Call For Papers [Student Essay Prize]

McNamee Student Essay Prize in the Philosophy of Sport 

Sponsored by Routledge/Taylor & Francis 

The British Philosophy of Sport Association (BPSA) invites submissions for the McNamee Student Essay Prize in the Philosophy of Sport. The Prize is named in honour of Prof. Mike McNamee (Swansea University and KU Leuven), founder of the BPSA, and it is kindly sponsored by Routledge/Taylor & Francis.  

Prizes 

Winner – £500 cash + £50 Routledge voucher 

Runner-up – £200 cash + £50 Routledge voucher 

Commendations x 3 – each of the three commended essays will receive £100 cash + £50 Routledge voucher 

The Winner and Runner-up will be invited to present their essays at a BPSA online work-in-progress seminar in February ’23. 

Essay Format 

The word limit is 2500 words (including footnotes/endnotes and works cited), and essays may address any topic in the Philosophy of Sport.  

To become acquainted with topics in the Philosophy of Sport, please consult the Association’s journal Sport, Ethics and Philosophy: https://www.tandfonline.com/toc/rsep20/current 

Eligibility 

Candidates must be enrolled in a university undergraduate or graduate level course on 3 October ’22. Submissions must be single-authored and the candidate’s own work, and they must address an issue in the Philosophy of Sport. Each candidate may submit one essay only, and submissions must be in English. There is no geographical restriction on eligibility.   

Criteria 

In assessing submitted papers, the jury will place a strong emphasis on the following considerations: 

  • Originality of the essay topic and its treatment; 
  • Analytical rigour of the essay’s argument; 
  • Critical engagement with relevant philosophical literature, including relevant work in the Philosophy of Sport. 

Candidates will not receive feedback on their submission. The jury reserves the right not to award a prize if submissions fail to achieve an appropriate standard. The decision of the jury is final. 

To Enter 

Submissions should be emailed in Word or PDF format to j.w.devine@swansea.ac.uk with subject line ‘BPSA Essay Prize 2022’ 

Candidates should submit two separate documents:  

  1. Cover sheet that includes the candidate’s information (i.e. name, email address, university, and essay title); and 
  2. Essay document that is anonymised so as not to reveal the identity of the candidate.  

Submission Deadline
3 October ’22