Qatar sports science conference to focus on the development of champions

ASPIRE, the Academy for Sports Excellence in Doha, is to host a major sport science conference as part of the launch event designed to celebrate the inauguration of the ASPIRE Sports Dome, the largest indoor sports dome in the world.

The conference is being hailed as a major opportunity to examine the Middle East's potential for developing future high performance athletes, because it is one of the largest gatherings of sports experts and representatives of sporting committees ever assembled in the region.

Delegates from over 80 countries will attend the conference, which will look at key issues in the development of student athletes into high performance athletes, including talent identification, the role of sports academies and the attainment of peak performance.

A number of world renowned experts will address topics covering bio-science and social science aspects in the attainment of peak performance and how best to develop young people's performance in top level sport.

Prof. Bengt Saltin of the University of Copenhagen; Prof. Bruce Abernethy of the University of Hong Kong; Prof. Dr. Jean Paul Richalet of Bobigny; Prof. Natalie Durand Bush of the University of Ottowa; Prof. Dr. Mark Williams of the Liverpool John Moores University; and Prof. Dr. Wolf-Dietrich Brettschneider of the University of Hamburg are among the speakers.

Prof. Dr. Dieter Hackfort, Dean of ASPIRE, said:

"The conference is one of the high points of the 'Spread Your Wings' event and demonstrates our commitment to using ASPIRE as a platform to enlarge the availability of scientific-based knowledge around the development of sporting potential in the Middle East."

Each day of the conference will consist of lectures, followed by workshops.

Visitors will also get a chance to take a tour of the new state-of-the-art Aspire Sports Dome. The Dome is a landmark development for Qatar and the wider region, and will provide unmatched facilities for training and developing student athletes, as well as offering a venue for major sporting events like the Doha Asian Games in 2006.

The sports conference will run from November 17 - November 19, 2005, at the ASPIRE Academy for Sports Excellence, Doha, Qatar.