Prof. Dr. J. Hans DE RIDDER

Founder Secretary-General and Current President, BRICS Council of Exercise and Sport Science (BRICSCESS)

Board of Directors, the GCH Foundation

Senior Vice-President, ISAK

President, GoFPEP 2014

President, BRICSCESS 2019, Cape Town, South Africa

Director, School of Human Movement Sciences, North-West University-Potchefstroom

South Africa

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Prof. Dr. J. Hans de Ridder is a full professor and director of the School of Biokinetics, Recreation and Sport Science at the North-West University in Potchefstroom, South Africa. He is currently a C2 rated researcher of the National Research Foundation (NRF) of South Africa. His current H-Index is 13 (since 2010 H-Index is 10). He was the receiver in 2002 of the Stals Award for Human Movement Sciences from the South African Academy for Science and Art for his exceptional contribution to kinanthropometry. In 2011 he was the receiver of the Albert Strating Award for Preventative Medicine, also from the South African Academy for Science and Art. At the age of 39 years, he was one of the youngest recipients of the Stals award and also the first in the history of the School of Biokinetics, Recreation and Sport Science at the North-West University in South Africa. In 2010 he reached a milestone in his research career, when his 50th post graduate student (M’s and Ph.D.’s) graduated. Currently a total of 63 students have completed their masters or doctoral studies under his guidance. He was the author or co-author of a total of 72 research articles published in subsidised academic journals.

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He was the President from 2008 – 2014 and is the current Senior Vice-President of the International Society for the Advancement of Kinanthropometry (ISAK). He is also an ISAK-accredited Level 4 criterion anthropometrist, one of just a few in the world. He has been involved in the teaching of ISAK courses for many years. Level 4 is the highest international qualification which can be awarded to an anthropometrist and one have to apply for re-accreditation every 4 years. He was honored in 2014 with life membership from ISAK at the ISAK World Conference in Murcia, Spain. He is only the 5th person in the history of ISAK to receive this prestigious award. He is the co-author of the international ISAK manual “International Standards for Anthropometric Assessment”. He is the fourth author with Dr. Arthur Stewart from Scotland, Prof. Mike Marfell Jones from New Zealand and Prof. Tim Olds from Australia the first, second and third authors. This book is currently used worldwide as a text book and a reference manual for teaching and research in anthropometry and kinanthropometry. Since the book was published in 2011, it was already cited more than 1350 times.

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He is the founder Secretary-General and the Vice-President (South Africa) of the BRICS Council of Exercise and Sport Science (BRICSCESS) that was founded in Delhi, India on 17 October 2015. He will also be a keynote speaker at the Inauguration BRICS Conference of Exercise and Sports Science (BRICSCESS 2017) which will be in Santos, Brazil in December 2017.

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For the period 2003 to 2017 (last 15 years), he was an invited and/or keynote speaker on more than 20 occasions at conferences in Thessaloniki, Greece; Gaborone, Botswana; Porto Alegre, Brazil; Delhi, India; Shanghai, China; Velen, Germany; Johannesburg, South Africa, Bulawayo, Zimbabwe; Potchefstroom, South Africa; Taipei, Taiwan; Almaty, Kazakhstan; Jakarta, Indonesia; Manila, Philippines; Potchefstroom, South Africa; Merida, Mexico; Kota Bharu, Malaysia; Santos, Brazil.
He was the president of GoFPEP 2014 which was presented at the North-West University in Potchefstroom, South Africa. He is currently the Assistant Editor of the African Journal for Physical, Health Education, Recreation and Dance (AJPHERD). In 2005 he was appointed the conference chair of the very successful South African Sport and Recreation Conference (SASReCon) conference which was held in Potchefstroom, South Africa from 7-9 September 2006.
He was co-project director of the international research teams at firstly the 6th All Africa Games in Harare, Zimbabwe in 1995 and secondly at the 8th All Africa Games in Abuja, Nigeria in 2003. In 1995 he received an award from the organizing committee of the All Africa Games in Harare in appreciation for his contribution on research at the Games and in 2003 I received awards from the Africa Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, Sport and Dance and the Nigerian Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, Sport and Dance for his contribution to Sport Science research in Africa.

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Hans is married to Elsie, a Maths teacher, and they have three children: Elé, De Wet and Maret. They are a very close family and enjoy travelling together. They especially love travelling and camping in Africa. The motto of the family is to make a difference in people’s lives and to always be kind and friendly to other people. They live in Potchefstroom, South Africa.