IOC appoints tenth Research Centre for Prevention of Injury and Protection of Athlete Health
The IOC has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the United States Coalition for the Prevention of Illness and Injury in Sport bringing to ten the number of research centres from across the world that have been named as IOC Research Centres for Prevention of Injury and Protection of Athlete Health.
The United States Coalition for the Prevention of Illness and Injury in Sport is a joint research venture between the University of Utah, the Steadman Philippon Research Institute and the United States Olympic Committee’s (USOC) Sports Medicine Division. The coalition seeks to bring together highly experienced researchers from within each organisation in an interdisciplinary team to foster collaborative research in support of the IOC’s goals in the areas of injury prevention and athlete protection. All members of the Coalition have a proven record of sports medicine education and cutting edge work with elite athletes from a variety of sports, including Paralympic sport.
Protecting athletes’ health and preventing injuries and illnesses in sport are top priorities for the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Since 2009, the IOC, under the leadership of its Medical and Scientific Commission, has supported and partnered with established research centres from around the world which have demonstrated clinical, educational, and research expertise in the fields of sports medicine and elite sports to promote the athletes’ health through the prevention of injury and illness.
The Coalition joins nine research centres from across the world that are already part of this programme. They include: Australian Centre for Research into Injury in Sport and its Prevention, Federation University Australia, Australia; Sport Injury Prevention Research Centre, University of Calgary, Canada; Institute of Sports Medicine, Copenhagen University Hospital, Denmark; Yonsei University, Republic of Korea (South Korea); Amsterdam Collaboration on Health & Safety in Sports, VU University and Academic Medical Centre, Netherlands; Oslo Sports Trauma Research Centre, Norwegian School of Sport Sciences, Norway; Aspetar, Orthopaedic and Sports Medicine Hospital, Qatar; Clinical Sport and Exercise Medicine Research Group, University of Cape Town, South Africa; London’s Institute for Sports, Exercise and Health (ISEH) and National Centre for Sports Exercise and Medicine (NCSEM), United Kingdom
Thanks to their engagement, close collaboration and sharing of research and best practice, this group will be able to make a measureable impact on the IOC’s efforts to understand the impact of elite sport on athletes’ bodies and devise protocols to protect them from injury and illness.
Uğur Erdener
IOC VICE PRESIDENT
These centres, which receive financial support from the IOC, have been mandated to research, develop and implement effective preventive and treatment methods for sports-related injuries and illnesses. The newest member of this group, the United States Coalition for the Prevention of Illness and Injury in Sport, has already indicated its keenness to collaborate with existing members of the network by combining expertise and knowledge.
“We are delighted to welcome a tenth member of the IOC Research Centre for Prevention of Injury and Protection of Athlete Health programme,” commented IOC Vice President and Chair of the Medical and Scientific Commission, Dr Uğur Erdener. “Thanks to their engagement, close collaboration and sharing of research and best practice, this group will be able to make a measureable impact on the IOC’s efforts to understand the impact of elite sport on athletes’ bodies and devise protocols to protect them from injury and illness. It also dovetails perfectly with the recommendations of Olympic Agenda 2020, adopted in 2014, and which seeks to place athletes and their well-being at the heart of the Olympic Movement”.