Dear all,
Last week the following items were published on idrottsforum.org (see below; language and publication dates, YYMMDD, in brackets). Click on the red headings to go to content. Utilize the Google Translate service to turn Scandinavian language pages into (some sort of) English.
Last week the following items were published on idrottsforum.org (see below; language and publication dates, YYMMDD, in brackets). Click on the red headings to go to content. Utilize the Google Translate service to turn Scandinavian language pages into (some sort of) English.And remember, if you’re not already hooked up to one of the social media outlets that we utilize, fFacebook, LinkedIn and X, you’re missing quite a lot of information from idrottsforum.org that never appears on the website; this past week no less than 43 updates on each, the same on all three. So, check out our social media by clicking on the names – Facebook, LinkedIn and X.
Have a great week,
Kjell Eriksson
Editor
Research Article
Sex Verification in Female Sport
When the IOC recently announced its new policy about eligibility in the female category (no male physiological advantage permitted), there was push-back from supporters of the previous, all-inclusive, IOC policy (the Framework Document from 2021). According to Jon Pike and Miroslav Imbrišević their arguments don’t stand up to scrutiny, as they claim to have shown in their previous essay “The Ethics of Sex Verification”. They decided to expand their rebuttal and invite colleagues from other disciplines – Tommy R. Lundberg, Leslie A. Howe,
Gregory Brown, Jim Parry & Irena Martínková and Anna Du Giandomenico – to help with scrutinizing arguments that oppose the IOC policy. (Published in English 260519.
Book Reviews
Taking a lesson from Milwaukee
In three short years, the Milwaukee Bucks went from merely an idea to NBA champions. What started as a quest by Marvin Fishman to get Milwaukee back in the big leagues attracted a hard-working coach in Larry Costello and some of the biggest talents in the game of basketball with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Oscar Robertson. Jordan Treske’s Building the Milwaukee Bucks: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Oscar Robertson and the Rapid Rise of an NBA Franchise, 1968–1975 (McFarland) covers the Bucks story, not altogether successfully, according to Łukasz Muniowski, but well enough to provide a lesson on how to treat your former stars and deal with the aftermath of the breakup of a potential dynasty. (Review in English, published 260521.)
A theoretically sound book of interest to all micro-interactionists, sociologists of culture and sociologists of sport
In Dangerous Fun: The Social Lives of Big Wave Surfers (University of Chicago Press), Ugo Corte examines how mentors, novices, and peers interact to create episodes of collective fun in a dangerous setting; how they push one another’s limits, nourish a lifestyle, advance the sport and, in some cases, make a living based on their passion for the sport. Mads Skauge obviously enjoyed reading this sociological treat(ise), heavy on theory, one of the best books of relevance to the sociology of sport in recent years – and written by an “outsider”! (Review in English, published 260521.)
New Blog Post
Why Trump and FIFA are perfect bedfellows as the World Cup heads to the US, by David Rowe
The 2026 FIFA men’s World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico is almost upon us. This sporting spectacle – the largest ever World Cup, with 48 teams – will generate many memorable moments. Mexico will get the tournament underway in its capital city on June 12, hosting South Africa. Apart from the on-field action, much attention will be paid to the politics of the World Cup and to two major political players – US President Donald Trump and his FIFA counterpart Gianni Infantino. But before a ball is kicked, an earlier media encounter is stubbornly lodged in the mind which sheds light on the cosy relationship between two presidents with much in common. Read more… (Published in English YYDDMM.)
Scholarly Journals
Since its inception 23 years ago, idrottsforum.org has been proudly presenting every new issue of almost all scholarly journals within the field of sport studies, widely defined. However, after carefully considering the whole situation – with increasing number of journals and number of issues per journal – we have decided to let go of the original ambition; it has become too time-consuming. Henceforth we will publish alerts about new journal issues on our social media accounts (Facebook, LinkedIn and X), and also special alerts when particularly interesting articles in scholarly journals are published online, giving priority to open access publications. The Scholarly Journals page will list all journals within the extended sport studies field for your information, and we will endeavor to update it with any new titles being launched.
News items (calls for papers, vacancies, etc.)
- Call for Participation | 75 Years Inspiring Unity Through Sport, the 23rd Panathlon International Congress | Online and in Ghent, Belgium, June 3–4 2026. Register no later than May 25, 2026 (260518)
- Call for Papers | “Sport as a Space of Boundary-Making: Identity, Power, and Resistance in Society”, section 28 of the Annual Conference of the Hungarian Sociological Association | University of Szeged, October 28–30, 2026. Call ends June 3, 2026 (260519)
- Lediga platser | Doktorand i Pedagogik med inriktning mot idrottspedagogik och folkbildning, Umeå universitet | Ansök senast 2026-06-15 (260521)
- Call for Papers | 15th Annual International Conference of Czech Philosophy of Sport | Charles University, Prague, October 15–16, 2026. Call ends August 10, 2026 (260524)
