Journal profile · SPORT SCIENCES
Sports Engineering
ISSN 1369-7072 · eISSN 1460-2687 · Springer Nature
Sports Engineering: CAS Zone 4 · Medicine (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 1.4 (journal website); hybrid open access; APC about USD 3,990; median 190 days to acceptance (45 articles, last 24 months); 48 articles in 2025; indexed in ESCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Sports Engineering is published by Springer Nature and is in Zone 4 of Medicine in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Sports Performance and Training, Sports Dynamics and Biomechanics and Winter Sports Injuries and Performance, together about 50.4% of its articles. Its main subfields are Biomedical Engineering. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Sports Engineering publishes papers on the application of engineering to sport and is the journal of the International Sports Engineering Association (ISEA). The journal is primarily interested in original contributions which concern the effect of equipment and technology on athlete performance and safety, as well as increasing participation, accessibility, and inclusivity in sport and physical activity. Using both experimental and theoretical approaches, areas of interest include but are not limited to: mechanics; dynamics; aerodynamics; fluid dynamics; sensors and instrumentation; computer vision; machine learning; virtual reality and augmented reality; data and analytics; sports surfaces; materials; biomechanics (related to the interaction with equipment); clothing and footwear; user perception; regulation and officiating; safety; injuries and disability sport. The journal serves as a forum where research, industry and the sports sector exchange expertise, knowledge and innovative ideas. Work published in the journal often contributes to the following United Nations Sustainable Development Goals: Goal 3 - Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages Goal 5 - Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls Goal 9 - Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation Goal 10 - Reduce inequality within and among countries
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): SPORT SCIENCES
Editor-in-chief Tom AllenPublisher website
Editorial board by country: none in mainland China; most named United Kingdom 10, Canada 3, United States 2, Japan 2, Italy 2 (35 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Sports Performance and TrainingMedicine22.7%
- Sports Dynamics and BiomechanicsEngineering16.4%
- Winter Sports Injuries and PerformanceMedicine11.3%
- Sports injuries and preventionMedicine10.9%
- Sports Analytics and PerformanceEconomics, Econometrics and Finance5.2%
- Lower Extremity Biomechanics and PathologiesEngineering5%
- Cryospheric studies and observationsEarth and Planetary Sciences3.6%
- Experimental and Theoretical Physics StudiesPhysics and Astronomy3%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Medicine Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Sport Sciences | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Medicine Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Sport Sciences | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
Database indexing
ESCIScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
EI CompendexPublisher website
Other: Google Scholar, EBSCO, ProQuest, Dimensions, CNKI, Baidu, Naver, OCLC, Portico, CLOCKSS
As the journal's website lists them, not checked against each database; for Web of Science editions the records above apply.
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 1.4Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 1.5Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 2.5LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.37LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1LetPub ·
- h-index
- 48OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 350OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 2.12OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 14.3%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 59.09%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 45LetPub ·
- Downloads per year (publisher) 2025
- 223,300Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 802 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 33 | 24 | 8 |
| 2025 | 48 | 37 | 76 |
| 2024 | 41 | 29 | 175 |
| 2023 | 49 | 29 | 219 |
| 2022 | 28 | 19 | 216 |
| 2021 | 27 | 19 | 180 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Review & acceptance
Review time and acceptance
Review time from article dates manuscript dates registered with Crossref · to
190 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 129 days – 256 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 25 days (81 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 229 days
- Sample
- 45 articles with submission and acceptance dates (89 in the window); the latest was accepted on
Only articles that were accepted and published are counted, not the time spent on rejected manuscripts, so this usually runs longer than a publisher's "time to first decision".
Other sources
- Submission to first decision
- 4 daysPublisher website ·
- Peer review
- Double anonymous peer reviewPublisher website
Community reports come from authors' own submissions (confidence 0.5) and are not a promise from the journal; for publisher figures, the journal's own definitions apply.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Hybrid open accessLetPub
A subscription journal in which authors can pay to publish their article open access.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAlex | USD 3,990 / EUR 2,990 / GBP 2,590 | — | — |
A hybrid journal charges the APC only when the author chooses open access; publishing under the subscription model is usually free.
Other charges and waivers (author guidelines)
- Page charges
- print version color
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
Open calls for papers3, by deadline
- Winter Sports Research IIDeadline
- Innovation and Translation in Sports Engineering and TechnologyDeadline
- Rugby ResearchDeadline
What to prepare4 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- 150–250 words
- Manuscript length
- ≤ 4,000 words
- Reference style
- Numbered, in order of citation
- Suggested reviewers
- Optional
Article types accepted9, with length limits
- editorialWhen preparing a submission, authors should follow the guidance in the editorial "How to write a manuscript for Sports Engineering". Authors are encouraged to u…Length not stated
- full paperWhen preparing a submission, authors should follow the guidance in the editorial "How to write a manuscript for Sports Engineering". Authors are encouraged to u…Length not stated
- hypothesisWhen preparing a submission, authors should follow the guidance in the editorial "How to write a manuscript for Sports Engineering". Authors are encouraged to u…Length not stated
- original researchWhen preparing a submission, authors should follow the guidance in the editorial "How to write a manuscript for Sports Engineering". Authors are encouraged to u…Length not stated
- perspectiveWhen preparing a submission, authors should follow the guidance in the editorial "How to write a manuscript for Sports Engineering". Authors are encouraged to u…main text ≤ 2,500 words · figures and tables ≤ 1
- research articleWhen preparing a submission, authors should follow the guidance in the editorial "How to write a manuscript for Sports Engineering". Authors are encouraged to u…main text ≤ 4,000 words
- reviewWhen preparing a submission, authors should follow the guidance in the editorial "How to write a manuscript for Sports Engineering". Authors are encouraged to u…Length not stated
- review articleWhen preparing a submission, authors should follow the guidance in the editorial "How to write a manuscript for Sports Engineering". Authors are encouraged to u…main text ≤ 8,000 words
- viewpointWhen preparing a submission, authors should follow the guidance in the editorial "How to write a manuscript for Sports Engineering". Authors are encouraged to u…Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Authorship, Conflicts of interest, Data availability, Publication ethics, License & copyright, Open access, Peer review, Trial registration / reporting guidelines
- AI use Generative AI Images
Please check Springer’s policy on generative AI images and make sure your work adheres to the principles described therein. Back to top
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Authorship Author Contributions
Authors are encouraged to include a statement that specifies the contribution of every author to the research and preparation of the manuscript. Example statements: “All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection and analysis were performed by [full name], [full name] and [full name]. The first draft of the manuscript was written by [full name] an…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Conflicts of interest Competing Interests
Authors are required to disclose financial or non-financial interests that are directly or indirectly related to the work submitted for publication. Interests within the last 3 years of beginning the work (conducting the research and preparing the work for submission) should be reported. Interests outside the 3-year time frame must be disclosed if they could reasonably be perceived as influencing …
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Data availability Data Availability
Data availability statement required for original research Model summary
All original research must include a Data Availability Statement. Data Availability Statements should provide information on where data supporting the results reported in the article can be found. Statements should include, where applicable, hyperlinks to publicly archived datasets analysed or generated during the study. When it is not possible to share research data publicly, for instance when in…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Publication ethics Compliance with Ethical Standards
To ensure objectivity and transparency in research and to ensure that accepted principles of ethical and professional conduct have been followed, authors should include information regarding sources of funding, potential conflicts of interest (financial or non-financial), informed consent if the research involved human participants, and a statement on welfare of animals if the research involved an…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright Copyright
Permission required for previously published material Model summary
Open Choice articles do not require transfer of copyright as the copyright remains with the author. In opting for open access, the author(s) agree to publish the article under a Creative Commons license. Details of the OA licences offered to authors can be found on the individual journal website, in the journal's How to publish with us guide. Back to top
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open access publishing
To find out more about publishing your work Open Access in Sports Engineering, including information on fees, funding and licences, visit our Open access publishing page. Back to top
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review Single-blind peer review
Peer review type: single-blind Model summary
This journal follows a single-blind reviewing procedure. This journal also publishes special/guest-edited issues. The peer review process for these articles is the same as the peer review process of the journal in general. Additionally, if a guest editor authors an article in their issue/collection, they will not handle the peer review process. Back to top
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Trial registration / reporting guidelines Clinical Trial Registration
The World Health Organization (WHO) definition of a clinical trial is "any research study that prospectively assigns human participants or groups of humans to one or more health-related interventions to evaluate the effects on health outcomes". The WHO defines health interventions as “A health intervention is an act performed for, with or on behalf of a person or population whose purpose is to ass…
Source ↗Publisher website ·
Excerpts are quoted from the journal's website; "model summary" lines are written by Workers AI and checked against the text. The journal's website is authoritative.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- Springer Nature
- ISSN
- 1369-7072
- Electronic ISSN
- 1460-2687
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Sports Engineering
What CAS zone is Sports Engineering in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Sports Engineering is in Zone 4 of Medicine, and in Zone 4 of the minor category Sport Sciences. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 4 of Medicine. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Sports Engineering?
The journal's website gives an impact factor of 1.4 (2025); this is the journal's own figure, as LetPub lists none for it; CiteScore 2.5, h-index 48.
How long does peer review take at Sports Engineering?
Based on the dates recorded on 45 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 190 days (interquartile range 129–256 days). Article statistics cover accepted papers only, publisher figures follow the journal's own definitions, and community reports come from authors' own submissions; none is a promise from the journal.
What are the manuscript requirements of Sports Engineering?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: 150–250 words; Manuscript length: ≤ 4,000 words; Reference style: Numbered, in order of citation; Suggested reviewers: Optional. A model extracted these from the author guidelines and each was checked against the text; check the latest version on the journal's website before submitting.
Where are the editorial board members of Sports Engineering based?
Of the 35 board members whose country the journal's board page names, none are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United Kingdom (10), Canada (3) and United States (2). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Sports Engineering?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Sports Engineering is indexed in ESCI and Scopus. The journal's website also lists EI Compendex; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Sports Engineering open access, and what is the APC?
Sports Engineering is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 3,990.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, OpenAlex, Publisher website; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-26). Last updated: .