IRNIST Board

Mathieu Stievenard is the Managing Director of the local public bodies for the management of the Jean Stablinski Regional Indoor Velodrome of Roubaix – the Stab Velodrome.

Mathieu Stievenard est le Directeur Général de la SPL de Gestion du Vélodrome Couvert Régional de Roubaix Jean Stablinski – le Stab Vélodrome. Il a un riche parcours professionnel dans le secteur public (Métropole Européenne de Lille, Conseil Régional des Hauts de France) et organismes d’intérêt général (GIP France Télé Numérique). Spécialiste des conduites de projet et des métiers de la concertation, il a notamment conduit un débat public (Projet d’extension portuaire Calais Port 2015) et a contribué au passage à la télévision numérique terrestre en France en tant que délégué Régional pour le Groupement d’Intérêt Public France Télé Numérique composé pour 50 % des chaînes de télévision historique – TF1, France 2, France 3, France 4, Canal+ et pour 50 % de l’Etat. Ses objectifs en matière de décloisonnement des politiques publiques et notamment dans le tourisme l’ont amené à travailler sur l’impact du Musée du Louvre-Lens sur le tourisme du bassin minier. Il a participé à ce titre à un programme d’études au Japon en 2015 avec le Council of Local Authorities for International Relations (CLAIR PARIS). Il est par ailleurs chargé d’enseignement-vacataire à l’université Charles De Gaulle – Lille 3.

Dr Sean Gammon is based in the Lancashire School of Business and Enterprise at the University of Central Lancashire. He has been writing and researching in sport tourism for over twenty years and ran the first under graduate degree programme on the subject (BA Hons Sport Tourism). Sean’s research interests mostly focus on sport tourist experiences, though more recently he has been exploring (with Ramshaw) the breadth and significance of sports heritage in generating tourism. In addition to his work in sport tourism, he continues to contribute to the field of leisure studies, and his current research project is exploring the potential health benefits of nostalgic reflections of the seaside.

Professor Heather Gibson is a faculty member in the Department of Tourism, Recreation and Sport Management, at University of Florida.  Her research interests include sport tourism (specializing in sport events and active sport tourism), leisure and tourism behavior in mid and later life, women as tourists, including her recent project on Girl Friend Travel and the perceived wellbeing associated with all female travel. With her focus on understanding tourist behavior, she has co-authored a number of papers understanding the multidimensional role of perceived risk in travel, most recently for female tourists.  With her background in sport and tourism, Dr. Gibson authored some of the seminal papers in the area of sport tourism and has conducted several studies for the Gainesville Sport Commission.  She was also part of a research team partnered with Tshwane University in South Africa investigating various social impacts of the 2010 FIFA World Cup.  One of her current projects combines her interests in sport tourism and gender with a focus on the influence of participation in elite youth sport on families, with a focus on the travel associated with having children involved in high level sport

Dr. Gibson has published over 75 academic journal articles and has more than 25 years of academic research presentations. She has edited two books: Sport Tourism: Concepts and Theories, a collection of original essays on this type of tourism and co-edited Leisure and Aging: Theory and Practice which has recently been translated into Mandarin for the Chinese market. She teaches classes in leisure and tourism theory, sport tourism and research methods. For the past ten years she has also lead study abroad programs to Australia and Fiji with a focus on sustainability. Professor Gibson is a Fellow of the Academy of Leisure Sciences and the Academy of Distinguished Teaching Scholars at the University of Florida. In 2014 she was the recipient of the Health and Humans Performance Charles S Williams Service Award at the University of Florida.

Dr. Gibson is a Managing Editor of Leisure Studies, an Associate Editor for the Journal of Sport & Tourism, an Editorial Board member for the Journal of Sport Management, the Journal of Policy Research in Leisure, Tourism and Events, and the World Leisure Journal. She is an ad hoc reviewer for countless journals including Annals of Tourism Research and Tourism Management. 

Professor Mike Weed is a Professor of Applied Policy Sciences and the Pro Vice-Chancellor for Research and Enterprise at Canterbury Christ Church University. Drawing on a wide range of social science disciplines, including social psychology, sociology, economics, geography and policy science, his work has focused on informing, improving and interrogating policy in the applied domains of public health, physical activity, physical education, sport, tourism, transport, urban development and major events. Recent work has been funded by, inter alia, the Economic and Social Research Council, the Department of Health, the National Health Service and the Greater London Authority, and has included analyses of the health benefits and economic and tourism flows associated with major events, policy partnerships and learning in relation to both events and sports tourism in general, and the health and sustainable transport impacts of cycling provision.

Professor Weed is Strategic Director of the Centre for Sport, Physical Education & Activity Research (SPEAR), Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Sport & Tourism (Routledge), Editor of the SAGE Library of Sport & Leisure Management, and sits on the Editorial Boards of Qualitative Research in Sport, Exercise & Health (Routledge) and the Journal of Global Sport Management (Routledge).