Dear all,
It was also the spring semester that was! And what a spring semester it was! There were some health issues, successfully overcome by now, and we worked extra hard to keep things going as (if) usual. There might be fewer research articles published – and thus submitted, which is true also for feature articles.We’re a bit behind with scholarly journal presentations. But we managed not less than 62 book reviews, which is a new record, and we care about things like that, such as having 108K page views by midnight last night. Oh well.
There will be no original texts published during summer. We will, however, endeavor to get up to date with journal presentations and we’ll publicize any calls for papers and other relevant news that comes our way.
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.
This is also the last Newsletter for this semester. We’ll be backat the end of August. Until then, have a great summer holiday,
Kjell Eriksson
Editor
Book Reviews
Träning som medicin [Exercise as Medicine], by Åsa B. Tornberg & Stephen Garland

The connection between physical activity and health is strong, and most people know that. In Exercise as medicine by Åsa B. Tornberg and Stephen Garland (Studentlitteratur) basic physiology and biochemistry as well as practical exercise physiology are explained in more detail. We asked Associate Rrofessor Tommy Lundberg at the Karolinska Institutet to read the book on our behalf, and in his review he highlights the book’s obvious merits, but also points out certain research-related shortcomings and, perhaps a little unexpectedly, shortcomings in the book production itself. (Book in Swedish, review in Swedish, published 230619.)
Elementary Dance Education: Nature-Themed Creative Movement and Collaborative Learning, by Janice Pomer

Janice Pomer’s Elementary Dance Education: Nature-Themed Creative Movement and Collaborative Learning (Human Kinetics) helps teachers develop the instructional skills they need to incorporate dance into their curricula, providing over 70 movement activities and exercises for students in grades K–6. Our reviewer is dance teacher and researcher Torun Mattsson, and she read a comprehensive textbook suitable for novices as well as experienced dance teacher, although slightly weak on scholarly references. (Review in English, published 230619.)
Dual Careers of Swedish University Student-Athletes: A Synthesis of Holistic Developmental and Ecological Approaches, by Lukas Linnér

The aim of Lukas Linnér’s PhD thesis Dual Careers of Swedish University Student-Athletes: A Synthesis of Holistic Developmental and Ecological Approaches has been to study the dual career experiences of Swedish university student-athletes from the holistic developmental and the holistic ecological approaches. Marie Larneby has read the thesis on our behalf, and her thorough review shows that Linnér grasps the complexity and nuances of university student-athletes’ dual career and the need for balancing competing demands. (Review in English, published 230620.)
Katt bland hermeliner: Örebrogymnastiken utmanar Linggymnastiken under mellankrigstiden [Upstarts in society: Örebro gymnastics challenges Ling gymnastics during the interwar period], by Margareta Damm
In her book Upstarts in society: Örebro gymnastics challenges Ling gymnastics during the interwar period (Bokförlaget idrottsforum.org) Margareta Damm tells about Sam and Greta Adrian and the rise of Örebrogymnastics. In her review, Margareta Ljung points to the connection between social development in general and the conflict within Swedish gymnastics during the interwar period. The book should, she believes, be important reading for physical education and gymnastics teachers as well as those interested in gymnastics in general. (Book in Swedish, review in Swedish, published 230621.)
New Blog Post
Flere generasjoners hånflir [The scorn of several generations], by Mads Skauge
The national team discourse is, beyond the comic “stronger together” (what is the alternative?), forward-leaning. The bravado of individual players and promising U-national teams are arguments that are brought to the fore in the exchange of words about national team work, and which legitimize that the arrows are pointing in the right direction. As pointed out by Aslak Nore, this is “typical NFF rhetoric: The endless series of defeats and humiliations is passed over in silence, every straw becomes proof of one’s own excellence”. Admittedly, this gives reason for optimism, but you will find what you are looking for. Sometimes there is a need to look in the mirror, and not just focus on what could be. A perspective at least as well-founded as the above is this: Given that we have not been in a championship since the turn of the millennium, we are the weakest football nation in Europe, taking population and countries with a certain football culture into account! (Published in Norwegian 230620.)
New Issues of Scholarly Journals
(We rely heavily on journal publishers delivering on their promises of new issue alerts. Sometimes they don’t.)
- International Journal of Sports Marketing & Sponsorship, Vol 24, 2023, No 2 (230620)
News items (calls for papers, vacancies, etc.)
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(Shutterstock/Here Now) Call for Papers | “Sports and the Limits of the Binary: Trans and Nonbinary Athletes and Equity in Sport”, Special Issue of the Sociology of Sport Journal | Call ends January 15, 2024 (230620)
- Call for Presentations | The Nordic–Baltic Sports History Congress 2023 in Jyväskylä in Finland and on Zoom, December 8–9, 2023 | Call ends September 29, 2023 (230620)