FIMS Collaborating Centers of Sports Medicine Annual Meeting in Sanya, China, on November 28, 2025
On 28 November 2025, in Sanya, Hainan, China, city where the CCSM Headquarters is based, the International Federation of Sports Medicine (FIMS) convened its Annual Meeting of the FIMS Collaborating Centres of Sports Medicine (FIMS CCSM), with the participation of President Prof. Pigozzi and Secretary General Prof.Lazzoli.
Directors from the CCSMs attending the meeting delivered centres updates on clinical operations, scientific output, and medical-education expansion, reflecting FIMS' global mission to advance sports medicine, protect athlete health and wellbeing across Olympic and para sport, strengthen clinician training at undergraduate and postgraduate levels, uphold ethical medical frameworks, including concussion prevention and safe performance for doping-free athletes, and translate research evidence into applied, real-world sport systems internationally.
There were many meeting highlights including Belgium's Ghent University Hospital Collaborating Centre report, which referenced expanded capacity in ultrasound diagnostics, para-sport integration, and high-throughput exercise testing especially linked to professional football. Dr Leigh Gordon, Director of the Sports Science Institute of South Africa Laboratory, based at the University of Cape Town, outlined developments in concussion and sleep-science research, elite and para-athlete rehabilitation, and innovation in medical exercise testing.
Dr Borja Muñiz, representing Spain's GENUD Research Laboratory, based in Zaragoza, Spain reported updates in biomechanics, sport physiotherapy, carbon-plated energy-return footwear research and injury-prevention science. Research grant income of almost 1 million USD was declared reflecting the exceptional performance of this CCSM.
Latvia's Sports Laboratory Riga Latvia, led by Director Sandra Rozenstoka, highlighted exercise testing and head-and-neck research across varied sports with major research funding secured from the European Union. Sandra also updated on her research at the Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games with relevance to live biometric assessments in training and competion.
Dr Ugo Riba, Director of Istituto delle Riabilitazioni Riba – IRR – Gruppo CIDIMU, Torino, Italy reported on their centre's successful AI initiatives to modernise their MRI facilities and connect users remotely. Dr Riba also updated on their research and support activities relating to professional sport such as cycling, basketball and volleyball.
Prof. Giuseppe Massazza, the only living sports physician to have served as Chief Medical Officer at both the Torino 2006 Winter Olympic Games and the upcoming Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games, delivered an update focused on Olympic medical planning for 2026. Prof. Massazza emphasised that his objective and legacy will be ensuring a safe and high-performance Olympics, implementing state-of-the-art research at the Games, with particular priority given to legacy research for athletes and the local and international community. For example, Prof. Massazza indicated that the Olympic Polyclinic and associated public rehabilitation and physical-activity environments will remain operational beyond the Games cycle, delivering long-term public-health and athlete legacy impact.
Collectively, the collaborating centres reported strong research productivity, averaging 20–30 indexed sports-medicine publications per year in recent seasons. The network further reported dedicated research collaboration with sporting organisations, strengthening global clinical-science translation at scale.
FIMS President Fabio Pigozzi stated: "Our strength is not history alone, but responsibility. Sports Medicine must evolve as fast as the world around us. The next era demands smarter systems, sharper skills, and clinics engineered for real impact – modern, mission driven, and fit for the realities of sport in a rapidly changing world order."
Scientific Commission Chair Yannis Pitsiladis reinforced that what matters most is global translation at scale—ensuring scientific discoveries move into clinical practice without borders. Directors further agreed to unite on priority projects, including coordinated multi-centre clinical trials.
Delegates of the FIMS CCSM enjoyed a visit to the FIMS CCSM Headquarters on the 29th of November followed by a rich social programme.
The next annual gathering of the Collaborating Centers of Sports Medicine Directors, will take place in September 2026 at the 39th FIMS World Congress in Santiago, Chile.
