Convention programming overview and highlights

Ah, 1986, back when gas was $o.89/gallon (I could not locate the "cents" symbol as it is no longer relevant), Top Gun was "tops" at the movies, Magnum P.I. was running amok in Hawaii, IBM introduced its first laptop computer weighing in at a mere 131bs, the Human Genome project officially started, oh and a small division of dedicated professionals was added to the APA Convention (which was ironically in Washington, DC- in case you forgot!). Yes, amazingly, the 2011 APA Convention in Washington, DC marks the 25th Anniversary of the D47! To celebrate, we have several special events and programs including:

• Drs. Aoyagi and Van Raalte will deliver an Invited Symposium titled, "Future Education in Sport Psychology for Practitioners."

• An Invited Symposium featuring several surprise guest speakers for the Steven R. Heyman Memorial Keynote titled, "State of the Art in Sport Psychology Science to Practice."

• Division 47 25th Anniversary Celebration and Social

• Launch and Reception for the new APA Journal titled Sport, Exercise, and Performance Psychology (Dr. Martin, Editor).

In addition to the above special programming, this year's program comprises a mix of clinical, research, and educational symposia, conversation hours, papers, and posters. The complete program (along with co-listed programs) will be featured in the summer newsletter and will appear on the D47 website once it is finalized by APA later this spring. Until then, I have included a few D47 teasers to whet your appetite for the 2011 APA Convention:

• Dr. Rod Dishman from the University of Georgia will deliver the ACSM Exchange Lecture on exercise adherence.

• Dr. Jennifer Carter will present her Presidential Address titled, "It's All About Relationships."

• Dr.'s Galluci, Beilock, DeCaro, and Janelle and colleagues will present a symposium titled, "Choking Under Pressure: Explicit Monitoring, Distraction, and Cognitive Efficiency."

• Dr. Gershon Tenenbaum will receive this year's Award for Distinguished Contributions to Science.

• Paper Sessions on Psychology of Injury, Behavioral Sport Psychology, and Social Psychology of Sport.

• Ray's Race on Saturday morning. It would be great to see more D47 participants (no pressure though!) this year.

In addition to the above D47 programming, we are co-listing 35 programs with other Divisions. Below is a small sample of the excellent co-listed programs for the 2011 Convention:

• Division 2:  Teaching of Psychology Being Inclusive: How to Incorporate Diversity Topics in Psychology Coursework.

• Division 18:  Psychologists in Public Service Tailoring Interventions for the Complex Needs of Combat Service Members and Veterans with Mild Traumatic Brain Injury and Their Supportive Others

• Division 31: State, Provincial and Territorial Psychological Association Affairs Programs Telehealth and Telepsychology Licensure: Barriers and Possible Solutions as Psychology Adopts the PsychoTechnologies

• Division 38: Health Psychology Invited Clinical Grand Rounds: "The Science and Practice of Behavioral Weight Control: Motivating and Facilitating Behavior Change to Promote Weight Loss and Maintenance"- Delia Smith West, PhD

• Division 40: Clinical Neuropsychology Invited address Robert Stern, Ph.D.- Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy: The Synergy of Science and Journalism in Creating Culture Change- Alan Schwarz, William Barr, Ph.D. (discussant)

• Division 45: Society for the Psychological Study of Ethnic Minority Issues Emerging research on psychological implications of race-based mascots, nicknames, and logos in sport

Finally and perhaps most importantly, I would like to thank the following members of the 2011 Program Review Committee who took time out of their busy schedules in December and January to review D47 program submissions: Mark Aoyagi, Amy Athey, Kimberlee Bonura, Laura DiPasquale, Tami Eggleston, Scott Goldman, Elizabeth Loughren, Renee Newcomer Appaneal, Cassandra Pasquariello, Steve Portenga, Troy Rieck, Sherry Schweigert, Christine Selby, Steven Wininger, and Amanda Visek. All of the reviewers did an excellent job, and are to be commended for their participation in this important endeavor. As a wise Division Program Chair once said, "There is no peer review without your peers." Thanks to everyone who reviewed!

The 2011 APA Convention in Washington, DC is sure to be an exciting and memorable convention for D47 and its members. Additional information about the 2011 APA Convention Program will be forthcoming soon from APA as they finalize the program, release hotel information, and inform presenters of specific dates/times for their programs. In the meantime, please contact me should you have any questions about the convention or programming. I look forward to seeing you in DC for the big 25th for D47!

Cheers, Anthony P. Kontos, PhD