The National Alliance of Social Workers in Sports (NASWIS) is proud to release the call for papers for its 3rd Annual Social Work in Sports Symposium. The overall theme of this year’s conference pertains to the role of social work practice, advocacy, and research in athletics. The pursuit of this theme relates directly to the mission of NASWIS by promoting the practice, research, and policy skills of social workers and how to leverage these skills to promote the well-being of all involved in athletics.
Promoting the healthy development of athletes benefits the athlete, team, athletic program, and athletic organization as a whole. As advocates, clinicians, case managers, researchers, and agents of change, social workers are uniquely positioned to positively impact the lives of vulnerable athletes and their immediate environment. Through the lens of social work and social justice, we invite proposals that focus on one of three areas: (1) clinical practice with athletes, (2) research studies that focus on creating a positive culture for promoting athlete well-being, and (3) advocacy efforts to influence the governance and politics of sports towards social and economic justice on all levels.
This year’s symposium will take place from Tuesday, October 17th through Wednesday, October 18th, prior to the Council on Social Work Education’s (CSWE) annual conference. The exact conference location is TBD. However, the conference will take place in the downtown Dallas area. More details on the specific location and information about hotel accommodations will follow.
This year’s symposium will also offer three presentation types (e.g. poster presentations, 12-minute Ted Talk presentations, and 45-minute interactive workshops). These are in addition to keynote speakers and invited panels. All proposals are due by Friday May 5, 2017 at 5:00pm (EST).
Interactive Poster Presentations: The interactive poster is a great way to engage conference participants by presenting a topic with graphics and visual aids on a poster board. Poster presentation sessions are 50 minutes in length. Posters should be no more than 4’ x 6’ in order to fit on the poster boards (smaller sizes are acceptable). Poster presenters stand beside their posters and discuss their work one-on-one or in small groups with symposium attendees.
Ted Talk Presentations: Ted Talk presentations are a great way to engage conference participants by orally presenting clinical practice strategies, research findings, or advocacy efforts in a 12-minute presentation with a three (3) minute Q&A follow-up. Presenters are encouraged to prepare a short PowerPoint (or alternate media) to accompany their presentation.
Interactive Workshops: Interactive workshops will be 45 minutes in length. These workshops should provide a thorough background and rationale into one of the symposium themes. Workshops should include significant interactive activities that allow participants to practically apply concepts taught. The workshop should also have three clear learning objectives.
Submission Guidelines
All abstracts must be electronically submitted as a Microsoft Word attachment and must contain the following information and conform to the following format requirements:
- Single-spaced,
- One-inch margins,
- Times New Roman (12-point) font, and
- 500-word maximum abstract for poster and Ted Talk presentations and 800-word maximum abstract for interactive workshops (be sure to include the learning objectives).
Note: References should be used in your abstract. Please cite references in-text and in a reference page at the end of your abstract. References are not included in the maximum word count for abstract submission. NASWIS follows APA guidelines and standards.
Submission of abstract(s) indicates the intent of the presenter(s) to register for the conference at the appropriate registration fee. Abstracts submitted to this symposium should not be concurrently submitted for consideration to another conference.
Abstract Format
Line 1: Type of session desired (e.g., poster presentation, Ted Talk presentation, or interactive workshop)
Line 2: Three to four keywords that will help the program coordinator schedule similar topics in succession
Line 3: Author(s) and institution(s) names
Line 4: Presentation title
Line 5 to end: Text of abstract (including references)
Email completed proposals to socialworkinsports@gmail.com. In your email please include the corresponding author’s contact information. Abstracts will undergo a multi-person, blind-review process to determine acceptance.
NASWIS will confirm receipt of your proposal. Individuals will receive notification of all symposium decisions by June 15, 2017.