The Psychology of Sport

Join our speakers to discover how athletes use psychology to improve their performance during events such as the 2012 Olympic Games - the most highly pressured and intense competitions of their careers. Athletes have claimed that up to 90% of their performance is down to the psychological side of their game. What psychological factors will influence athletes at the London 2012 Games? Will home advantage be a help or hindrance to Team GB? Are positive psychology techniques going to be the next big thing in sports psychology?

Ballroom dancing is a highly demanding, competitive and technical sport and one example where sports psychology is used. We'll be joined by world-class ballroom dancing couple Stefano Soldati and Natasha Cuerden to give us the athlete's perspective on sports psychology. Things will become 'Strictly Come Dana' as we get a special ballroom performance to show off their skills.

Speakers:

James Beale (Chair) is a chartered sport and exercise psychologist and Senior Lecturer at the University of East London. James has over 10 years' experience of sport psychology, working in a range of Olympic and professional sports.

Dr Richard Buscombe is a Senior Lecturer in Sport and Exercise Psychology at the University of East London. Richard is interested in social psychology encompassing areas such as home advantage and how competitors form judgments of opponents. Richard will be discussing this in the light of the forthcoming Olympic and Paralympic Games.

James Wallis is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Brighton involved in supporting elite triathletes. James will talk about the importance of emotional intelligence and the techniques he uses to develop it in the athletes he supports.

Dr Matt Lewis is a chartered sport and exercise psychologist specialising in the area of positive psychology. Matt will talk about how he uses positive psychology techniques in sport, and how he believes this exciting new field will develop in the future.

Stefano Soldati and Natasha Manderson are a world-class full-time professional ballroom couple. Both recognise the importance of psychology within and around their own sport and employ psychological techniques to enhance their training and competition. Stefano and Natasha will be answering questions about the issues they face as professional athletes, and will give a short demonstration of their skills to close the event.

This event will be filmed