There are a number of reasons why sport for children and youth was selected as a major theme for the 1984 Olympic Scientific Congress. First, a tremendous number of children are involved in organized sport programs around the world. Second, many of these children do not just participate in sport, but are intensely involved in these activities. Third, children participate in sport during the crucial and formative years of their lives. Finally, it has been recognized that sport participation for children is not automatically beneficial or detrimental. Rather, the quality of experience children receive in these programs has been identified as the critical variable determining the beneficial or detrimental effects of participation. - Preface.