Dr Bronwyn Sumption

Teaching Fellow in Sports Development

Background

I have been involved in sport (cricket, golf, athletics, hockey, squash, functional fitness) since taking an interest in it from the age of 3. I have had the honor of being able to play cricket across school and provincial levels in South Africa and in Ireland. My academic pathway followed suit with being interested in elite sport and the management of sport. I owned and managed a functional fitness centre in South Africa whilst lecturing on a part-time basis at Tshwane University of Technology. I had completed the first year of my post-doc fellowship at the Olympic Studies Centre at the University of Johannesburg prior to moving to the University of Edinburgh.

Qualifications

  • Bachelor of Sport Science Degree, with Distinction- University of Pretoria (2012-2014)
  • Bachelor of Arts Honours in Sports and Recreation Management, with Distinction-University of Pretoria (January 2015- December 2015)
  • Master of Science (MSc) in International Development at the University College Dublin, Ireland (September 2015- August 2016)
  • Doctor of Philosophy in Sport Management at the University of Johannesburg (January 2018- December 2020
  • Post-doctoral Fellowship at the University of Johannesburg (April 2021-March 2022)

Research summary

Health and Social Sciences

  • Sports and Recreation
  • Sport Science
  • Psychology
  • Socialisation
  • Education
  • Development Studies
  • Sport Management

Social Aspect

  • Policy and Practices

Current research interests

Physical activity participation in impoverished communities (gender, poverty); Gender inequalities in sport and leadership; Mega-events and legacy; The role of universities for student athletes

Past research interests

Factors influencing participation in physical activity across the lifespan; WADA anti-doping education; Gender, participation and leadership in sport; Developing longitudinal models to quantify qualitative data to be expressed over time

Conference details

Attended and presented at the Sports Diplomacy from PyeongChang 2018 to Gangwon 2024: Inter-Korean Communication and Collaboration through Sport Mega-Events hosted by the University of Edinburgh (Scotland, 2022)

 

Papers delivered

Sport, Politics and Social Division: Will We Ever Achieve an Even Playing Field? 'Sports Diplomacy from PyeongChang 2018 to Gangwon 2024: Inter-Korean Communication and Collaboration through Sport Mega-Events' hosted by the University of Edinburgh (Scotland, 2022)

  • Bronwyn A Sumption (2016). The effectiveness of NGOs within South Africa successfully sustaining grass root sport mobilisation. University College Dublin
  • Gauteng's UNICEF study (2017). National Research on the Status of Physical Education in South African Public Schools: A report for policymakers. Authors: Dr. Engela van der Klashorst, Michelle Joubert, Janine Botha, Andries Kruger, Ntshge Phaswana, Eloise Nel, Kyra Cyrus, and Bronwyn Sumption. University of Pretoria
  • Bronwyn A Sumption. (2020). Factors influencing continued physical activity participation in institutionalised settings in selected impoverished townships in Gauteng. University of Pretoria
  • Sumption, B. and Burnett, C. (2021a) ‘A framework for capturing active participation in structured physical activity across the lifespan in Sub-Saharan Africa’, Journal of Physical Education and Sport, 21, pp. 3141–3148. doi: 10.7752/jpes.2021.s6418.
  • Sumption, B. and Burnett, C. (2021b) ‘Live in the moment, educate for life: Lessons for life-long participation in structured physical activity’, Journal of Physical Education and Sport, 21(1), pp. 165–173. doi: 10.7752/jpes.2021.01023.