Lausanne, 31 March  2013

Dear Colleagues, dear Friends,

I sincerely hope you had an excellent start of the year.

This FIMSmail gives an account of the FIMS activities during the first months of  2013. I am pleased to inform you on a consensus panel FIMS is preparing together with the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM). Despite several initiatives of sports medicine bodies, sports federations and the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the views on and the practice of pre-participation evaluations (or pre-competition medical assessments, periodic health evaluations, etc. – the variety of terms reflecting the variety of approaches)  in sports still differ considerably. We therefore decided to make another effort to summarise the current evidence on the topic to inform decisions by physicians and sports governing bodies when defining their approach. I further report on our initiative to revive FIMS´s relationship with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), on projects of the standing commissions and upcoming events.

I am further very happy that in this newsletter, after optimising the application and evaluation process, we publish the first nine designated FIMS Collaborating Centres of Sports Medicine (FIMS-CCSM). I have elaborated on the objectives of this worldwide collaboration network before, but would like to introduce to you a further aspect that is as important for the current and future centres as for our general self-conception and communication as an international organisation.

In line with FIMS´s objectives, we have consciously abstained from creating yet another group of centres of excellence. Apart from the overuse of the term, leading to its increasing dilution, it does not convey the important aspects of cooperation, education, development and coaching as they represent pillars of our approach. Nevertheless, these FIMS-CCSMs surely stand for established standards in sports medicine. Over decades of conducting team physician courses at different levels internationally, supporting travelling fellows, issuing position statements, organising 32 world congresses and now publishing the third edition of the FIMS Team Physician Manual, FIMS has established standards in sports medicine worldwide like no other organisation. Upholding this standard is our daily commitment to athletes and every exercising individual, and a much more tangible value than abstract notions of excellence.

The FIMS Executive Committee and the standing commissions are dedicated to continuously develop and raise this FIMS Standard of Sports Medicine, but we may only do so with the support of our national sports medicine associations and all our individual members. Each and everyone one of you, striving to provide best care for athletes and the general population in her / his daily routine, maintains this standard, and I would like to sincerely thank you for that.

With my very best wishes,

Prof. Fabio Pigozzi, MD
FIMS President