Announcement from Professional Wrestling Studies Association President CarrieLynn D. Reinhard
September 29th, 2020
The video of the address can be watched here.
“Good evening, everyone, and thank you for tuning in to this stream. I am the PWSA President, Dr. CarrieLynn D. Reinhard, and it is my honor to continue developing this association and bringing scholars, fans, and professionals together to talk about professional wrestling.
“As professional wrestling has found different ways to cope with the limitations imposed on it by the pandemic, we at PWSA find we must do so as well. Thus, I have three announcements about what we be doing for at least the next year.
“First, we will again be holding the free, online symposium WrestlePosium. This year’s WrestlePosium was a resounding success, especially for a new academic conference and during the beginning of the pandemic. WrestlePosium II is currently scheduled for Saturday, April 3rd, 2021, and we are accepting submissions for any paper presentations, roundtable discussions, or other talks on professional wrestling. As with the first one, this second symposium will be completely online and open to anyone.
“Second, the second issue of the Professional Wrestling Studies Journal will be released to coincide with the symposium. There is still time to submit an article for review for this issue – as long as you send it in by October 31st. For more on submitting for the symposium or journal, please visit our website at prowrestlingstudies.org.
“Third and finally, the pandemic’s impact on higher education has placed unforeseen strains on academics around the world. This impact has been felt in PWSA, as your Executive Officers have not been able to accomplish everything they had hoped this year – and that includes being able to hold a special election, or any election, as per our constitution. As of right now, we are maintaining a core group of Executives – five total – to oversee the symposium and journal and ensure they meet the high quality you all expect. Additional work on videos, the website, and the online magazine may be delayed until these additional pressures have lessened. Additionally, we will hold off on holding elections until this time next year, with the hope that the pandemic will have abated and people will have more free time to volunteer for the association.
“I do not announce these changes to the association’s commitments lightly. As president, I apologize for not being able to accomplish what we had hoped to do this year. Hopefully by focusing on our most important contributions to professional wrestling studies, we will be able to continue building on their momentum from this year and weather the pressures foisted upon us by the pandemic.
“Thank you for joining me tonight. Again, please visit our website for more information, and please feel free to email us at prowrestlingstudies@gmail.com with any questions or concerns.
“My best to you and yours.”