The Child, Youth and Sports Professionals Protection (GYISZVÉD) research group of the Hungarian University of Sports Science (HUSS) held its international conference on December 5, 2025, focussing on issues of child, youth and professional protection in sport.
The aim of the project closing event of the four-year application work, supported by the National Research, Development and Innovation Fund, was to explore the role of safeguarding in the field of sport from a scientific and practical perspective and to strengthen the culture of safe sport for all athletes in sports life.
The event was groundbreaking in terms of its topic and program, as it was the first international scientific conference of this kind in Hungary. The presentation took place in a hybrid format - on-site, online and as presentations recorded as video messages. The event was honoured with the presence of Dr. Balázs Baji, Director General of the National Institute of Sports Development and Methodology, who emphasized in his welcoming speech that child protection should also be given a prominent role in the field of national sports development. It is an extraordinary recognition that he indicated that the institute intends to incorporate the results of the research and the safeguarding approach into its various programs in the future.
Professor Tamás Sterbenz, rector, reminded that the university’s application submitted in the field of social sciences received a unique level of support, thanks not only to the topic, but also to the research team consisting of credible experts. He called it exemplary that over the past four years, unparalleled cooperation has developed between departments and institutes, which has resulted in the creation of high-quality, scientifically based outcomes.
Professor h. c. Lajos Mocsai, chairman of the board of trustees of the Foundation for Physical Education University, indicated that he not only supports, but also feels it is his duty to create a safe environment for child and adolescent athletes.
“Whether it is a school or any sports community, education can only take place in a safe environment, with appropriate discipline,” the chairman emphasized, and then drew attention to the fact that the scene of abuse is diverse: it can happen on the sports field, in the locker room, in the training camp, in any leisure program, during travel and even in the online space.”
The guest of honour and first speaker of the conference was Gloria Viseras, head of the International Olympic Committee's Safeguarding, Health and Medical Commission, who began her speech with a shocking statement: as a gymnast in her childhood, she herself was a victim of coach abuse and, according to her own admission, she still bears the psychological burden of this to this day. In her presentation, she drew attention to the diverse aspects of psychological and physical abuse occurring in sport, the problem management, the risk factors influencing victimization, and the various measures and methods used in safeguarding.
Dr. Philip Hurst, Assistant Professor at Canterbury Christ Church University, logged in from Brazil and delivered an online presentation entitled Interpersonal Violence in Sport – The Importance of Psychological Safety, while the other foreign contributor, Donatella Sacchi, Chair of the Women’s Technical Commission of the International Gymnastics Federation, presented the safeguarding strategy of the leading organization of this sensitive sport and the successful steps taken so far in a 20-minute video message.
After that, the members of the GYISZVÉD research group also presented the partial results of the research in an unusual format, in interconnected 5-minute presentations, and summarized them to present the identified risk factors and possible preventive steps in order to protect children, young people and sports professionals. The work of the research group included Dr. Gáldiné dr. habil. Andrea Gál (research leader), Professor Földesiné Dr. Gyöngyi Szabó, Dr. Szilvia Perényi, Dr. Gabriella Dóczi-Vámos, Dr. Judit Farkas, Dr. Ilona Bodnár, Dr. Tamás Dóczi, Dr. Zsuzsanna Kalmár, dr. Diána Szekeres, Professor István Soós and Dr. habil. Ágota Lénárt. Alongside them PhD students János Novák, Ceren Nur Temiz and Martin Kiss also played a significant role. It was special that Dr. Antonis Alexopoulos, a lecturer at the European University of Cyprus and president of the Cyprus Physical Education and Sports Science Society, who had previously obtained a teaching diploma and a PhD degree at HUSS, returned to his alma mater for this occasion and presented an international example to introduce his country's safeguarding development program, thus further enriching the programme.
The international conference – where the high participation was also facilitated by two-way interpretation – took place amidst the interest of numerous Hungarian sports public bodies, sports federations, sports schools, coaches’ community representatives or leaders, researchers and students. The professional partners of the HUSS research group, such as the Hungarian Society for Sports Science (HSSS), Hungarian Coaches’ Association, the National Federation of Sports Associations, the Hungarian Olympic Committee, the Hungarian Paralympic Committee and the officials of the National Competitive Sports Federation, were also present at the event, and the HSSS’s Child and Family Protection and Sports Sociology Committee, as well as the TF Social Relations Office, acted as co-organizers.
The edited volume presenting the results of the scientific research project, comprising 12+1 standalone studies, entitled Child, Youth and Professional Protection in Sport. Risk Factors and Prevention Possibilities, published by Hungarian Society of Sports Science, was presented at the event, and one of the editors, Dr. Tamás Dóczi, Associate Professor of the Department of Social Sciences, briefly presented its themes. The grandiose work summarizes the results and conclusions of the four-year work of the GYISZVÉD research group, also helping the preparation of students of safeguarding courses starting in the near future for the profession of physical education teacher, coach, and sports organizer.
