McNamee Student Essay Prize
The British Philosophy of Sport Association (BPSA) invites submissions for the McNamee Student Essay Prize in the Philosophy and Ethics of Sport. The Prize is named in honour of Prof. Mike McNamee (Swansea University and KU Leuven), founder of the BPSA, and is sponsored by BPSA and Routledge.
the results of
2025 edition
1
Winner
Byron Hyde, with the paper:
"Athlete autonomy at
the Enhanced Games"
2
Runner-up
Maria Eduarda Marcelino, with the paper: "A Sport of Their Own: Rethinking Deaf Sport Beyond Disability"
Both the winner and runner-up will have the opportunity to present their papers in the upcoming BPSA Work-In-Progress Online Seminar, showcasing their outstanding contributions to the philosophy of sport.
We warmly congratulate them on their achievements and look forward to engaging discussions inspired by their work.
Dr. Marcus Campos
Deputy Chair of the British Philosophy of Sport Association
Commendation
1. Jingqian Li, with the paper: "Arbitrary Rules - A New Category
Of Rules"
2. Cam Mallet, with the paper:"Endurance as Central Excellence: An Interpretivist Critique of Sit-and-Kick Racing in Distance Running"
3. Rafael Valdivieso, with the paper: "Integrity, Sportsmanship and Character: The Baseball Hall of Fame Dilemma"
Eligibility
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Candidates must identify themselves as enrolled as a student in a university undergraduate or graduate level course at the time of submission. There is no geographical restriction on eligibility. Submissions must be single-authored and the candidate’s own work, and they must address an issue in the Philosophy or Ethics of Sport. Each candidate may submit one essay only, and submissions must be in English. A previous winner should not apply.
IMPORTANT: the essay must be a new essay. Candidates are not allowed to submit essays previously submitted as coursework (Turnitin system will check if this is the case) or submitted for another competition or published anywhere.
Criteria
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Essays may address any topic in the Philosophy or Ethics of Sport. In assessing submitted papers, the jury will place a strong emphasis on the following considerations:
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Originality of the essay topic and its treatment;
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Analytical rigour of the essay’s argument;
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Critical engagement with relevant philosophical literature
The BPSA reserves the right not to award a prize if essays fail to achieve an appropriate standard. The decision of the jury is final. Candidates will not receive feedback on their submission. ​
To Enter
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Submissions should be emailed in Word or PDF format to: marcus.campos@unesp.br with subject line ‘BPSA Essay Prize 2025’ by Friday, September 12th 2025, at midnight CET.
Candidates should submit two separate documents:
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Cover sheet that includes the candidate’s information (i.e. name, email address, university, and essay title);
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Essay document that is anonymized so as not to reveal the identity of the candidate.
Essay Format
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Please use APA style of referencing. The word limit is 2500 words (excluding references). Please avoid footnotes/endnotes.​
Prizes
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Winner – £500 cash (by bank transfer) + 100 £ voucher in Routledge books
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Runner-up – £200 cash (by bank transfer) + 100 £ voucher in Routledge books
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Commendations x 3 – each of the three commended essays will receive £100 cash (by bank transfer) + 100 £ voucher in Routledge books
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The Winner and Runner-up will be invited to present their essays at a BPSA online work-in-progress seminar in the Spring of 2026 and will be encouraged to submit their papers to the the BPSA’s journal Sport, Ethics and Philosophy: https://www.tandfonline.com/toc/rsep20/current
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For any questions, get in touch, and have fun writing!
Dr Marcus Campos
Deputy Chair British Philosophy of Sport Association
Assistant Professor, Department of Physical Education at the Institute of Biosciences