An-Najah University held the Second Palestinian International Sport Scientific Conference “Total Quality in Physical Education and Sport Science” at Prince Turki Bin Abdul Aziz Theater, New Campus and was attended by significant numbers of researchers, academic staff and experts in the field of sport.

Notable attendants to the opening session included Prof. Maher Abu Eid, Vice President for academic Affairs, Dr. Waleed Khanfar, Dean of the Faculty of Physical Education and Head of the Conference’s Organizing Committee, Professor Jonathan Doust, Head of the Chelsea School of Sport at the University of Brighton in the United Kingdom, Professor Abdel Naser Al-Qaddoumi, Head of the Scientific Committee of the Conference, Jibril Rajoub, President of Palestine Olympic Committee and President of the Palestinian Football Association, Brigadier Jibrin Al-Bakri, Governor of Nablus, Engineer Adli Yaish, Mayor of Nablus, Professor Arabi Hammoudeh, Dean of the Faculty of Physical Education at the University of Jordan and President of the Association of Colleges, Institutes and Departments of Physical Education in the Arab World, Professor Fayez Abu Arida, Dean of the Faculty of Physical Education at Yarmouk University, Mr. Mohammad Al-Kobari, Projects Coordinator at the British Council in Nablus, in addition to many researchers and experts in sports from the different local, regional and international universities.

The opening speech was delivered by Prof. Abu Eid on behalf of An-Najah President, Prof. Rami Hamdallah, in which he welcomed the attendants to the University and appreciated their interest in participating in such important event. He also addressed sport as a major element in the life of human beings and plays an important role in establishing connections between people across the globe.

Regarding the teaching of sport at An-Najah, Prof. Abu Eid said the University has included sport courses in the different departments and has also established an independent faculty of physical education that contains cutting-edge equipment and advanced facilities that offer the best learning and training environments for the students.

Professor Hammoudeh thanked the Faculty of Physical Education at An-Najah for the efforts it made to organize this meeting which discusses one of the most significant issues in sport which is total quality in physical education and sport science. He added that the Palestinian teams have participated in the different Arab and international sport events despite the harsh situations and challenges on the ground.

Moreover, Professor Hammoudeh spoke about the importance of scientific research in sport and the necessity to conduct more studies on the different issues in this field in order to obtain better results and make more advancement.  He also called upon universities to support such conferences.

Dr. Khanfar thanked the participants for their interest and work and valued the efforts made by the British Council and its cooperation with An-Najah to make such event a success. He added that in order to achieve development in sport and sport science total quality must be employed in the different areas of sport, physical education and sport science.

Sport serve as a communication tool between people across the world and that it provides societies investment and job opportunities.

The Conference consisted of a number of sessions in which the speakers presented several research papers that addressed various topics and issues in the field of sport. Such topics included: Total quality in sport training sciences, sport for all, competitive and special sport, total quality in administrative and educational sport sciences, and total quality in police and military sport.

The papers that were presented in the first session included: “Sources of Competition Pressures and Confrontation Strategies among Players in Team Sports for the Higher Sport Levels in Palestine” by Professor Abdel Naser Al-Qaddoumi and Dr. Mu’een Hafeth, “The Relationship between the Leptin Hormone and Body Composition among Physical Education Majors” by Professor Abdel Naser Al-Qaddoumi, Dr. Sulaiman Khalil and Wala’ Wasta, Sports Courses in the United Kingdom:  Historical Trends and Curricula Developments by Professor Jonathan Doust, and “The Impact of a Diverse Program (Games-Competitions-Drama) on some of the Motor Skills among Children with Learning Difficulties” by Professor Samira Orabi and Dr. Awatef Ibrahim.

Professor Doust’s paper was of significant importance in the Conference as in it he spoke about an important program that is adopted by most British universities in teaching sport. The program focused on issues such as sport medicine which has become integral to many nations’ strategies for sport success. He said that according to the program that is used in the UK, a student can obtain a university degree in various disciplines besides physical education such as sport engineering, sport medicine, sport management and others. This enables the students to specialize in these areas and become sport engineers, sport managers, sport coaches and so forth. Moreover, he spoke about the importance of developing the curricula of sport departments and faculties in order to cope with the different changes that take place in the field of sport.  

Furthermore, Professor Doust met with professor of sport and physical education at An-Najah and lectured on his project for the development of sports medicine in Palestine explaining that a possible cooperation could be established with a number of Palestinian universities in order to implement such project which would have a largely positive contribution to the development of sport in Palestine.

Papers in the second session included: “Job Satisfaction among Football Referees Working in Jordan” by Dr. Nabeel Shamroukh and Muhammad Muqableh, “Life Skills in Physical Education Curricula at the Palestinian Universities: An Evaluative Point of View for Students” by Dr. Bahjat Abu Tame’, “The Level of Tactical Thinking among Volleyball Players in the Premier League Clubs in Palestine” by Professor Fayez Abu Arida and Ahmed Nassar, “Professional Difficulties that Teachers of Physical Education Encounter in UNRWA Schools in Jordan” by Dr. Mahmoud Al-Hadidi, and “Time Management in Sport Activities among Female Teachers of Physical Education in the Directorate of Education in Jenin” by Dr. Bader Rif’at, Mariam Hathnawi and Nashwa Hindawi.

The third session consisted of other papers including “Mixed Ball Game” by Dr. Khanfar, “Psychological Pressures among the Players of some of the National Teams in Team Sports in Palestine” by Dr. Thabet Shtaiwi, “The Role of the Athlete Mother in Raising a Sport Generation that can Make Sport Achievements for its Country from the Point of View of Members of the Teaching Staff at the Faculty of Physical Education” by Dr. Nihad Battikhi, “University Compatibility among B.A. Students who Practice Sport and those who do not at Birzeit University” by Dr. Khaled Malouh and Mr. Isaq Eid, “Women in Sport: An Australian Perspective” by Katie Flanagan, and “The Reality of Physical Education in Schools in Bethlehem Governorate, West Bank-Palestine by Professor Steve Tonz and Samar Al-A’araj Musa.

At the conclusion of the Conference, the participants recommended holding similar meetings to discuss the different rising issues in sport, set national standards for total quality in the different sports faculties and departments in Palestine, study admission requirements of students who wish to major in physical education and sport, and develop sport curricula in Palestinian and Arab universities.