Game for debate?
Published: 9 May 2014
Three of the University’s academics certainly are – and they hope that staff and students are too.
Dr Cindy Gray, Dr Jason Gill and Professor Raymond Boyle are leading the organisation of three public debate, all under the “Game for Debate” banner, focusing on issues around the Commonwealth Games.
The events are part of the Glasgow Science Festival but also illustrate the University’s commitment to playing a major role in public life.
Broadcaster John Beattie will chair each of the debates and edited highlights will be featured on the John Beattie Show on BBC Radio Scotland.
The first event is on Thursday, June 5, on the topic: Is elite sport good for you? Three experts will talk briefly on some of the physiological, medical and psychological issues in the field of elite sport, including the spectre of performance-enhancing drugs. The debate will then be opened up to the audience.
The speakers are Dr John MacLean, Medical Director at the National Stadium Sports Medicine Centre, Medical Director for the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games and Honorary Clinical Senior Lecturer at the University’s Institute of Cardiovascular and Medical Sciences; Dr Paul Dimeo, a Senior Lecturer at the University of Stirling, who is an expert on doping in sport and the development of anti-doping policies; and Dr Amanda Martingdale, a Lecturer in Sport and Performance Psychology at the University of Edinburgh, who provides psychology support to elite athletes and coaches, including those preparing for the 2014 Commonwealth Games.
The second debate, on Monday, June 9, addresses the question: “Why are different nations good at different sports?” Dr Colin Moran, who lectures on sport, health and exercise science at the University of Stirling, will examine the part played by genetics, while Dr Laura Forrest, a Lecturer in Exercise Physiology at the University of the West of Scotland, will focus on the impact of environmental factors. The media’s influence on sporting performance will be discussed by Professor Raymond Boyle, Professor of Communications at the University of Glasgow.
Third in the series is a debate on the burning issue –“ Why are we a nation of couch potatoes?” It will take place on Wednesday, June 11, and will feature Dr Niamh Murphy, who works in the Centre for Health Behaviour Research at the Waterford Institute. She is an expert on the physical activity legacy from hosting major sporting events. Dr Jason Gill, Reader in Exercise Metabolism in the Institute of Cardiovascular and Medical Sciences at the University of Glasgow, will discuss how much physical activity we need to do to be healthy and how this may not be the same for everyone. Dr Cindy Gray, who is Lord Kelvin Adam Smith Fellow in Health Behaviour Change in the Institute of Health and Wellbeing at the University of Glasgow, will focus on the use of social innovation to engage “hard to reach” groups to increase their physical activity.
All three events will be held at the Sir Charles Wilson Building; doors open at 7pm and the debates will start at 7.30pm.
For registration: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/glasgow-science-festival-game-for-debate-is-elite-sport-good-for-you-tickets-11139226727
First published: 9 May 2014
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