Dear friends,
We announced the organization of the 5th IMDRC in Komotini, Greece at the 4th IMDRC in Verona, in September 2019. However, the Covid-19 pandemic broke out the following year. In the hope that the situation would improve, we withheld the announcement not knowing if the conference would have to be cancelled altogether or held in person a year later. We hoped for the latter.
Unfortunately, it seems that the pandemic will be with us for a long time and bearing that in mind, the organizing committee has made a final decision to hold a virtual conference. We admit that we are greatly disappointed as we had envisaged the event very differently and planned to offer our unique hospitality, in the form of an ancient theater performance, a tour of the archeological site associated with the mythological Odyssey, a trekking experience in the Rodopi mountains, a lunch by the shore and swimming in the sea at night, and a string orchestra concert at the site of the ancient theater. We do promise to be available for any future IMDRC event so as to make up for the lost opportunity. As no opportunity should be missed, we have organized a conference that we hope you will find unforgettable. Trying to make the best use of remote technologies, we have invited 4 excellent keynote speakers and have organized 4 invited symposia with outstanding guests that you will definitely enjoy. We hope this conference will be a new start for IMDRC as it is a unique opportunity for all those interested in motor development to meet safely from home. At the same time, we wish it to be only a transitional experience, expecting to meet our old and new friends in person soon, hopefully at the next conference.
We hope you will enjoy our virtual 5th International Motor Development Research Consortium.
Antonis Kambas
Professor for Motor Development
School of Physical Education & Sport Science
Democritus University of Thrace, Greece