The Special Interest Group in Environmental Physiology brings together researchers, practitioners and performance stakeholders (e.g., coaches, athletes, applied sport scientists) who share a common interest in understanding and optimising exercise performance under environmental stress. Our scope spans team and individual sports, Olympic disciplines and extreme events, across training, competition and recovery settings.

For over a decade, we have been focussing on key environmental stressors including heat, cold, hypoxia, altitude, gravity, air pollution and combined stress exposures. By integrating laboratory research, field studies and applied performance practice, the SIG aims to bridge mechanistic science with real-world implementation.

For this year, our annual meeting is designed to be highly interactive, moving beyond traditional formats. Through structured debates, expert panels and audience engagement, we aim to create space for critical discussion, contrasting perspectives and practical take-home insights. Participants are encouraged to contribute actively, challenge prevailing assumptions and explore emerging directions in environmental physiology research and practice.

This year’s headline debate: “Is heat acclimation the new altitude training?”

With growing evidence supporting heat-based interventions for haemodynamic, cardiovascular and performance adaptations, this session will examine whether heat acclimation can rival - or even replace - altitude and hypoxic training in certain contexts. Audience members will discuss in a point/counterpoint discussion the merits of the statement that heat acclimation can replace altitude training. So, come prepared with your arguments and be ready to debate your colleagues…respectfully of course! 

Whether you work in elite sport, military, clinical, or research settings, this debate offers an opportunity to critically examine current evidence, practical constraints and future directions in environmental performance optimisation.

Join us for a lively, evidence-driven exchange at the forefront of environmental sport science.

Olivier, Sébastien, Julien & Lee (Co-chairs)

Date: Thursday, 9 July
Time: 12:45-14:00 (during lunch break) 
Session room: 3A

Prof Olivier Girard
University of Western Australia
School of Human Sciences
Perth, Australia

Prof Sébastien Racinais 
CREPS Montpellier Font-Romeu 
Montpellier, France

Prof Julien Périard
University of Canberra, Australia
Research Institute for Sport and Exercise 
Canberra, Australia

Dr Lee Taylor 
Director of Partnerships and International Engagement
Reader in Exercise and Environmental Physiology
Loughborough University
Loughborough, United Kingdom