AMERICAN SOCIETY
OF EXERCISE PHYSIOLOGISTS
Founded, 1997

President’s Report
March 1999

I hope that you all had a joyous Easter break.  The month of March has been very hectic due to my need to finalize the manuscripts for the April 1 issue of JEPonline, complete additional work on the October 1999 conference, contribute to a faculty search committee, and attend to my wife who is expected to give birth any day now!  Isn’t life fun!!  Anyway, I have to report on significant progress in certain of my functions, and reveal the events that have to occur in April.

1999 Annual Meeting
Hopefully you have all seen the webpages for the 1999 annual meeting.  I have had numerous inquiries, with an example of an abstract already emailed to me for my evaluation prior to its official submittal.  The structure of the meeting has fallen into shape very quickly, with new requests for special topic presentations continuing to filter into my office.  However, there are no more vacancies left for 30 min presentations, so please do not bother to inquire about these any longer.  The remainder of the meeting schedule is devoted to scientific research (poster and 10 min oral presentations).

Journal of Exercise Physiologyonline
The Adobe Acrobat PDF file presentation of each manuscript in JEPonline has become a reality, and all manuscripts in the April and future issues will have a html and PDF version.  You will notice in the April issue that all PDF manuscripts now have page numbers to assist in referencing.  Also, it will become apparent that some figures transfer better to PDF and html presentations than others.  I have found that windows metafile (WMF) version figures appear the best in the PDF presentation.  Consequently, Tommy and I need to re-evaluate our author submission requirements so that authors can better exploit the color presentation potential of the electronic publication medium.

Another issue that needs to be addressed is the format of tables in manuscripts.  As editor-in-chief I will become more stringent in the need for all tables to be pre-formatted in Microsoft Word Autotable formats when the final version of accepted manuscripts are either mailed or emailed to me as attachments.  The Autotable format I use on the PDF versions of the manuscripts is the colorful 2 format.

I hope all members and JEPonline readers like the presentations that Tommy and I have developed. Continue to provide feedback as we can continue to make improvements if they are required.

Letters to Other Organizations
I have not been able to contact ACSM again since February, but have not really tried to do so at a high frequency.  My correspondence with other ASEP members has provided contacts to communicate with from the National Strength and Conditioning Association, as well as the American Physical Therapy Association.  I will be pursuing these contacts during April with the intent of arranging a meeting with as many organizations as possible that have an interest in working with ASEP-certified exercise physiologists.

Tommy and I have discussed the issue of state specific ASEP organizations, and I need to contact representatives from as many states as possible to direct these groups to establish themselves as specific state ASEP chapters.

Committee Functions
As I discussed last month, I have had feedback from the Research, Accreditation, and Certification committees regarding their duties.  I must contact chairs from the remaining committees so that I can evaluate their progress.

Scope of Practice For ASEP Certified Exercise Physiologists
I am disappointed that I have not received feedback from ASEP members regarding the scope of practice that Tommy and I posted to the February President's Report.  If you have not looked at it yet, please read it and think about what it should say and contain.  The February version is just a first draft, and all ASEP members should contribute in how this document is developed.  Remember, we are trying to develop a document that describes who we are and what we are/can/should do as exercise physiologists.  We can not continue to make future progress unless this document is the best it can be!!

International Issues
Last week Tommy received a letter from Phil Hamdorf, the secretary of the Australian Association for Exercise and Sports Science (AAESS).  The letter is a follow-up to the meeting between Phil and Tommy this past June, 1998.  AAESS is interested (as we are) in developing professional connections with organizations from other countries that serve the professional needs of exercise scientists.  Tommy and I will return an official letter from ASEP that expresses our desire to pursue this function, as establishing an international presence was an important objective of the ASEP Board of Directors at their first meeting in November 1998.

That is all for March.  Remember to register for the 1999 annual meeting, submit abstracts, and plan on a great trip to the south-west.  Talk to you next month.

Robert Robergs, Ph.D., FASEP
President - ASEP