Some 2000 delegates from around the world have gathered in Glasgow for an event that has become known as the Knowledge Olympics.
Among the topics for discussion at the second International Convention on Science, Education and Medicine in Sport (ICSEMIS) – which started yesterday at the SECC – is sudden death on the football pitch.
Representatives from countries including Afghanistan, Brazil, Hungary and Nepal will discuss papers such as Athletes' Hearts and Sudden Death in Sport, and From the Playground to the Podium: The Fitness and Health of Children Through Sport.
Football has lost several top players after they suffered cardiac arrests on the pitch, most recently Italian Piermario Morosini, 25, who collapsed while playing for Livorno in April.
Closer to home, Motherwell captain Phil O'Donnell died, aged 35, after a heart attack on the Fir Park pitch in December 2007.
Bolton star Fabrice Muamba is still recovering after his heart stopped for more than one hour during a match in March.
Also up for discussion at the conference is the abuse of referees.
Previously known as the Pre-Olympic Congress, the ICSEMIS sees scientists, academics and sportspeople come together in the run-up to the summer Olympics to discuss major issues in sport.
With the London 2012 Games just days away, Glasgow's hosting of the event is estimated to be worth £5million to the city.
Professor Celia Brackenridge, of Brunel University, London, is head of the local organising committee.
She is thrilled Glasgow is staging the event, which ends on Tuesday.
She said: "ICSEMIS is never held in the same city as the Olympics, as there just wouldn't be the capacity. When London won the right to hold the 2012 Games, I was living in Edinburgh and I was hearing people on TV saying how there was nothing in it for Scotland.
"I suggested we bring the ICSEMIS to Glasgow as it has one of the best conferencing venues around in the SECC. The support we've had from the city has been phenomenal."
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article