Leaders in various STEM fields recently met in Iran for an unconventional convention. From December 28 to 30, Alzahra University in Tehran played host to the "Modern Sciences on Racket Sports Focusing on Table Tennis" workshop. Dr. Sima Limoochi (pictured) facilitated the proceedings, which brought athletes together with sport scientists. Skeptics might say, why would physiologists, psychologists and other highly trained experts need to analyze sports? It's not rocket science. As any athlete will tell you, the physical and mental demands of any sport are so extreme that a coach must provide extremely specific guidance in order to produce optimal results. As Professor Gordana Furjan-Mandic explained, “Due to the harder and bigger training loads and change of materials, athletes are prone to even more injuries. Coaches need to have more information on the causes of injuries." While the focus was on table tennis, representatives of Iran's governing bodies for squash, badminton and tennis also attended. This facilitated the exchange of interdisciplinary expertise, not only between different sports but between athletic and scientific leaders. So, skeptics, you're right. It's not rocket science. It's racket science.

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