Sports Engineering - Topical Collection: Inclusive Sports Engineering and Technology
Guest Editors:
Dr Aimée Mears, Loughborough University, UK
Dr Pui Wah (Veni) Kong, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
Dr Kristina Brubacher, The University of Manchester, UK
Dr Paul Wood, PING Golf, USA
Submission Status: Open | Submission Deadline: 30 April 2027
Description
Sport and physical activity should be accessible to all and there is a role that sports engineering and technology can play in ensuring that this is achieved. Research on or developing products/technologies that enhance enjoyment, safety or participation across diverse populations is crucial to ensuring their needs are met. This Topical Collection focuses on recent advancements in sports engineering and technology research and development involving or addressing inclusive populations. This might include, but is not limited to populations such as women, parasport participants, neurodiverse individuals, children, older adults, or inclusive data practices.
Submission guidelines
All papers must be prepared in accordance with the Instructions for Authors (this opens in a new tab). Authors should submit through the online submission site (this opens in a new tab) and select article type “TC - Inclusive Sports Engineering and Technology".
Please indicate your intention to submit a paper to this Topical Collection with an email to the Guest Editors. Please include a tentative title and indicate the type of paper (original research, review, technical note).
Submitted papers should present original, unpublished work, relevant to one of the topics of the Topical Collection. All submitted papers will be evaluated on the basis of relevance, significance of contribution, technical quality, scholarship, and quality of presentation, by at least two independent reviewers. It is the policy of the journal that no submission, or substantially overlapping submission, be published or be under review at another journal or conference at any time during the review process. Final decisions on all papers are made by the Editor-in-Chief.
Authors are encouraged to read the recent editorial “How to write a manuscript for Sports Engineering (this opens in a new tab)".
Meet the Guest Editors:
Dr Aimee Mears is a Senior Lecturer in Sports Technology and Biomechanics in the Sports Technology Research Group. Her research examines the human-sport equipment interaction using biomechanics and advanced data analysis techniques in particular for women.
Dr Pui Wah (Veni) Kong is an Associate Dean and Associate Professor at the National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. Her research interests include sports and clinical biomechanics, with applications in human performance and musculoskeletal health. She had conducted inter-disciplinary research on sports performance, injuries, footwear, low back pain, massage and exoskeleton. Dr Kong is currently leading a research grant on para-table tennis, striving to develop effective coaching programmes for individuals with disabilities.
Dr Kristina Brubacher is a Lecturer in Fashion Technology at the Department of Materials, The University of Manchester. Kristina’s research is interdisciplinary and underpinned by fostering improved relationships between wearers and garments from both technical and user-centred perspectives. As an active researcher in the Apparel Design Engineering group, Kristina investigates, amongst other topics, the design development and sizing of compression sportswear. With a focus on leveraging technology to advance sportswear functionality, Kristina has a particular interest in addressing the needs of women, individuals with disabilities, and older adults. Before joining academia, Kristina worked in the apparel industry in sourcing and design engineering in Germany, Australia and the UK.
Dr Paul Wood is the VP Engineering at PING, coordinating a department responsible for innovation, design, testing and commercialization of new golf clubs. He has a PhD in Mathematics from St Andrews University. His publications include research on the physics of the golf swing as well as mechanisms to enable people with disabilities to optimize their performance on the golf course.