Emma Kavanagh, Lecturer in Sport Psychology and Coaching Sciences, has been awarded the prestigious Celia Brackenridge Prize for the best emerging presenter at the Brunel International Research Network for Athlete Welfare (BIRNAW) Symposium at Brunel University.

BIRNAW is a group of international researchers who are working together to promote athlete welfare through research and consultancy. The work conducted by the group focuses on investigating the antecedents, prevalence and consequences of abusive relationships in sport. The symposium brought together leading academics from around the world to present the latest research in the area.  The prize was awarded on the basis of Emma’s two presentations at the event. The first introduced a conceptual framework for understanding virtual maltreatment in sport and the second introduced a humanization framework for enhancing understanding of athlete welfare.

Receiving the award is great achievement given that the symposium consists of the leading researchers worldwide in the area of athlete welfare.  Celia Brackenridge is internationally acknowledged as the worlds leading academic in the field of child protection and athlete welfare and was impressed with the standard of work being completed at Bournemouth University. This achievement has really helped in putting BU on the world stage in the field of athlete protection in sport and has led to a number of potential future collaborations with international partners.

By Emma Kavanagh & Dr Ian Jones