The Simon Marshall Lecture - Athlete advocacy: what motivates athletes to champion climate action?

With thanks to the generosity of the Biddle Family Scholarship, the IAS is hosting The Simon Marshall Lecture -  

Sport is full of challenges and is constantly changing. One of the biggest challenges facing sport is coming from climate change. Whilst news stories have rightfully focused on the ecological damage and the impact on sport facilities, the impact on those participating in sport is often overlooked. Despite this, many athletes have pushed for sport to do more. 

This event is a talk by two former Olympians, Etienne Stott and Laura Baldwin, to explain what motivated them to start advocating for climate action and what they are doing to raise awareness. Etienne and Laura are hosted as IAS Fellows by Dr Mark Doidge. Following their lecture, there will be a panel with Etienne and Laura, and a member of a national governing body (TBC). The event will end with a reception.

The Biddle family is delighted to support the work of Loughborough University through the Biddle Family Scholarship. Eight members of the family have had an association with the university as either staff or student, or both. This includes James Biddle as a Physical Education in the early 1950s, to James’ son, Grant, also a PE student in the 1970s, to Greg (post-doc) and Jack (MSc in Sport & Exercise Nutrition) from 2015. James’ other son, Stuart has been a student (1970s) and staff member, including being Head of the-then School of Sport & Exercise Sciences, 2001-2007.

An important part of the Scholarship donation is to support the Simon Marshall Lecture.  Simon Marshall sadly passed away in 2024 aged 53. He grew up local to Loughborough and attended Quorn Rawlins school. After degrees from Liverpool John Moores and San Diego State Universities, he graduated from Loughborough with a PhD in Sport & Exercise Sciences in 2001 under the supervision of Professor Stuart Biddle. He an outstanding PhD student and Loughborough post-doc prior to returning to San Diego to pursue an equally successful academic career. Later he became an entrepreneur, sport consultant, and sport psychologist, working closely with his wife, Lesley Paterson, a world champion triathlete. He was an outstanding speaker and writer, including contributing to award-winning screen plays. 

Arrivals from 5:15 pm for a 5:30 pm start. 

This event is hybrid format, please use the required booking button at the bottom of the page to choose either in-person or online attendance.
(Please note that in-person spaces are limited and booking is required, so we can manage numbers for catering and also the space in the seminar room)

By booking a place at this event, attendees agree to behave in a respectful manner such that everyone feels comfortable contributing as they wish. The IAS reserves the right to eject anyone who does not abide by this policy.

IAS seminars are typically recorded, minus any Q&A sessions at the end, again to encourage contributions. The recordings are then uploaded to our website on a Fellows bio page and/or Programme page, along with our IAS YouTube Channel. If you are not able to attend a seminar live, please do still register as we will email everyone who registered to let them know once the recordings are made available.