Three hundred researchers from over 10 countries took part in the 4th International Scientific Congress “Applied Sciences in Sport”

On 21 and 22 November 2025, the 4th International Scientific Congress “Applied Sciences in Sport” was held at the National Sports Academy “Vasil Levski”. The forum was officially opened immediately after the celebration of the Academy Day, dedicated to the 83rd anniversary of the opening of the first academic year at the National Sports Academy “Vasil Levski”, by Prof. Ognian Miladinov – Vice-Rector for Research and International Activities and Vice President of the Congress.

The congress became a unique platform where more than 300 researchers, lecturers, coaches, and experts from over 10 countries met to discuss scientific achievements and challenges in contemporary sport, physical education, kinesitherapy, sport management, and other related disciplines.

The keynote speakers were Prof. Stephen Seiler (Norway) – university lecturer and established researcher in endurance training organization and training intensity distribution modeling; Marko Zunic (Croatia) – member of the Board of the International University Sports Federation (FISU), an internationally recognized expert in law, diplomacy, and sport management; and Prof. Daniel Memmert (Germany) – Executive Director of the Institute of Training Science and Sport Informatics at the German Sport University Cologne, one of the world’s leading scholars in movement science, sport psychology, and computer science in sport.

Among the official guests were rectors and representatives of the academic leadership of Bulgarian and foreign universities, including Prof. Tigran Simonyan – Rector of the Institute of Physical Culture and Sport, Yerevan, Armenia; Assoc. Prof. Branislav Antala – Vice President of FIEPS World; Prof. Kakhabet Khvefelidze – Dean of the Faculty of Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation at the University of Physical Education and Sport, Tbilisi, Georgia; Prof. Mehmet Taskiran – Dean of the Faculty of Sport at Rumeli University, Istanbul, Turkey; Prof. Vlatko Nedelkovski – Dean of the Faculty of Physical Education, Sport and Health, Skopje, North Macedonia; Prof. Ljubica Lilic – Dean of the Faculty of Sport and Physical Education at the University of Pristina and Kosovska Mitrovica; Prof. Borislav Cicovic – Dean of the Faculty of Physical Education and Sport at the University of East Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and others.

The forum program included: a plenary session, three symposia, two workshops, six parallel scientific sessions, and a discussion forum on the topic “Artificial Intelligence and Sport – Beyond the Algorithm, Beyond the Result”. The Rector of the NSA, Prof. Krasimir Petkov, opened the discussion, and the moderator was Assoc. Prof. Ivan Slavchev.

Within the framework of the congress, the winner of the annual award of the Mayor of Sofia Municipality for special achievements in sport science was announced. The prize, amounting to BGN 3,000, was awarded to Denislava Georgieva for the best research paper entitled “Study of the Explosive Strength of the Lower Limbs in Rhythmic Gymnastics”. The symbolic check was presented by Blagorodna Zdravkova, Deputy Mayor of Sofia Municipality in charge of “Culture, Education, Sport and Youth Activities”.

An academic jury determined the awards for best poster: first place – Paolina Ivanova, Petar Peev, Oleg Hristov; second place – Tanya Grueva, Simona Bogdanova; and third place – Simeon Stoyanov.

Outside the official program, the congress participants had the pleasure of enjoying an impressive sports and music show, staged under the direction of Prof. Kiril Andonov by students and lecturers of the Academy.

The next, 5th International Scientific Congress “Applied Sciences in Sport” will be held on 3 and 4 December 2027 at the National Sports Academy “Vasil Levski”.