General Policy

Journal of Sport and Exercise Studies is committed to maintaining editorial independence, research integrity, transparency, and trust in the scholarly record. Authors, reviewers, editors, and editorial staff must disclose any real, potential, or perceived conflict of interest that could influence, or appear to influence, the conduct, evaluation, interpretation, or publication of research.

A conflict of interest does not necessarily prevent publication, review, or editorial handling. However, relevant relationships and interests must be disclosed so that the journal can evaluate and manage them appropriately.

Types of Conflicts of Interest

Author Responsibilities

Authors must disclose all financial, professional, institutional, personal, commercial, or academic interests that could reasonably be perceived as influencing the research. Disclosure should be made at the time of submission and updated if circumstances change during review, revision, production, or after publication.

Authors should disclose, where applicable:

• Research funding, grants, sponsorship, or institutional support;
• Employment, consultancy, advisory roles, honoraria, or paid services;
• Commercial relationships with sport, exercise, fitness, health, technology, or education-related organizations;
• Ownership of shares, patents, software, devices, training systems, or commercial products related to the research;
• Relationships with teams, clubs, schools, companies, associations, or platforms involved in the study;
• Any personal or professional relationship that could affect interpretation, analysis, or reporting.

Sport and Exercise Research-Specific Conflicts

In sport and exercise research, conflicts of interest may arise from relationships with sport organizations, fitness services, health platforms, training programs, equipment providers, wearable technology companies, software vendors, rehabilitation clinics, schools, clubs, teams, or public agencies.

Authors should pay particular attention to conflicts related to:

• Commercially sponsored training programs, exercise interventions, or fitness products;
• Wearable devices, sensors, apps, AI tools, or performance-analysis platforms used in the study;
• Sport equipment, nutrition products, recovery tools, or rehabilitation systems;
• Research conducted within the author’s own team, class, school, club, organization, or workplace;
• Coach-athlete, teacher-student, clinician-participant, or manager-employee relationships;
• Studies that may directly benefit a funder, sponsor, institution, product, or service.

Conflict of Interest Statement

All manuscripts should include a conflict of interest statement. If no conflict of interest exists, authors should include a clear declaration.

Funding Disclosure

Authors must disclose all sources of financial support for the research, including grants, institutional support, commercial sponsorship, equipment provision, software access, data access, travel support, or other material assistance.

Authors should state whether the funder or sponsor had any role in study design, data collection, data analysis, interpretation, manuscript preparation, or the decision to submit the manuscript for publication. If the funder had no such role, this should be stated clearly.

Reviewer Responsibilities

Reviewers must disclose any real, potential, or perceived conflict of interest before accepting a review invitation. If a reviewer is uncertain whether a relationship or circumstance constitutes a conflict, they should inform the handling editor and request guidance.

Reviewers should decline the invitation or notify the editor if they:

• Have recently collaborated with any of the authors;
• Work at the same institution as any of the authors;
• Have supervised, been supervised by, or worked closely with any of the authors;
• Have a personal relationship, dispute, or direct academic competition with any of the authors;
• Have financial, commercial, or institutional interests related to the manuscript topic;
• Cannot provide an independent, fair, and confidential assessment.

Editor Responsibilities

Editors must avoid handling manuscripts where they have a real, potential, or perceived conflict of interest. If an editor has a conflict, the manuscript should be assigned to another qualified editor or editorial board member.

Editors should not handle manuscripts when they:

• Are an author or contributor to the manuscript;
• Have a recent collaboration, close relationship, or direct academic competition with the authors;
• Have a financial, commercial, institutional, or personal interest in the manuscript outcome;
• Are unable to make an independent editorial judgment.

Editorial decisions must be based on scholarly merit, journal scope, reviewer reports, ethical compliance, methodological quality, and contribution to sport and exercise studies.

Editorial Board and In-House Submissions

Manuscripts submitted by editors, editorial board members, reviewers, or individuals affiliated with the journal are subject to the same standards of editorial screening, peer review, ethics assessment, and publication decision-making as all other submissions.

Editors or editorial board members who are authors of a submitted manuscript must not be involved in the review process, reviewer selection, editorial discussion, or final decision for that manuscript. The submission should be handled independently by another qualified editor without conflict of interest.

Peer Review and Conflict Management

The journal seeks to manage conflicts of interest in a way that protects fairness, confidentiality, and editorial independence. When a conflict is identified, the journal may take one or more of the following actions:

• Assign the manuscript to a different editor;
• Invite alternative reviewers;
• Request additional conflict disclosures from authors, reviewers, or editors;
• Publish relevant conflict of interest disclosures with the article;
• Delay decision-making until the conflict is clarified;
• Reject or withdraw a manuscript from consideration where serious undisclosed conflicts affect integrity.

Undisclosed Conflicts of Interest

If an undisclosed conflict of interest is identified before publication, the Editorial Office may request clarification, require a revised disclosure statement, delay publication, reassign editorial handling, seek additional review, or reject the manuscript where appropriate.

If an undisclosed conflict of interest is identified after publication, the journal may publish a correction, update the article record, issue an editorial notice, or take further action in accordance with the journal’s publication ethics policies.

Relationship Between APCs and Editorial Decisions

Article processing charges, waiver requests, payment status, institutional affiliation, nationality, funding source, or ability to pay do not influence editorial decisions.

Manuscripts are evaluated according to journal scope, academic quality, originality, methodological rigor, ethical compliance, clarity, and contribution to the field. Payment is requested only after acceptance, in accordance with the journal’s APC & Waiver Policy.

Conflict of Interest Summary

Authors must disclose financial, commercial, professional, institutional, personal, and academic interests that may affect the research.

Reviewers must decline or disclose conflicts that may affect independent peer review.

Editors must not handle manuscripts where they have a conflict of interest.

The journal manages conflicts to protect transparency, fairness, editorial independence, and the integrity of the scholarly record.