Moving Bodies Lab lead Professor Cassie Phoenix delivered the Sir Derek Birley memorial lecture at the British Society of Sports History 2026 Annual Conference last week to an international audience at the University of Edinburgh.
Sir Derek was not only an early pioneer of sports history, but also an early member of the BSSH and a sub-editor of The Sports Historian. Since being introduced to the conference in 2003, The Birley has been delivered by non-historians working in wider sports and sport-adjacent studies to share research insights and different ways of working.
In her presentation Cassie shared findings from her collaborative research into women’s movement through menopause, highlighting the range of methodological approaches adopted in this work, and rich understanding they have enabled into women’s relationship with movement as they negotiate this life stage. She concluded with a call for greater interdisciplinary research into movement during the menopause transition and the vital role of sports historians in this.
Cassie was honoured to be invited to deliver the Sir Derek Birley lecture and extends her thanks to the conference organisers for an excellent and informative meeting.
