Australian Society for Sports History
Australian Society for Sports History (ASSH) was formed in July 1983. The aim of the Society is to encourage discussion on the history of sport in Australia through research, publishing and events such as conferences and workshops. Background. The Society was formed during the Sporting Traditions VI Conference held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in July 1983. The inaugural President was Colin Tatz. ASSH Fellows. The ASSH Fellowship is presented to members and non-members who have made an outstanding contribution to the field of sports history, either in Australia or internationally. It is presented  in recognition of the leading role that the recipient has played in developing and furthering the research interests of sports history Sporting Traditions Conference. ASSH biennually hosts a national conference called Sporting Traditions. The first Conference in 1977 was organised by Richard Cashman and Michael McKernan to bring together academics with an interest in the history of sport. The conference proceedings were published in the book"Sport in history : the making of modern sporting history". Many papers presented at the Conference are published in the Society's journal "Sporting Traditions". Publications. Journals. The Society publishes two journals. "Sporting Traditions" is a  biannual academic journal that has been published since November 1984. The inaugural editor was Wray Vamplew. It includes academic articles and book reviews. "ASSH Bulletin" is published on a regular basis and covers short articles and news. ASSH Studies Papers. The Society publishes compilations of papers on a range of topics including specific sports, law, gender, Olympics and Indigenous Australians. Oxford Companion to Australian Sport. The Society was responsible for creating the "Oxford Companion to Australian Sport". Most members of the Society provided entries on all aspects of the history of sport in Australia. The first edition was published by  Oxford University Press in 1992 and updated in 1994. Contributing editors were Wary Vamplew, Katharine Moore, John O'Hara, Richard Cashman and Ian Jobling.