A.S (Sam) Lewis was a giant figure in our history. He had a career of firsts: he was the first person to be appointed to a university in a role providing physical recreation to staff and students at the University of Canterbury in 1946. He was the first person to become an Associate of the Physical Education Society (when that status could only be achieved by examination), and the first person to complete the requirements (presentation of a thesis) to become a Fellow of the Society. In his university position Sam published research and advocated for physical education to be an examinable subject in secondary schools, long before 6th Form Certificate and NCEA exams. He also edited the original Bulletin of the Society, the forerunner of the current Journal. Notably, Sam was the first recipient of the Sir Alexander Gillies Medal for, amongst other things, his outstanding management of the Associate and Fellowship qualifications examination process. Sam was innovative, meticulous, strongly principled, humble, and articulate and he established warm, enduring relationships. It was no surprise that he was invited to chair the international committee which organised the conference associated with the Commonwealth Games in Christchurch in 1974. He was also sought after as a fitness trainer. He developed the Canter Plan and Target Training, both fitness training regimes characterised by the accumulation of scores against established tables. He was also a leading interpreter of Sheldon’s system of bodily classification, Somatotyping. Sam played a major role in writing examination papers for members to advance their qualifications. In the early days of this award, the essay competition was open to tertiary and secondary students. In 2016 it was narrowed to secondary school students, when the Lady Joan Gillies Award was introduced for undergraduate students.

Any student attending a New Zealand secondary school.

Critically analyse a physical education topic, drawn from research and or learning experiences in through and about movement. Draw conclusions for further thought and or action.

• Provide a clear and concise introduction to the topic
• Examine at least three perspectives on the topic
• Examine the assumptions and stereotypes that may exist and connect these with any sociological themes and or biophysical knowledge where applicable. This may include who may be advantaged and or disadvantaged, where applicable?
• Draw conclusions by explaining any consequences, need for further thought and or possible action
• Use relevant research, and appropriate referencing, to support your analysis 
• NB: You could choose work from assessments completed. Craft and use your best piece of work.

This critical analysis can be presented as:

• A blog post
• vlog
• essay
• opinion piece
• TED type talk
• documentary
• interview

Written submissions should not exceed 1500 words and verbal/visual submissions (e.g.,vlog, TED type talk, documentary or interview) should not exceed 5minutes. Please  keep this is mind when selecting your topic.

Critical analysis means to break down and study the parts that contribute to the topic, issue or challenge and provide understandings, differing perspectives / viewpoints and practices.

A Physical Education topic could be an area of interest, an issue or challenge. This could include but is not limited to:

• Physical activity experiences and how the environment influences them
• How does ability and disability influence physical activity opportunities?
• Getting fit. Does fitness testing and developing a training programme work?
• Improving performance, does a performance improvement programme do it?
• Who decides on what quality performance of a physical activity is?
• Will concussion and brain injury change the nature of sport?
• Do strategies to get people active work?
• Is physical activity just about wellbeing?
• Has outdoor recreation and activity become too risk averse?
• Who leads? Is everyone a leader
• What did we learn about physical activity from COVID?
• Will the impact of COVID change the nature of sport?
• Have we lost the “E” in PE?

These are suggestions only. You can choose your own topic.

Send your submission to admin@penz.org.nz