1/16/2004       

17 December, 2003, Santiago (Chile)
Dr. Jean-Francois KAHN
Chairman, ITTF Sports science committee
E-mail: kahn@ccr.jussieu.fr
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In 1989, the recently elected ITTF President Ichiro Ogimura decided to create a new committee (the Sports Science Committee) and suggested to regularly organize scientific congresses.

The aim was to give to all people involved in table tennis research an opportunity to meet at least once every two years, and to exchange ideas and results obtained in different fields such as technics, materials, training, medicine, psychology, biomechanics, physiology, etc.

Mr. Ogimura was convinced that table tennis development in the world should be closely connected to a more scientific approach of its components. At that time, he had to face different problems (e.g. the glue toxicity, how to make table tennis more visible to spectators and media, etc.) and he always asked experts to conduct experiments before proposing an adapted solution. Very often the experts come from different ITTF committees: equipment committee, athlete's commission, rules committee, sports science committee, etc.

The first ITTF sports science congress took place from 23 to 27 March, 1989, in Rome, Italy, a few weeks after the world championships held in Dortmund, Germany, and it was attended by 27 participants from 13 countries. Then it was decided that the Congress would be held every two years at the occasion and in the country of the world championships, which is the more convenient period to gather many participants.

The second congress was organized by Prof. Nobuo Yuza and the Saitama Institute of Technology from 21 to 23 April, 1991, in Fukaya, Japan, a city located at 70 km from Tokyo and Chiba. More than 60 people were present.

In 1993, the 3rd congress was held from 7 to 10 May in Falkenberg, Sweden, just before the world championships in Gothenburg. Then the 4th congress took place in Beijing, China, from 27 to 30 April, 1995, before the 43rd WTTC in Tianjin.

In 1997, for the first time a joint congress has been organized with the world commission of sports science (racket sports) : the 5th ITTF sports science congress and the 2nd world congress of science and racket sports. This very interesting congress, attended by 60 people, took place from 22 to 25 April, 1997, in Lilleshall National Sports Centre, England, not far from Manchester.

In 1999, the 6th congress had been planned from 22 to 25 April in Arandjelovac, Yugoslavia. Unfortunately, because of the war both the congress and the world table tennis championships were postponed. Finally, the congress has been successfully organized in a very short period of time by the Malaysian TTA on 18 and 19 February, 2000, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in the presence of YB Datuk Ong Tee Keat, Deputy Minister of youth and sports, Mr. Adham Sharara, the new ITTF President, and 60 delegates.

The following year, the 7th congress was held from 21 to 23 April, 2001, in Osaka, Japan, thanks to the great work accomplished again by Prof. N. Yuza and the JTTA Sports science committee. Unfortunately, a few days before the congress, Prof. Yuza suddenly fell ill and could not participate to the congress. Among others, several presentations dealt with the new 40 mm ball, and with table tennis played by disabled people.

In 2003, I organized the congress from 17 to 19 May, at the national institute of sport and physical education (INSEP) in Paris, France, again in close collaboration with the world commission of sports science (Prof. Adrian Lees, Liverpool, UK), so that we had a joint congress devoted to several racket sports (table tennis, tennis, squash, badminton, cricket, pelota): the 8th ITTF sports science congress and the 3rd world congress on racket sports. More than 150 people coming from 24 countries participated in.

It is foreseen that the 9th congress be organized in 2005 in China. All the works presented during the first 7 congresses have been published in the International Journal of Table Tennis Sciences No 1, 2 and 3 (congresses 1 to 4), and in books Science and racket sports II, published by E & FN Spon, 11 New Fetter Lane, London EC4P 4EE, UK (congress 5), Table tennis sciences, No 4 and 5, published by the ITTF (congress 6 and 7) (sold out) and the papers presented during the 8th congress will appear in the book Science and racket sports III, which will be published in 2004.

The abstracts of the works presented in Osaka (2001) and Paris (2003) can be found on the ITTF web site www.ittf.com .


OPENING CONFERENCE: “THE DEVELOPMENT OF SOCIAL SPORT POLITICS IN CHILE”

Dr. Juan OSSES BELTRAN

The enactment of the Sport Law Nº 19.712 in January of 2001, and the launching of the National Politics of Physical Activity and Sports, July 2002, constitutes the tools that form the legal framework as well as the strategic way to follow in order to solve the great problems of our country:

 Firstly, it has to do with the sedentary state of our population and its consequences have marked the path of new dominant diseases of the XXI century.

 Secondly, it has to do with the quality deserved by the sport of international representation and the image reflected by the respective country.

 Thirdly, it is a big problem, that is to say the effect of the previous two problems, which the low sport culture level of the country.

The conference is about how the Sport Force of the country is built, the kind of force produced, the order of the building up, how it is built, and it points out the basis of this construction.

Therefore, the conference presents the concept of strategic path, the sport force of the country, kind of forces, how they are built, and the order of construction and the basis of all. This issue defines the problems to be considered by the Sport sciences in supporting each of the components of this sport force from the Technical – Methodological and Scientific viewpoint. It defines also the problems to be solved on each of the sport areas belonging to the structure of the Division of Physical sciences and Sports of Chiledeportes in order to find a solution for the three great problems stated.

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