Dear Colleagues,

We are pleased to announce the “Sports 2022 Best Paper Award” for research and review articles published in Sports from 1 January 2022 to 31 December 2022. One review and one research article will receive an award each. The papers will be selected after a thorough evaluation by the journal Award Committee.

Eligibility for the Award:
– Papers published in Sports from 1 January 2022 to 31 December 2022;
– Open to all career levels;
– Both regular and Special Issue submissions will be considered.

Selection Criteria:
The papers will be selected by the journal Award Committee according to the following criteria:
– Scientific merit and broad impact;
– Originality of the research objectives and/or the ideas presented;
– Creativity of the study design or uniqueness of the approaches and concepts;
– Clarity of presentation;
– Citations and downloads.

The Prize:
– One review award: CHF 500 and a chance to publish a free paper in Sports in 2024 after peer review;
– One research article award: CHF 500 and a chance to publish a free paper in Sports in 2024 after peer review.
– Each winner will also receive a certificate.

The winners will be announced on the journal website in March 2024.

Kind regards,
Sports Editorial Office

Dear Colleagues,

We are pleased to announce that Sports will be granting the Travel Award to two junior scientists. The applications will be assessed by an Evaluation Committee consisting of senior scholars from the Sports Editorial Board. 

This award provides financial support for the winners to attend an international conference in the field of sports-related research to be held in 2023, in order to hold a presentation, present a poster, or both.

Candidate Requirements:
– Postdoctoral fellows or PhD students.
– Plans to attend an international conference in 2023 (oral presentation or poster). 

Required Application Documents:
– Information of the conference the applicant is planning to attend and the abstract that will be submitted.
– Curriculum Vitae and list of publications.
– Justification letter describing the focus of the research (max. 800 words).
– Letter of recommendation from the supervisor, research director, or department head, which also confirms the applicant’s status as a postdoctoral fellow/PhD student.

The winners (two awardees) will each be awarded CHF 800 and a certificate. 

Please submit your applications for the Sports 2023 Travel Award online by 30 April 2023. Prizes will be awarded at the end of May 2023 and announced on the Sports website.

Kind regards,
Sports Editorial Office

Dear Colleagues,

After a thorough assessment of all applications by the Evaluation Committee, we are pleased to announce the winners of the Sports 2022 Travel Award. The award has been granted to Ms. Angela Blasimann, who is a PhD Candidate at the University of Antwerp, Belgium; and Dr. Angelo Sabag, a postdoctoral researcher in Western Sydney University, NSW, Australia.

With so many high-quality applicants, the evaluation process and final decision were incredibly challenging. We would like to thank all the applicants for submitting their diverse and fascinating range of research topics. On behalf of the assessment committee, we would also like to congratulate the winners on their accomplishments.

Kind regards,
Sports Editorial Office

Dear Colleagues,

We are pleased to announce the winners of the Sports 2021 Best Paper Award. All papers published from 1st January 2021 to 31st December 2021 in Sports were considered for the award. After a thorough evaluation of the originality and significance of the papers, citations, and downloads, two winners were selected.

One Review:
Loading Recommendations for Muscle Strength, Hypertrophy, and Local Endurance: A Re-Examination of the Repetition Continuum
By Brad J. Schoenfeld, Jozo Grgic, Derrick W. Van Every and Daniel L. Plotkin
Sports 2021, 9(2), 32; doi: 10.3390/sports9020032.

One Article:
Predictive Analytic Techniques to Identify Hidden Relationships between Training Load, Fatigue and Muscle Strains in Young Soccer Players
By Mauro Mandorino, António J. Figueiredo, Gianluca Cima and Antonio Tessitore
Sports 2022, 10(1), 3; doi:10.3390/sports10010003.

Each winner will receive CHF 500 and a chance to publish a paper free of charge in Sports in 2023 after peer review.

Please join us in congratulating the winners of Sports 2021 Best Paper Award. We would also like to take this opportunity to thank all of our authors for your continued support of Sports.

Kind regards,
Sports Editorial Office

Dear Colleagues,

We are pleased to announce the winners of the Sports 2020 Best Paper Award. All papers published in Sports from 1 January 2020 to 31 December 2020 were considered for the award. After a thorough evaluation of the originality and significance of the papers, citations, and downloads, the two winning papers, which were nominated by the assessment committees, have been selected.

Rank 1 Award: CHF 500 + one free publication

Skeletal Muscle Myofibrillar Protein Abundance Is Higher in Resistance-Trained Men, and Aging in the Absence of Training May Have an Opposite Effect
By Christopher G. Vann, Paul. A. Roberson, Shelby C. Osburn, Petey W. Mumford, Matthew A. Romero, Carlton D. Fox, Johnathon H. Moore, Cody T. Haun, Darren T. Beck, Jordan R. Moon, Andreas N. Kavazis, Kaelin C. Young, Veera L. D. Badisa, Benjamin M. Mwashote, Victor Ibeanusi, Rakesh K. Singh and Michael D. Roberts
Sports 2020, 8(1), 7; doi:10.3390/sports8010007

Rank 2 Award: CHF 300 + one free publication

Associations between Motor Competence, Physical Self-Perception and Autonomous Motivation for Physical Activity in Children
By Ole Kristian Ensrud-Skraastad and Monika Haga
Sports 2020, 8(9), 120; doi:10.3390/sports8090120

Rank 3 Award: CHF 100 + one free publication

Daily School Physical Activity from before to after Puberty Improves Bone Mass and a Musculoskeletal Composite Risk Score for Fracture
By Felix Cronholm, Erik Lindgren, Björn E. Rosengren, Magnus Dencker, Caroline Karlsson and Magnus K. Karlsson
Sports 2020, 8(4), 40; doi:10.3390/sports8040040

Please join us in congratulating the winners of Sports 2020 Best Paper Award. We would also like to take this opportunity to thank all of our authors for your continued support of Sports.

Sports Editorial Office

Dear Colleagues,

After a thorough assessment of all applications by the Evaluation Committee, we are pleased to announce that Ms. Pénélope Paradis-Deschênes and Dr. Ben Kirk are the winners of the Sports Travel Award 2020, and each will receive 800 Swiss Francs towards their travel expenses to attend an international conference in 2020.

Ms. Pénélope Paradis-Deschênes is a Ph.D. Candidate at University of Laval, Quebec, Canada. Her research focuses on the optimization of sport performance and physiological responses to exercise.

Dr. Ben Kirk received his Ph.D. at the Liverpool Hope University in 2019 and is now a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at University of Melbourne. His research focuses on Geriatric Medicine, and the treatment of musculoskeletal diseases (osteoporosis, sarcopenia) via exercise and nutritional interventions. He is also investigating the effects of novel drug compounds on concomitant muscle and bone wasting (osteosarcopenia).

We would like to congratulate them on their excellent work and would further like to thank all applicants for their interesting and high-quality contributions. We also wish to thank the Scientific Committee members for their evaluation of the candidates.

Best regards,

Editor-in-Chief
Prof. Dr. Eling D. de Bruin
Institute of Human Movement Sciences and Sport, IBWS ETH, HCP H 25.1,
Leopold-Ruzicka-Weg 4, CH-8093 Zürich, Switzerland;
Professor at Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden

Dear Colleagues,

We are pleased to announce the winners of the Sports 2019 Best Paper Awards. All the papers published in Sports in 2019 were considered for the awards. After a thorough evaluation of the originality and significance of the papers, citations, and downloads, the three winning papers have been selected.

First Award Winner: (CHF 500 + one free publication)
Rate of Force Development and Muscle Architecture after Fast and Slow Velocity Eccentric Training
Angeliki-Nikoletta Stasinaki, Nikolaos Zaras, Spyridon Methenitis, Gregory Bogdanis and Gerasimos Terzis
doi: 10.3390/sports7020041

Second Award Winners: (CHF 300 + one free publication)
The Magical Horizontal Force Muscle? A Preliminary Study Examining the “Force-Vector” Theory
David A. Fitzpatrick, Giuseppe Cimadoro and Daniel J. Cleather
doi: 10.3390/sports7020030

Third Award Winners: (CHF 100 + one free publication)
Hamstring-to-Quadriceps Ratio in Female Athletes with a Previous Hamstring Injury, Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction, and Controls
Eleftherios Kellis, Nikiforos Galanis and Nikolaos Kofotolis
doi: 10.3390/sports7100214

Please join us in congratulating the winners of the Sports 2019 Best Paper Awards. We would also like to take this opportunity to thank all of our authors for their continued support of Sports.

Dear Colleagues,

We are pleased to announce the winners of the Sports 2018 Best Paper Awards. All papers published in 2018 in Sports were considered for the awards. After a thorough evaluation of the originality and significance of the papers, citations, and downloads, the three winning papers have been selected.

First Award Winner: (CHF 300 + one free publication)

The Three-Month Effects of a Ketogenic Diet on Body Composition, Blood Parameters, and Performance Metrics in CrossFit Trainees: A Pilot Study (10.3390/sports6010001)
By Wesley C. Kephart, Coree D. Pledge, Paul A. Roberson, Petey W. Mumford, Matthew A. Romero, Christopher B. Mobley, Jeffrey S. Martin, Kaelin C. Young, Ryan P. Lowery, Jacob M. Wilson, Kevin W. Huggins and Michael D. Roberts.

Second Award Winners: (CHF 200 + one free publication)

High-Intensity Functional Training (HIFT): Definition and Research Implications for Improved Fitness (10.3390/sports6030076)
By Yuri Feito, Katie M. Heinrich, Scotty J. Butcher and Walker S. Carlos Poston.

Cancer and Exercise: Warburg Hypothesis, Tumour Metabolism and High-Intensity Anaerobic Exercise (10.3390/sports6010010)
By Peter Hofmann.

Please join us in congratulating the winners of Sports 2018 Best Paper Awards. We would also like to take this opportunity to thank all of our authors for their continued support of Sports.

Kind regards,
Sports Editorial Office

Dear Colleagues,

After a thorough assessment of all applications by the Evaluation Committee, we are pleased to announce that Dr. Paul Collings is the first winner of the Sports Travel Award 2018, and will receive 800 Swiss Francs towards his travel expenses to attend an international conference in 2018.

Dr. Paul Collings received his Ph.D. at the University of Cambridge in 2015 and is now a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Bradford Institute for Health Research. His research focuses on quantifying the levels and patterns of physical activity, sedentary time and sleep in population-based samples of adults and children, and further examines associations between movement behaviours with adiposity and cardiometabolic outcomes.

We would like to congratulate him on his excellent work and would further like to thank all applicants for their interesting and high quality contributions. We also wish to thank the Scientific Committee members for their evaluation of the candidates.

PD Dr. Eling Douwe de Bruin,
Editor-in-Chief

Institute of Human Movement Sciences and Sport, ETH Zürich, HIT J 32.3, Wolfgang-Pauli-Str. 27, 8093 Zürich, Switzerland