FEPSAC's role and position in the past and in the future of sport psychology in Europe

Objectives: On the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the European Federation of Sport Psychology (FEPSAC), this article aims to give an overview of the development of sport psychology in Europe and the role FEPSAC played in this period, and draw some conclusions for the future challenges facing FEPSAC. Method: Hermeneutical interpretation of historical documents available from FEPSAC and other sources. Results and conclusion: It is argued that sport psychology in Europe developed independently from the discipline in America, but also with great variety, due to different cultural, linguistic, and psychological traditions. The separation of Europe in two socio-economical and political blocks after World War II even strengthened these differences. When sport psychology started to recover after the damages of the war, a continental organisation was established as a logical consequence of the historically related differences. The strategic orientation of FEPSAC in the period of the two blocks is characterised by a diplomatic balance and high respect of the language and cultural differences, necessary requirements to allow maintaining the mutual exchange in areas of common interest. After the fall of the Berlin wall, the major strategic goals of FEPSAC revolved around: keeping contact with the Eastern European sport psychologists despite the economic difficulties in these countries; finding a common European understanding and giving this a voice in the world; and the support of the young generation and the development of sport psychology as a professional field. Unification and diversification are identified as the future challenges FEPSAC will be facing when attempting to remain the leading sport psychology organisation in Europe. 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Although sport psychology has undergone a huge development in the past 20 years in Europe, the overall process has been a slow one. When the Fédération Européenne de Psychologie des Sports et des Activités Corporelles (FEPSAC) was founded in 1969, sport psychology ‘‘was not a desirable field’’ but has now changed with the view that ‘‘Sport psychology of today is somehow in fashion.’’ (Geron, 2003, p. 19). In this paper, the authors trace the roots of European sport psychology and of FEPSAC, analyse their current status and show possible developments and challenges for the future. Development of sport psychology in Europe Historical roots of sport psychology in Europe Many international sport psychology textbooks include a section about the development of sport psychology. Most of the sources agree in identifying the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century as the onset of academic study in sport psychology, but interestingly many authors locate the place of birth in North America where notably the names of Norman Triplett and Coleman Griffith are usually mentioned as key people, the latter often being considered to be the ‘founding father’ of sport * Corresponding author. Tel.: þ41 31 631 38 34; fax: þ41 31 631 46 31. E-mail address: [email protected] (R. Seiler). 1 Roland Seiler is past-President of FEPSAC and served on its Managing Council from 1991 to 2007. Paul Wylleman is the current President of FEPSAC, serving on its Managing Council since 1999. Though based on official documents and cited references, the views expressed in this article represent the personal views of the authors. 2 Based on the definition of the term ‘sport psychology’ in FEPSAC (1995) Position Statement #1, and taking into account the terminology in various European languages and cultures, the term sport psychology is used to characterise psychologically based approaches to all sort of sport, exercise, physical activity or culture, including physical education, APA and other areas.