Kia ora tatou
Sports Medicine New Zealand (SMNZ) is delighted to partner with the Australasian College of Sport and Exercise Physician (ACSEP) as part of a collaborative annual conference this year with a titled theme reflecting this – Partnership – Collaboration – Performance. We look forward to welcoming members and registrants from both sides of the Tasman to Wellington, November 2023. Both organising committees have worked hard to create an interactive, educational programme embracing the multidisciplinary nature of our SMNZ membership.
This year we are excited to have Prof Carolyn Emery as our Keynote speaker. Prof Emery is a physiotherapist and epidemiologist and holds positions as Chair of the Sport Injury Prevention Research Centre, the Canadian Research Chair in Concussion and was an author on the recently released Consensus statement on Concussion in Sport: the 6th International Conference on Concussion in Sport–Amsterdam, October 2022. Her research focuses on the prevention of concussions and injuries and their consequences in youth sport and recreation. There is no doubt this is one of the more high profile and hotly debated topics within the sports medicine field and her expertise and insights will be valuable. Prof Emery will be supported by a number of other experts in the field and workshops aimed at highlighting the changing face of management within concussion.
The conference theme is partnership and collaboration and we look forward to updates on the latest in sports cardiology, transgender sports participation, running technique analysis, musculoskeletal issues associated with bike set-up, and ACL healing.
I would encourage you to make the most of the social aspects of the conference around the beautiful Wellington waterfront, including an informal welcome and catch-up session on Friday 10th November. Our organisation's key strength is to bring together people who enjoy the opportunity to interact with those outside of their immediate professional sphere, and would welcome our Tasman neighbours to this event.
Once again we thank our exhibitors and welcome them, for it is their participation that plays an important part of the success of the conference.
See you all in Wellington
Dr Stephen Kara
SMNZ Chair 2023