About Us

The International Council for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, Sport, and Dance (ICHPER·SD) was an outgrowth of an idea first conceived in 1950 by the Board of Directors of the American Association for Health, Physical Education, and Recreation (AAHPER). Under visionary leadership of Dr. Dorothy Ainsworth, Smith College, and Dr. Carl Troester, Jr., Executive Secretary of AAHPER, ICHPER was founded in Rome, Italy, in 1958, by teaching professionals and representatives from 16 countries from the fields of health, physical education, recreation, sport, and dance from 16 countries. The Council now boasts a membership representing over 145 countries, and disseminates quarterly the Journal of ICHPER·SD to all 208 countries and self-governing territories of the world.