Topics Webinar | Evolving Excellence-The Rapid Expansion of Women’s and Para‑Sport Across Health, Performance, and Policy
the chair
Evolving Excellence: The Rapid Expansion of Women’s and Para‑Sport Across Health, Performance, and Policy
Welcome, I'm delighted to introduce this upcoming webinar, entitled: Evolving Excellence: The Rapid Expansion of Women’s and Para‑Sport Across Health, Performance, and Policy.
This is an area of sport that is transforming at remarkable speed, and I could not be more excited to bring together such an exceptional group of experts to explore it. As women’s and para‑women’s sport continue to grow in scale, visibility, and complexity, so too does our responsibility to deepen the evidence base, challenge assumptions, and support athletes through every stage of their journey.
Being able to bring together a set of speakers across health, performance, event management for both women’s sport and para‑sport feels like an important moment. Their insights, experience, and passion will help shape the conversations and collaborations we urgently need to keep pace with this evolving landscape.
I’m genuinely thrilled to welcome you to this event, and I hope it inspires new ideas, new partnerships, and new commitments to advancing excellence in women’s and para‑sport.
Thank you for joining us, your engagement is part of what drives this movement forward.
Andrew
Date: 27 March 2026
Time: 11:30 am CET | 10:30 am GMT | 6:30 pm CST Asia
Webinar ID: 899 2906 4960
Webinar Secretariat: journal.webinar@mdpi.com
Meet the Event Chair
Meet Our Speakers
Dr. Richard Shipway
Department of Rehabilitation and Sports Sciences, School of Allied Health and Exercise Sciences, Bournemouth University;
Associate Professor in Sport Event Management
Expertise:
Olympic Games and mega‑event impacts;
Sport tourism and athlete experience;
Crisis and disaster management in sport events;
Research involving female athletes in extreme climatic conditions (e.g., world championship conditions).
Dr. Holly Henderson
School of Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation Sciences - University of Birmingham;
Dr Holly Henderson is a National Teaching Fellow, passionate about education innovation that enhances the learning experience, engagement, quality and outcomes in sport, business and health sciences. Combining her experiences with watersports coaching, competing and an unconventional career path frames and enhances her teaching, research and professional practice.
Dr. Saidan Shetty
Manipal Academy of Higher Education, India;
Dr. Saidan Shetty is a Physical Therapist from India with specialization in Musculoskeletal Sciences and a strong focus on research and evidence-based practice. She completed her Bachelor’s, Master’s, and PhD degrees at Manipal Academy of Higher Education, India. Her academic training in Orthopaedics and Sports Physical Therapy, combined with her clinical and research experience, has strengthened her interest in athlete health, injury prevention, rehabilitation strategies, and performance optimization.
Dr. Gemma Parry
University of Bath, UK;
Dr Gemma Parry is a researcher and practitioner in sports rehabilitation, growth and maturation, and athlete development, with experience across both academic and applied high‑performance environments. Her work focuses on how growth and maturation influence injury risk, movement quality, and performance in youth and elite athletes.
Ms. Ellie-May Storr
School of Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences / The Centre for Para and Disability Sport Innovation, Loughborough University, United Kingdom.;
Ellie-May is a final-year Doctoral Researcher within The Centre for Para and Disability Sport Innovation, Loughborough University, United Kingdom. Her PhD examines the psychological stressors associated with wheelchair rugby classification and its impact on the mental health and wellbeing of athletes and athlete support personnel. Alongside her doctoral research, Ellie-May collaborates with World Wheelchair Rugby on projects aimed at increasing female participation in the sport. She has also contributed to psychological research initiatives with the World Anti-Doping Agency, The International Federation of Cerebral Palsy Football, and The All England Lawn Tennis Club. Ellie-May is a Chartered Sport and Exercise Psychologist, with expertise spanning both psychological research and applied practice. She currently works as an applied psychologist with the England Men's Mixed Disability Cricket Team and Leicestershire County Cricket Club, supporting psychological performance, mental health, and long-term athlete development.
Dr. Thomas Rietveld
School of Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences / The Centre for Para and Disability Sport Innovation, Loughborough University, United Kingdom.;
Thomas Rietveld is a senior research associate in wheeled sports and technology at the Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam and a visiting fellow of the Centre for Para and Disability Sport Innovation, Loughborough University, United Kingdom. His research focuses on wheelchair configuration and technology to improve the well-being and performance of wheelchair sport athletes (rugby, tennis, basketball, racing). His main research interests include the study of wheelchair propulsion, wheelchair configuration, technology, biomechanics, and Para sports. His next steps would be to extend European collaboration and apply the knowledge base from Para Sport to activities of daily living, to support the health and wellbeing of manual wheelchair users.
Sponsors and Partners
Organizer
The webinar was hosted via Zoom and required registration to attend. The full recording can be found below. In order to learn about future webinars, you can sign up to our newsletter by clicking “Subscribe” at the top of the page.
Gathering Evidence and Supporting Progress of Female Elite Sport and Para-Sport
Edited by Dr. Andrew Soundy, Dr. Gemma Parry and Dr. Rosalyn Cooke
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 5 April 2027