Australian Society for Sports History


Australian Society for Sports History was formed in July 1983. The aim of the Society is to encourage discussion on the history of sport in Australia through research, publishing and events such as conferences and workshops.

Background

The Society was formed during the Sporting Traditions VI Conference held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in July 1983. The inaugural President was Colin Tatz.

Presidents

The ASSH Fellowship is presented to members and non-members who have made an outstanding contribution to the field of sports history, either in Australia or internationally. It is presented in recognition of the leading role that the recipient has played in developing and furthering the research interests of sports history
ASSH biannually hosts a national conference called Sporting Traditions. The first Conference in 1977 was organised by Richard Cashman and Michael McKernan to bring together academics with an interest in the history of sport. The conference proceedings were published in the bookSport in history : the making of modern sporting history. Many papers presented at the Conference are published in the Society's journal Sporting Traditions.
NumberDetails
IUniversity of New South Wales, Sydney, 28–30 June 1977
IIUniversity of New South Wales, Sydney, 1–3 July 1979
IIILa Trobe University, Melbourne, 1981
IVMelbourne Cricket Club, Melbourne, July 1983
VFlinders University, Adelaide, 14–16 July 1985
VIMelbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne, 18–22 May 1987
VIIWhite City Club, Sydney, 6–9 July 1989
VIIIAustralian Institute of Sport, Canberra, 11–14 July 1991
IXUniversity of Tasmania, Launceston, 30 June–3 July 1993
XUniversity of Queensland, Brisbane, 26–30 June 1995
XIEdith Cowan University, Perth, 1–4 July 1997
XIIUniversity of Otago, Queenstown, New Zealand, 1–5 February 1999
XIIIAquinas College, Adelaide, 10–13 July 2001
XIVAustralian Catholic University, Sydney, 3–7 July 2003
XVVictoria University, Melbourne, 11–14 July 2005
XVIUniversity of Canberra, Canberra, 27–30 June 2007
XVIIUniversity of Otago and the Otago Polytechnic,Wellington, New Zealand, 31 June-3 July 2009
XVIIIUniversity of Queensland. Kingscliff, NSW, 5–8 July 2011
XIXUniversity of Canberra, Canberra, 2–5 July 2013
XXDarwin, 30 June – 3 July 2015
XXIUniversity of Technology Sydney, Sydney, 3–6 July 2017

Publications

Journals

The Society publishes two journals. Sporting Traditions is a semi-annual academic journal that has been published since November 1984. The inaugural editor was Wray Vamplew. It includes academic articles and book reviews. ASSH Bulletin is published on regular basis that covers short articles and news.

ASSH Studies Papers

The Society publishes compilations of papers on a range of topics including specific sports, law, gender, Olympics and indigenous Australians.

Oxford Companion to Australian Sport

The Society was responsible for creating the Oxford Companion to Australian Sport. Most members of the Society provided entries on all aspects of the history of sport in Australia. The first edition was published by Oxford University Press in 1992 and updated in 1994. Contributing editors were Wary Vamplew, Katharine Moore, John O'Hara, Richard Cashman and Ian Jobling.