Sarah Teetzel, PhD

Biography

Dr. Sarah Teetzel has studied the Olympics for over 20 years, beginning with her doctoral dissertation on Olympic eligibility rules, completed at the International Centre for Olympic Studies at Western University, which received the Pierre de Coubertin prize from the International Pierre de Coubertin Committee. 

Dr. Teetzel's research has been funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, the Sport Dispute Resolution Centre of Canada, the International Olympic Committee’s Olympic Studies Centre, the World Anti-Doping Agency, and the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport. 

Dr. Teetzel and Heather L. Dichter are the authors of The Olympic Winter Games at 100: Challenges, Complexities, and Legacies (Routledge, 2024). At the University of Manitoba, she is the Dean of Studies for St. John’s College and a member of the Centre for Human Rights Research and the Centre for Professional and Applied Ethics. Beyond the University, she is a member of the North American Society for the Sociology of Sport (NASSS), the North American Society for Sport History (NASSH), and the International Olympic Academy’s Scientific Committee. She currently serves on the editorial board of the journals International Journal of the History of Sport, Sociology of Sport Journal, and Olympika. Dr. Teetzel was raised in Tillsonburg, Ontario, and joined the Faculty of Kinesiology and Recreation Management as an assistant professor in 2009. 

Education

  • PhD (Kinesiology), Western University (2009)
  • Diploma in Ethics (Philosophy), Western University (2005)
  • MA (Kinesiology), Western University (2004)
  • BSc (Kinesiology), Western University (2002)

Research summary

A common thread amongst Dr. Teetzel's research is a focus on applied ethical issues in sport, emphasizing the intersection of rules and values. Her current research focuses on physical literacy and multisport participation, the inclusion of transgender athletes in sport, anti-racism in sport in Winnipeg, and the history and philosophy of the Olympic Winter Games. 

Recent publications

Dichter, H., & Teetzel, S. (eds). (2024). The Olympic Winter Games at 100: Challenges, Complexities, and Legacies. Routledge. 382 pages.

Camporesi, S., Ospina-Betancurt, J., & Teetzel, S. (2024). Conflicting values, implicit norms, and flawed evidence: A critical review of World Athletics’s eligibility criteria to compete in the women’s category from 2009 to 2024. International Sports Law Journal, 24 (2), 82-96.

Camporesi, S., & Teetzel, S. (2024). In praise of logical inconsistency: World Athletics and the evidence bar of the “reasonable person in good faith". American Journal of Bioethics, 24 (11), 21-23.

Posbergh, A., Bekker, S., Cooky, C., Pape, M., Teetzel, S., & Travers. (2024). Critical reflections on the governance of women and gender expansive athletes: An intersectional interdisciplinary dialogue. Sociology of Sport Journal.

Teetzel, S., & Dichter, H. (2024). The future of Olympic Winter Games research. In Dichter, H., & Teetzel, S. (Eds). The Olympic Winter Games at 100: Challenges, Complexities, and Legacies. Routledge

Highlights

  • Dean of Studies, St. John’s College, 2024-present
  • Member of the International Olympic Academy’s Scientific Committee, 2022-present.
  • Invited lecturer at the International Olympic Academy, 2013-present
  • Editorial board member for the International Journal of the History of Sport, Sociology of Sport Journal and Olympika
  • Recipient of the Pierre de Coubertin prize, for best dissertation (€2000), awarded by the International Pierre de Coubertin Committee in Speyer, Germany.
  • Member of the Centre for Professional and Applied Ethics and the Centre for Human Rights Research.
  • Invited keynote speaker at the Northern Great Plains History Conference. Sioux Falls, South Dakota, September 2024.
  • Principal investigator for the research study, “Impacts of Racism on Community Sport Dropout and Retention: An Intersectional Analysis of Girls’ Experiences of Racism and Knowledge of Mechanisms to Support Abuse-Free Sport,” funded by the Sport Dispute Resolution Centre of Canada’s Abuse-Free Sport Research Grant Program, 2024-27 
  • Co-investigator for the research study, “Diversification for an Active Life? The Role of Multi-Sport Participation in Physical Literacy and Sport Attrition” funded by SSHRC Partnership Engage Grant, 2023-24. (PI Melanie Gregg).
  • Member of the University of Manitoba’s Strategic Plan Implementation Committee, 2024-present.