply, will be discussed. Full details of the webinar will be published in the coming weeks.

Those details and all the latest ISESA news, can be found on www.isesa.ie.