Journal Sport Science, Health and Tourism of Mandalika (JONTAK) is committed to transparency, impartiality, and integrity throughout manuscript submission, peer review, editorial decision-making, and publication. The journal requires authors, reviewers, editors, and other persons involved in publication decisions to identify and disclose interests that could influence, or reasonably appear to influence, their responsibilities.

This policy is informed by the recommendations of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) and the publication ethics principles of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). Disclosure does not necessarily establish wrongdoing or prevent publication; it enables the journal and readers to assess relevant interests fairly.

1. Definition and Scope of Conflicts of Interest

A conflict of interest, also called a competing interest, exists when financial, professional, institutional, personal, or other interests could influence or be perceived to influence research judgments, manuscript interpretation, peer review, or editorial decisions. Conflicts may be actual, potential, or perceived. Relevant examples include:

• Financial interests, including research grants, paid consulting, employment, honoraria, sponsorships, stock ownership, patents, and other financial relationships.
• Non-financial interests, including personal relationships, academic competition, professional rivalries, institutional affiliations, leadership positions, and strongly held interests relevant to the work.
• Relationships with sports organizations, athletic equipment manufacturers, health service providers, tourism operators, or other parties that may benefit from the research findings.

The existence of an interest does not automatically invalidate a study. The essential requirement is a complete and timely declaration, allowing relevant interests to be assessed and managed.

2. Disclosure Responsibilities of Authors

All authors must disclose relationships, activities, and interests that could reasonably be regarded as relevant to the submitted manuscript. Disclosure is required at initial submission, and new or changed interests must be reported promptly during review, revision, acceptance, and, when necessary, after publication.

The corresponding author must collect and confirm disclosures from all co-authors and provide an accurate Conflict of Interest statement in the manuscript and submission records. Authors must declare relevant relationships even when they believe those relationships did not affect the research. If no relevant interests exist, the manuscript must include an explicit statement to that effect.

Authors should also disclose relevant connections with funders, intervention providers, equipment suppliers, commercial partners, or organizations whose products, services, policies, or reputation are evaluated in the study.

3. Funding, Sponsorship, and Research Independence

All financial and material support for research must be acknowledged in a separate Funding statement, including the names of relevant funding bodies and sponsors. The existence of funding is not itself proof of a conflict of interest; however, additional financial or personal relationships must be disclosed separately when relevant.

Authors should explain the role of any sponsor in study design, participant recruitment, data collection, analysis, interpretation, manuscript preparation, and the decision to submit for publication. Where a sponsor had no such role, this should be stated clearly. Agreements with sponsors must not inappropriately restrict researchers' access to data, independent interpretation, or freedom to publish their findings.

4. Conflicts of Interest for Peer Reviewers

Reviewers must assess potential competing interests before accepting an invitation to review. They must promptly inform the handling editor of any financial, personal, collaborative, institutional, or competitive relationship that could compromise, or appear to compromise, an independent assessment.

A reviewer with a significant competing interest must decline or withdraw from the review. If the identity of an author becomes apparent during JONTAK's anonymized peer-review process and creates a potential conflict, the reviewer must notify the editor. Reviewers must preserve manuscript confidentiality and must not use unpublished material or privileged information for personal or professional benefit.

5. Conflicts of Interest for Editors and Editorial Staff

Editors, editorial board members, and journal staff must disclose interests that could affect their impartiality in manuscript handling or publication decisions. Anyone with a material conflict must not select reviewers, assess reviews, or make decisions on the affected manuscript. The manuscript should instead be assigned to an independent editor or qualified editorial representative.

Manuscripts submitted by an editor, editorial board member, or a close professional associate must undergo an independent editorial and peer-review process. The journal's publisher, sponsors, and other external parties must not improperly influence editorial judgments or publication outcomes.

6. Editorial Assessment and Management

The editorial office may request clarification, additional disclosure information, or supporting documentation whenever a declared or suspected interest requires further assessment. Appropriate management measures may include the publication of a transparent disclosure statement, appointment of an independent handling editor, replacement of a reviewer, or clarification of a sponsor's involvement.

Editorial decisions must be based on research quality, ethical compliance, relevance, and the reliability of the evidence, rather than the mere existence of a declared interest. Material disclosures relevant to readers will be presented in the published article, while confidential personal information will be handled appropriately.

7. Undisclosed Interests and Post-Publication Concerns

Concerns about inaccurate or omitted disclosures may be reported to the JONTAK editorial office through the official contact details on the journal website. The editor will assess the information, seek an explanation from the individuals concerned, and determine whether the omission affected the review process, editorial decision, or reliability of the publication.

Depending on the evidence and seriousness of the matter, appropriate action may include updating the declaration, issuing a correction, reconsidering editorial handling, referring the concern to an institution, or taking further action under the journal's Allegations of Research Misconduct policy. Retraction is considered only when justified by the consequences for the scholarly record, not automatically because a conflict was undisclosed. Relevant COPE guidance will inform the process.

8. Required Conflict of Interest Statements

Every submitted manuscript must contain a Conflict of Interest statement agreed upon by all authors. Authors may use one of the following formats, adapting the wording to accurately reflect their circumstances:

No conflicts to declare: "The authors declare that they have no financial or non-financial conflicts of interest relevant to this work."

Conflicts to disclose: "Author A has received research support from [organization]. Author B has served as a paid consultant to [organization]. The remaining authors declare no conflicts of interest relevant to this work."

All declarations must be truthful, sufficiently specific, and kept up to date. The corresponding author is responsible for ensuring that an appropriate statement is provided; each author remains individually responsible for the accuracy of their own disclosure.