York research on talent in sport to be presented in Germany

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A team of researchers from York University and the University of Oldenberg, Germany, will present its leading research investigating talent in sport and athlete development at an invitation-only workshop in Germany, July 11 to 13.

The workshop, held at the University of Oldenberg, will bring together experts studying talent in sport to share ideas, present current work and support graduate students and trainees.

Joe Baker

York University Professor Joe Baker, along with his graduate students Katie Johnston and Lou Farah, work alongside Professor Jorg Schorer and his graduate students and post-doctoral fellows to research the subject.

“This partnership brings together two leading international labs exploring issues related to athlete development, skill acquisition and the maintenance of functioning across the lifespan, and expands York’s reputation for research excellence on the role of sport for understanding the limits of human achievement across the lifespan,” said Baker, adding that there will be experts on talent in sport from Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and Israel in attendance.

The York/Oldenberg research partnership will present a summary of their recent systematic review of more than 30 years of talent research in sport.

Over the last few years, the research group has published several papers, including “A proposed conceptualization of talent in sport: The first step in a long and winding road” published in the July 2019 issue of Psychology of Sport and Exercise, which proposes a multi-factorial model conceptualizing talent in sport.

In November 2018, York University and the University of Oldenburg signed a memorandum of understanding (MOF) supporting student exchange, supervision and joint research.