Next month’s Tanenbaum Institute for Science in Sport (TISS) conference will open with a powerhouse lineup of speakers working to redefine the future of high performance sport.
When the world’s top sport scientists and sport medicine experts gather under one roof, you know something extraordinary is about to happen.
The first day of the conference focuses on sharing the latest research in sport science and sport medicine, covering topics such as transgender athletes, medically prescribed performance-enhancing drugs, Paralympic sports science, and female high performance athletes, as well as a presentation from the founder of The Enhanced Games.
While the first day will appeal to scientists and health care professionals, the conference's second day aims to serve the broader high performance sport community. Members of integrated athlete support teams, coaches, managers and athletes will learn how to translate the latest science into a new playbook for enhanced performance, more effective training and improved talent identification. Topics will include mental health interventions, relative energy deficiency in sport, sport analytics, return-to-play risks and the impact of climate change on athletes.
“From medical doctors and PhDs to coaches, conditioning specialists and athletes, the TISS Conference brings together the people that are entirely focused on the high performance athlete and their wellness, performance and safety,” says Ira Jacobs, professor of exercise physiology and Director of the Tanenbaum Institute for Science and Sport. “We expect lively discussion on every point as our speakers share cutting-edge research at the intersection of science, medicine and analytics in sport.”
The conference will be held on September 26 and 27 at the University of Toronto’s Goldring Centre for High Performance Sport. The Honourable Adam van Koeverden, Olympic gold medallist and Canada’s Secretary of State for Sport, is expected to bring greetings to conference attendees.
“The presentations will be timely, important and in some cases provocative,” says Jacobs. “They will attract anyone with an interest in becoming current with the latest advances in sport medicine and multidisciplinary sport sciences.”
Professor Madeleine Orr and Dr. Michael Koehle’s presentation, for example, will focus on climate change and the health hazards and socioeconomic challenges associated with holding high performance sporting events in increasingly hot or polluted environments.
Aron D’Souza’s presentation on The Enhanced Games promises to be a thought-provoking discussion on this new competitive platform for investigating physiological, nutritional and pharmacological interventions that can push the boundaries of human ability.
Dr. David Wasserstein and Dr. Kathryn Ackerman's presentation will explore the use of medically prescribed performance-enhancing drugs to support athletes' recovery from operations, injury or illness and the therapeutic use exemptions related to these medications.
“We are very fortunate to welcome some of the world’s best sport scientists and sport medicine practitioners to Toronto for this conference,” says Jacobs. “The excellent reputation of the University of Toronto, the Toronto Academic Health Sciences Network and our large and vibrant community of high performance athletes, professional sports teams, coaches and integrated support teams makes Toronto and its TISS Conference the ideal gathering place for those dedicated to advancing knowledge and supporting high performance sport.”
Early bird registration closes on August 15. To explore the program and speaker lineup, or to register, visit tiss-conference.ca.