Authorship Guidelines

The Journals Division at Human Kinetics adheres to the criteria for authorship as outlined by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors*:

Each author should have participated sufficiently in the work to take public responsibility for the content. Authorship credit should be based only on substantial contributions to:

a. Substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work; or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data for the work; AND
b. Drafting the work or revising it critically for important intellectual content; AND
c. Final approval of the version to be published; AND
d. Agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.

Conditions a, b, c, and d must all be met. Individuals who do not meet the above criteria may be listed in the acknowledgments section of the manuscript. *http://www.icmje.org/recommendations/browse/roles-and-responsibilities/defining-the-role-of-authors-and-contributors.html

Authors who use artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted technologies (such as Large Language Models [LLMs], chatbots, or image creators) in their work must indicate how they were used in the cover letter and the work itself. These technologies cannot be listed as authors as they are unable to meet all the conditions above, particularly agreeing to be accountable for all aspects of the work.

Open Access

Human Kinetics is pleased to allow our authors the option of having their articles published Open Access. In order for an article to be published Open Access, authors must complete and return the Request for Open Access form and provide payment for this option. To learn more and request Open Access, click here.

Manuscript Guidelines

All Human Kinetics journals require that authors follow our manuscript guidelines in regards to use of copyrighted material, human and animal rights, and conflicts of interest as specified.

Sport History Review (SHR) encourages the submission of scholarly articles, methodological and research notes, and commentaries.

Style and Format

Manuscripts should be 6,000-9,000 words including endnotes and must be double-spaced (including endnotes and block quotations) with one inch margins. All pages should be numbered consecutively.

Articles may be submitted in English or French. Prior to submission, all manuscripts should be carefully checked for grammar and syntax by a person fluent in academic English or French. Manuscripts which do not meet the required standard will be returned.

Authors should submit a cover sheet with the manuscript, including the title, name of author(s), institutional affiliation(s), running head, and full mailing address, telephone, fax, and e-mail address of all authors, as well an indication of who is to receive the galley proofs.

The first page of the manuscript should contain only the title of the article as manuscripts are reviewed anonymously. Subsequent pages should include, in the following order, the main body of text, endnotes, acknowledgments, figures with figure captions, and tables.

SHR shall use endnotes as its form of referencing. Authors must prepare endnotes by following the guidelines detailed in The Chicago Manual of Style, 16th ed. Copies of the manual are available in most university libraries. Please keep endnotes as concise as possible. Before submitting, ensure that the endnotes are accurate and complete.

Please carefully consult the following style guide(s) ahead of submission:

Authors are requested to use the terms Common Era, or CE (instead of AD), and Before Common Era, or BCE (instead of BC), when making reference to dates.

Figures and Tables 

Each figure and table must be numbered, and each should be called out in the text in consecutive numerical order. A figure should have a caption that is brief and self-explanatory. Captions must be listed separately, on a page by themselves; however, each figure must be clearly identified, preferably as part of its filename. The artwork should be professional in appearance and have clean, crisp lines. Hand drawing and hand lettering are unacceptable. Figures should not use color in any way. Photographic images can be submitted if they are saved in JPEG or TIFF format at a resolution of 300 dots per inch (dpi). See additional figure guidelines here.

Format tables using the table function of your word processing program rather than aligning columns in text with tabs and spaces or using text boxes. Include a brief title for each table. All figures and tables must be original, or the permission to reuse copyrighted materials must have been obtained prior to acceptance.

Research Notes and Commentaries

SHR invites Research Notes and Commentaries of up to 3,000 words for possible publication. Notes and Commentaries should address current methodological issues relevant for sport historians. 

Book Reviews

Book review suggestions should be made to the Book Review Editor, who is solely responsible for assigning and editing book reviews. Book publishers are asked to send two copies of any books submitted for review. Please contact and/or send books to Colleen English, Department of Kinesiology, Penn State Berks. 

Review Process

Manuscripts are subject to a blind review process taking from 6 to 8 weeks, depending on time of year and the volume of submissions. 

Submitting a Manuscript

Manuscripts must be submitted electronically via ScholarOne (see submission button at the top of this page). The ScholarOne system manages the electronic transfer of SHR manuscripts throughout the article review process, providing step-by-step instructions and a user-friendly design. Please access the site and follow the directions for authors submitting manuscripts.

Authors of manuscripts accepted for publication will be required to transfer copyright to Human Kinetics, Inc. This copyright agreement can be viewed by visiting ScholarOne and selecting "Instructions & Forms" in the upper right corner. Any problems that might be encountered can be resolved easily by selecting “Help” in the upper right corner.