Message from the President (July 2013)

Lausanne, 16 July 2013

Dear Colleagues,

I have just returned from the 11th International Congress of Sports Medicine and the 9th Greek - Cypriot Congress of Sports Medicine which incorporated a FIMS Team Physician Instructor Course and a FΙMS Team Physician Development Course entitled “Emergency & First Aid in Sports Medicine” - Hands On Training. The Congress and the Courses held at Petros Nomikos Conference Center in Santorini 27-29 June 2013 were a big success as the Greek colleagues joined and seized the opportunity to engage with internationally renowned speakers and instructors.

The interaction of faculty and participants from different national, cultural and sporting backgrounds created a unique learning and teaching experience. It is events like this that represent and nurture the spirit of FIMS, and I would like to thank and at the same time congratulate the Sports Medicine Association of Greece to the excellent organisation. With their activities and achievements since the constitution, the Greek colleagues have built one of the most active FIMS Member National Associations, focusing on promoting excellence both in scientific and educational aspects. It is only through the engagement and support of its Member National Associations that FIMS may play its role as the international umbrella organisation of sports medicine.

The events on Santorini were also exemplary in that they demonstrated the importance and feasibility of uniting different organisations in sports medicine to achieve common goals. The congress and courses were jointly supported by and conducted under the auspices of FIMS, the International Olympic Committee and the Hellenic Olympic Committee, the Ministry of Health and of Education and Religious Affairs, Culture and Sports and the University of Thessaloniki. Sports medicine as a multidisciplinary specialty is predestined to initiate and mediate such cooperations both on national and international level.

The responsibilities of sports medicine are continuously increasing in recreational as much as in competitive sports, and, consequently, it remains of utmost importance that FIMS is able to increase its efforts in disseminating the principles of motivation, performance and, health aspects of all people engaged in sport and physical activity through educational and other initiatives. We will however only be able to do so in a collaborative effort with all our members and the other stakeholders involved in the many aspects of our discipline.

Best wishes,

Prof. Fabio Pigozzi, MD
FIMS President