The University of Glasgow is organizing three public engagement debates which are part of the Glasgow Science Festival but also come under the University’s public engagement with the Commonwealth Games.
The highlights of all three debates – billed as Game for Debate – will be broadcast on the BBC Radio Scotland John Beattie Show – and John Beattie will be hosting the events themselves. We’re anxious to attract a good audience and also to build up as much interest as possible, so would like to encourage as many people as possible to send in questions beforehand (by Twitter, if that is their preferred media) and also for members of the audience to ask questions and offer their points of view.
Event 1: Is elite sport good for you?
Thursday, 5 June
The University of Glasgow hosts its first in a series of public debates around the Commonwealth Games. Join three experts as they consider the physiological, medical and psychological issues in the field of elite sport, including the spectre of performance-enhancing drugs.
Speakers:
- Dr John MacLean: Dr John MacLean is the Medical Director at the National Stadium Sports Medicine Centre and Medical Director for the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games.
- Dr Paul Dimeo: Paul is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Stirling and an expert on is doping in sport and the development of anti-doping policies.
- Dr Amanda Martingdale: Amanda is a Lecturer in Sport and Performance Psychology at the University of Edinburgh. She provides psychology support to elite athletes and coaches, including those preparing for the 2014 Commonwealth Games.
Event 2: Why are different nations good at different sports?
Monday, 9 June
The main speakers are:
- Colin Moran, University of Stirling, on the part played by genetics
- Laura Forrest, University of the West of Scotland, on the part played by environmental factors
- Raymond Boyle, University of Glasgow, on the media influence on sporting performance.
Event 3: Why are we a nation of couch potatoes?
Wednesday, 11 June
In the last of three Commonwealth-themed debates at the University of Glasgow, our panel considers how to get people in Scotland up off the couch and more active. Are we just lazy or is it more complicated?
Speakers:
- Dr Niamh Murphy: Niamh works in the Centre for Health Behaviour Research, Waterford Institute. She is an expert on the physical activity legacy from hosting major sporting events.
- Dr Jason Gill: Jason is Reader in Exercise Metabolism in the Institute of Cardiovascular and Medical Sciences at the University of Glasgow. His research looks at how much physical activity we need to do to be healthy and how this may not be the same for everyone.
- Dr Cindy Gray: Cindy is Lord Kelvin Adam Smith Fellow in Health Behaviour Change in the Institute of Health and Wellbeing at the University of Glasgow. She is an expert in using social innovation to engage ‘hard to reach’ groups to increase physical activity.
Photo credit: © https://www.flickr.com/photos/rethwill/
