Sport and Leisure History

The Sport and Leisure History Seminar is organised by the British Society of Sports Historians.

Time: Mondays 18:00
Convenors: Rafaelle Nicholson (Bournemouth University), Amanda Callan-Spenn and Max Portman.

The Sport and Leisure History Seminar is organised by the British Society of Sports History in association with the journal Sport in History. We have a varied programme of speakers from postgraduate researchers to leading specialists in the field of sport and leisure history from the UK and around the world.

We value and encourage all points of view relating to the study of sport and leisure history and we hope that questions will be asked with the kind of respect and generosity that promotes dialogue. We welcome fresh perspectives and disseminations from researchers from all backgrounds with an interest in sports and leisure history. Sport is an activity that is enjoyed by people from various backgrounds across the world and its study and dissemination should be no different.

We also champion the inclusion of postgraduate, early career and independent researchers in our seminar. We aim to use the seminar to give these researchers their first step in presenting their work or an opportunity to share their expertise in their specialist area with the wider academic and historical community.

All Seminars are recorded for the British Society of Sports History’s podcast, Sport in History unless stated otherwise. If speakers do not wish to be recorded for any reason, please let the convenors know beforehand.

For more information on the Society go to sportinhistory.org or follow @BritSportHisSoc on Twitter.

For enquiries or to submit a paper contact the seminar convenor Max Portman: maxportman93@live.co.uk.

The seminar alternates between hosting virtual events on Zoom and hybrid events (In-Person at the IHR and on Zoom) to ensure a varied programme of speakers from the field of sport and leisure history from the UK and around the world.
All seminars begin at 6 pm UK time on selected Mondays, beginning with introductions.
This is followed by a 40 to 50-minute presentation, which can take various forms, including formal papers, roundtable discussions, and panels. An abstract of forthcoming meetings can be found on the seminar webpage.
This is followed by a question and discussion session, aiming to conclude the formal part of the evening between 7 and 7:15 PM.

Asking and Answering Questions

All attendees, during online events, are asked to sign into the Zoom meeting (remaining fully muted in the room) and enter their questions into the chat during the talk given by the speaker. This helps manage the discussion, creates an archive of questions, and provides a clear record for the speaker.
For Hybrid events, this practice is still kept for online attendees. For those attending in person, we ask that you keep all questions until the end of the talk to be asked during the Q&A session that follows.
We aim to alternate between online and in-person questions, but also try and group them thematically.
If you’re in person without a laptop or phone, please just raise your hand.
Online participants are requested to unmute and ask their questions directly, while the chair will normally call on in-person attendees.
Please keep your questions short and to the point; and be patient if there is a long queue.

Post-Seminar Meal / Drinks

Whilst there are no fixed plans concerning a post-seminar meal/ drink following hybrid events that include an in-person portion, we do ask speakers and those present if they’d be interested in joining us for an informal drink after the seminar.
We often go to the Friend at Hand on Herbrand Street (Next to Russell Square station) or the College Arms on Store Street, both within a 5-minute walk of the Institute of Historical Research.

The programme is organized by the co-convenors. For paper proposals, speaker suggestions, or other questions about the seminar, please contact: Max Portman at maxportman93@live.co.uk.
Additionally, you can reach the co-convenors via the BSSH website: sportinhistory.org or via the seminar & Podcast page on X: @SportinHistory1