Education: BA, Modern History, University of St Andrews; MA (Hons), University of St Andrews; MSc, Recreation Management, University of Loughborough; PhD, Leisure Studies, University of Loughborough

Career: Tess Kay is Senior Research Fellow in the School of Sport and Exercise Sciences at the University of Loughborough, working primarily with the Institute of Youth Sport. She has been lecturing and researching in higher education since 1980, and is currently Senior Research Fellow. Her research and teaching interest’s are in the relationship between sport, leisure and social structure, with particular emphasis on inclusion, diversity and development, and in the effective delivery of sports-based policy interventions. Her recent work has focused on the implications of changing family structures and parental roles on sport and leisure behaviour, and has included studies of fathers and sport, family support for elite young performers, and family influence on girls' sport in Muslim communities. In the Institute of Youth Sport she is involved in the evaluation of initiatives to promote sports participation and physical activity among children and young people within and beyond school settings, in the UK and internationally. These projects include monitoring and evaluation of the Active Schools initiative in Scotland, evaluation of the national Step into Sport (youth volunteers) project, evaluation of Zoneparc/Sporting Playgrounds, and the development of family support for the Gifted and Talented programme. As part of her work with sports policy makers and deliverers she is currently undertaking research in partnership with local agencies in Africa, into the use of sport in developing nations to engage young people, encourage educational attainment and promote healthy lifestyles. She has undertaken research for a wide range of sponsors including DCMS, DfES, Nike, sportscotland, the Football Association, Sport England and the Youth Sport Trust. Tess Kay has been Joint Managing Editor of the journal Leisure Studies (see url below) since 2007, an Editorial Advisory Board member for World Leisure journal and was a former member of the Executive of the Leisure Studies Association.

Publications include: numerous articles in professional journals

Contact details: Address: Room JB2 15, School of Sport and Exercise Sciences, University of Loughborough, Ashby Road, Loughborough, Leics., LE11 3TU, England; Tel: +44 (0)1509 226302/3 (SSES office; Note: Tess is partially deaf and welcomes contact by email rather than telephone.); Fax: +44 (0)1509 226301; Email: t.a.kay@lboro.ac.uk ; Website: http://www.lboro.ac.uk/departments/sses/ ; Website: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/titles/02614367.asp/ .