About FIMS
The International Federation of Sports Medicine / Fédération Internationale de Médécine du Sport (FIMS) was established in 1928, shortly after the first of the modern Olympic Games was held. FIMS is a structured and well-organised association, strongly committed to the promotion of the study and development of sports medicine throughout the world. The purpose and administration of FIMS is clearly set out in its Statutes and By-Laws. FIMS is made up of continental and national sports medicine associations, as well as multinational groups and individual members.
FIMS' educational function is strongly promoted through its courses (Team Physician's Course), international congresses etc. held regularly, and the publication of scientific information related to sports medicine (Position Statements, International SportMed Journal).
A CHRONOLOGY of the HISTORY of FIMS
20th CENTURY - PIONEERS and FORERUNNERS of FIMS (1900 – 1945)
1911 Dresden (Germany): First International Hygiene Exhibition.
A Sports Laboratory, managed by Arthur Mallwitz was present.
Everyone could test here his own fitness under medical control.
1912 Oberhof (Germany): First German Congress for the Scientific Investigation of Sports and
Physical Education.
Founding German Committee for Scientific Research of Sports and Physical Education
1913 Paris (France): First French International Congress on Physical Education
1913 Lausanne (Switzerland): Olympic Congress on Physiology and Psychology of Sports
1915 Arthur Mallwitz appointed as the first Sports-Physician, the first specialist in the new area
of the Medical Science: Sports Medicine.
The first World War interrupted the further development of Sports Medicine for a long period.
The first Sports Medicine news after the first World War came from France.
1921 Paris, January: Founding of the French Medical Society of Physical Education and Sports
1921 Amsterdam, April: Founding of the Netherlands Medical Association for Physical Education 1922
Founding of the Swiss Medical Association for Physical Education
1922 The first European Sports Medical Journal, published by The French Society –SMEPS-
“Revue Médicale d’Éducation Physique et de Sport”
1924 Berlin: Second German Sports Medicine Congress
The first World War had interrupted the so hopeful started early development in 1912 in
Germany for more than 10 years.
During this meeting the organisation changed its name into:
German Medical Association for the Promotion of Physical Education.
After the first World-War the idea of creating an International Association of Sports Medicine started almost simultaneously in France, Switzerland, Germany, Poland and Holland and brings together the concept of protecting the health of the athlete as well as making the athlete a point of reference for the studies that would later on be the fundamental basis for the development of many Sports Sciences (De Rose 2003).
1925 Prague (Czechoslovakia): International Olympic Congress on Pedagogics
A proposal to found a Medical Commission of the IOC was not accepted by the IOC.
1927 April: On initiative of Francis Messerli (Secretary General of the Swiss NOC) and Wilhelm
Knoll (chairman of the Medical Commission for the 2nd Winter Games in St. Moritz) an
invitation had been sent for an International Conference on 20 February 1928 (date later
changed to 14 February) in the City Hall of St. Moritz during the Olympic Winter Games
1927 October, Berlin (Germany): 4th Congress German Association.
Walter Schnell, president of the German Association invited sports medicine interested
physicians from 12 countries for an informal discussion about international cooperation and
the foundation of an international organisation of Sports Medicine.
1928 February, 14 St. Moritz: Physicians from 11 countries founded the
“Association Internationale Médico-Sportive” (AIMS), today FIMS
First President: Wilhelm Knoll (Switzerland);
First Secretary General: Arthur Mallwitz (Germany).
1928 August, Amsterdam: First International Congress of the AIMS during the 9th Olympic
Summer Games under the chairmanship of Frederick Buytendijk
1929 Rome (Italy): Foundation of the Italian Medical Association of Physical Education
1930 Vienna (Austria): Executive Meeting
1931 Rome (Italy): International Sports Medicine Course
1933 Torino (Italy): 2nd International AIMS Congress
André Latarjet (France) elected as AIMS President
1934 Chamonix (France): 3rd International FIMS Congress
Change of name into: FÉDÉRATION INTERNATIONALE de MÉDECINE SPORTIVE
This name retained till 1998.
On proposal of Patrick Schamasch (medical director IOC) the name changed in 1998 at the
World Congress in Orlando into:
FÉDÉRATION INTERNATIONALE de MÉDECINE du SPORT
1936 Berlin (Germany): 4th International FIMS Congress
1937 Wadislow Dybowski (Poland), who was one of the initiators and promoters of an
international organisation in 1925 and 1927 and one of the founding members of the AIMS in
1928 organised the first Polish Sports Physicians Congress, which established the
Polish Sports Physicians Association (today the Polish Society of Sports Medicine)
1937 Paris (France): 5th International FIMS Congress
Leonardo Conti (Germany) elected as FIMS President;
Ugo Cassinis (Italy) elected as Secretary General
1939 Brussels (Belgium): 6th International FIMS Congress
The Election of Conti as FIMS president had fatal consequences on the further development.
He was sentenced to death as a war criminal by an international military court.
This period is black pages in the history of FIMS.
REVIVAL of FIMS (1946 – 1951)
After the end of the 2nd World War Albert Govaerts (Belgium) and Jiri Kral (Czechoslovakia) took the initiative to discuss the Rejuvenation of FIMS and they prepared a first meeting after the war.
1947 Brussels (Belgium): General Assembly of FIMS
Albert Govaerts elected as FIMS President; Jiri Kral elected as Secretary General
1948 Prague (Czechoslovakia): 7th International FIMS Congress
1950 Florence (Italy): 8th International FIMS Congress
EXTENSIVE DEVELOPMENT of FIMS (1952-1966).
A prevalently European organization
1952 Paris (France): 9th International FIMS Congress
1954 Beograd (Yugoslavia): 10th International FIMS Congress
1954 New York (USA): Founding “American Chapter of FIMS” First President: J.B.Wolffe
Name of organization changed in 1955 to American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM)
For the further History and events of the ACSM see the book “Out of Many, One”
by Jack W.Berryman, ACSM Historian
1956 Luxembourg: 11th International FIMS Congress
1956 Paris (France): Founding first Multinational Regional Group of FIMS in Europe
Latin Group of Physical and Sport Medicine;
From 1985: Latin and Mediterranean Group of Sports Medicine (GLMMS)
1957 Naples (Italy): First Congress of the Latin Group
1958 Moscow (USSR): 12th International FIMS Congress
30th Anniversary of FIMS
1960 Vienna (Austria): 13th International FIMS Congress
1962 Santiago do Chile (Chile): 14th International FIMS Congress
Besides the International FIMS Congresses, FIMS started in 1963 with organising
“FIMS European Congresses”.
1963 Prague (Czechoslovakia): 1st FIMS European Congress.
1964 Tokyo (Japan): 15th International FIMS Congress
WORLDWIDE EXPANSION of FIMS (1966 - 1986)
Including all five continents
1966 Hannover (Germany):16th FIMS World Congress
From now on the name of International FIMS congress changed into FIMS World Congress
1968 Mexico-City (Mexico): 17th FIMS World Congress
1969 Bucharest (Romania): Founding Balkan Association of Sports Medicine;
13th Balkan Congress in 2004 Drama (Greece)
1970 Oxford (Great-Britain):18th FIMS World Congress
1972 Athens (Greece): First Balkan Congress
1972 Munich (Germany):19th FIMS World Congress
1974 Melbourne (Australia): 20th FIMS World Congress
Budapest (Hungary): 3rd FIMS European Congress
1975 Foundation of COPAMEDE
1976 Montreal (Canada): FIMS Council of Delegates
First FIMS Gold Medal for Giuseppe La Cava
Ludwig Prokop elected as FIMS President
1978 Brasilia (Brazil): 21st FIMS World Congress
1980 Rome (Italy): FIMS Council of Delegates
FIMS Gold Medal for Jiri Kral, John Williams and Alojzii Sef
Ejnar Eriksson (Sweden) elected as FIMS President
Alan Ryan (USA) elected as Secretary General
1980 Ystad (Sweden) Founding North West European Chapter of FIMS.
Initiators Ejnar Eriksson and Per Renstrom. The NWEC had no president, only an elected
secretary general. There were annual meetings in one of the member countries but the NWEC
didn’t organise Congresses.
1982 Foundation of the African Union of Sports Medicine
1982 Vienna (Austria): 22nd FIMS World Congress
FIMS Gold Medal for Ludwig Prokop and Per-Olof Åstrand
Ejnar Eriksson re-elected as FIMS President
Alan Ryan re-elected as Secretary General
1984 Rome (Italy): FIMS Council of Delegates
STRENGTHEN EXTERNAL RELATIONS (1986 - 1994)
1986 Brisbane (Australia): 23rd FIMS World Congress
FIMS Gold Medal for Ernest Strauzenberg
Wildor Hollmann (Germany) elected as FIMS President
Eduardo De Rose (Brazil) elected as Secretary General
1986 Prague (Czechoslovakia): 4th FIMS European Congress
1987 Rome (Italy) march: Executive Committee Meeting
1987 Montevideo (Uruguay) October: Executive Committee Meeting
1988 San Sebastian (Spain) April: Executive Committee Meeting
Seoul (Korea) September: Executive Committee Meeting
Barcelona (Spain): 5th FIMS European Congress
Barcelona (Spain) December: FIMS Council of Delegates
1990 Abidjan (Cote D’Ivoire): Executive Committee Meeting
1990 Amsterdam (The Netherlands) 24th FIMS World Congress
FIMS Gold Medal for Wildor Hollmann and Antonio Venerando
Wildor Hollmann re-elected as FIMS President
Eduardo De Rose re-elected as Secretary General
Last decade of the 20th Century: Strong Development and Expansion of FIMS in Asia
1990 Beijing (China), September: Foundation Asian Federation of Sports Medicine
First President: Qu Mian-Yu; First Secretary General: Kai Ming Chan
1990 Paris (France): Executive Committee Meeting
1991 Budapest (Hungary): 6th FIMS European Congress
Casablanca (Morocco): Executive Committee Meeting
1992 Hong Kong: 1st Asian Federation Congress
Executive Committee Meeting and FIMS Council of Delegates
FIMS Gold Medal for Prince Alexandre De Merode, Ludovit Komadel and Albert Dirix
1992 Rome (Italy): Commemorazione Academica in Onore di Antonio Venerando
Executive Committee Meeting
1993 Nicosia (Cyprus): 7th FIMS European Congress
1994 Cologne (Germany): Joint Meeting FIMS and WHO
Executive Committee Meeting
CREATING a WorldWide “FIMS FAMILY” (1994-2002)
Leadership and strong influence of Eduardo De Rose
1994 Athens (Greece) 25th FIMS World Congress
FIMS Citation of Honour for Ion Dragan and Qu Mian-Yu
Eduardo De Rose (Brasil) elected as FIMS President; Skip Knuttgen elected as Secretary General
1995 Hong Kong: Executive Committee Meeting
1995 Stockholm (Sweden): Farewell Conference in Honour of Ejnar Eriksson
1995 Granada (Spain): 8th FIMS European Congress
1996 Manila (Philippines) 2nd Asian Federation Congress
Executive Committee Meeting
FIMS Council of Delegates: no quorum, no decisions
1996 Atlanta (USA) during the Olympic Games: FIMS Council of Delegates
1996 Rome (Italy): Commemorazione Academica in Onore di Sylvano Silvij
Executive Committee Meeting
1997 Hong Kong, January: Congress on Sports and Children
1997 Rio de Janeiro (Brazil): Executive Committee Meeting
Gramado (Brazil): 17th COPAMEDE Congress
1997 Thermas de Vigo (Portugal), September: Executive Committee Meeting
1997 Porto (Portugal), September: 9th FIMS European Congress
Founding of the European Federation of Sports Medicine (EFSM).
First President Norbert Bachl (Austria) and First Secretary General Fabio Pigozzi (Italy)
1998 Orlando (USA) 26th FIMS World Congress in combination with the
45th Annual Meeting of ACSM
Change of name into: Fédération Internationale de Médecine du Sport
Wildor Hollmann appointed as Honorary President
FIMS Gold Medal for Ali Bouzayen, Francisque Commandré and Robert Frenkl
Eduardo De Rose re-elected as FIMS President; Walter Frontera elected as Secretary General
1998 Nicosia (Cyprus): FIMS 1st Euro-Asian Congress
Executive Committee Meeting
1999 Hong Kong: FIMS and WHO: Forum on Active Ageing
Executive Committee Meeting. Strategic planning session: Vision for the future
FIMS Gold Medal for Per Renstrom and Juan José Gonzalez Iturri
1999 Columbia: 18th COPAMEDE Congress
1999 Innsbruck (Austria): 10th FIMS European Congress = 1st EFSM European Congress
2000 Muscat (Oman): 3rd Asian Federation Congress
Executive Committee Meeting
FIMS Gold Medal for Qu Mian-Yu
2000 Cairo (Egypt): 3rd Pan African Sports Medicine Congress
2000 Abidjan (Cote D’Ivoire): Executive Committee Meeting
2000 Paris (France): FIMS New Millennium Celebration
Executive Committee Meeting
2000 Reims (France): FIMS Council of Delegates
2001 Rome (Italy): Executive Committee Meeting
Visit by Prince Alexandre De Merode
2001 Islamabad (Pakistan): 4th Asian Federation Congress: had to be postponed
2001 Montevideo (Uruguay): 19th COPAMEDE Congress
Executive Committee Meeting
2001 Oviedo (Spain): 2nd EFSMA European Congress
2002 Vienna (Austria): Executive Committee Meeting
Visit by Mario Pescante, President EOC
FIMS Gold Medal for Kurt Tittel
2002 Budapest (Hungary): 27th FIMS World Congress
Two Honorary Speakers: Per-Olof Astrand and Wildor Hollmann
Kai Ming Chan elected as FIMS President; Walter Frontera re-elected as Secretary General
First Meeting of the new Executive Committee: Four Year Plan
FIMS LEADERSHIP and GLOBAL PARTNERSHIP (2002)
Promotion of Sports Medicine for Excellence, Health, Productivity, Culture and Peace
2002 Pakistan, 26 April: Assassination of Nishat Mallick, member of the FIMS Executive
Committee and at that time President of the Asian Federation
2002 Rome July: the Medical and Scientific Commission of the EOC had been established with
Fabio Pigozzi as President and Norbert Bachl as Secretary
2002 Hong Kong, November: Executive Committee Meeting
2002 Seoul (Korea): 5th Asian Congress
2003 CELEBRATION 75 years FIMS in all the 5 CONTINENTS
2003 Cape Town (South Africa): 10th Biannual SASMA Congress
2003 St. Moritz (Switzerland): Celebration Meeting of 75th Anniversary of FIMS
2003 Lausanne (Switzerland): Reception of FIMS Delegation by IOC President Jacques Rogge
2003 Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic) : 20th Pan American (Copamede) Congress
2003 Hasselt (Belgium): 3rd EFSMA European Congress
FIMS Executive Committee Meeting
2003 Sheffield (Great Britain): “The Cutting Edge”
2003 Canberra (Australia): Australian Conference of Science and Medicine in Sport
2003 Berlin (Germany): BJD (Bone and Joint Decade) World Network Conference
2003 Athens (Greece): 7th IOC Olympic World Congress on Sports Sciences
2003 Colombo (Sri Lanka): 6th Asian Congress
2003 Amritsar (India), December: Silver Jubilee Congress of Indian Association of Sports Medicine
Prof. Nishat Mallick Memorial Lecture by K.M.Chan
2004 Muscat (Oman), January: 28th FIMS World Congress
Concluding chapter of the Celebration of the 75th Anniversary
FIMS Gold Medal for Eduardo De Rose
2004 Drama (Greece): 13th Balkan Sports Medicine Congress
Meeting Bureau of FIMS
2004 FIMS Ambassador Tour to East Europe: Poland (Krakow), Slovakia (Trencianske Teplice)
and Serbia Montenegro (Belgrade)
2004 Rome (Italy): Celebration of the 75th anniversary of the Italian Federation
FIMS Executive Committee Meeting
2005 Limasol (Cyprus): 4th EFSMA European Congress
2006 Beijing (China): 29th FIMS World Congress
Walter Frontera elected as FIMS President; Fabio Pigozzi elected as Secretary General
Eduardo De Rose appointed as Honorary President
2007 Prague (Czech Republic): 5th EFSMA European Congress
2008 Barcelona (Spain): 30th FIMS World Congress
FIMS Gold Medal for Kai-Ming Chan
2009 Rome (Italy): Celebration of the 80th anniversary of the Italian Federation
2009 Atalya (Turkey): 6th EFSMA European Congress
2010 San Juan (Puerto Rico): 31st FIMS World Congress
Fabio Pigozzi elected as FIMS President; Lyle Micheli elected as Secretary General
FIMS Gold Medal for John Wesseling (Holland)
FIMS Honorary Membership for Ernst Raas (Austria)
2010 Graz (Austria) Celebration of the 60th anniversary of the Austrian Association
2010 Lausanne (Switserland) FIMS Executive Committee Meeting
2011 Salzburg (Austria): 7th EFSMA European Congress
2012 Rome (Italy) 32nd FIMS World Congress