Dr Elizabeth Pike co-authors first UK edition of the global best-seller ‘Sports in Society’ book

Dr Elizabeth Pike, a senior lecturer in Sport Development from the University of Chichester, has co-authored the first ever UK edition of the highly regarded ‘Sports in Society: Issues and Controversies’ book.

Dr Pike, who will be speaking about the benefits and barriers to involvement in physical activity for older people at the World Congress of the Sociology of Sport in Utrecht, the Netherlands from 15-18th July 2009, co-authored the book with Jay Coakley, Professor Emeritus of Sociology at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs, USA.

In 2007 Professor Coakley’s work was recognised by the Institute for International Sport who selected him as one of the 100 Most Influential Sports Educators, and in the same year he became an Honorary Fellow of the University of Chichester in recognition of his outstanding leadership in the sociology of sport.

This new edition, published by McGraw-Hill/Open University Press, continues the legacy of the Sports in Society series written by Professor Coakley. Dr Pike worked with Professor Coakley to combine the book’s original structure and adapt new material to a UK audience which makes it essential reading for students in this subject area as well as for professionals working within the sports sector.

Dr Pike is also the current General Secretary of the International Sociology of Sport Association.