BY LYNN BOOTH, MCSP, MSC I

f you are enthusiastic about the Olympic Games coming to London, perhaps it’s

because you already work with a team or you wish to become involved with a team or work at a major sporting event. Practitioners who work at an Olympic Games fall into two categories: n Those who work on behalf of the organising committee, in this case the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (LOCOG), working in the Olympic Village Polyclinic or at the venues, treating mainly athletes from countries and teams that do not have sufficient, if any, medical support n Those who work with a particular national team, eg. the British Olympic Team (TeamGB). Considering the medical support that

TeamGB has developed over many years, it will be unusual if a practitioner working for LOCOG has much professional contact with any British athletes during the Olympic Games as these athletes already have their own support infrastructure. Although it is London, rather than Great

Britain and Northern Ireland, that will host the 2012 Olympic Games, the country of the host city normally has the opportunity to enter a number of competitors in the majority of sports. This is not an absolute certainty – TeamGB may not take up all the host nation places available if a competitor or team is very low in the world rankings. Nevertheless it does mean that the number of TeamGB competitors and staff will be much higher than at previous Olympic Games. The last opportunity in the UK, for a large

number of practitioners to gain experience at a multi-sport games was working for the organising committee at the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester. London 2012 will provide the next British opportunity for practitioners who wish to be involved in multi-sport events beyond 2012. Most of the professional organisations for

sports science and sports medicine in the UK provide a structured continuing professional development (CPD) programme, including postgraduate qualifications. Many of the national governing bodies (NGBs) of sport in the UK also have structured career pathways to help less experienced practitioners to progress. Unless the practitioner is very fortunate, the progression from club to county, regional and national age-group teams is not a quick process, but it does ensure that, by the time the practitioner reaches a major event, he or she has the experiences to be able to cope with most eventualities. The Olympic Games and the Paralympic

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LONDON 2012

With the Beijing Olympic and Paralympic Games now finished, London can really start to concentrate on the London 2012 Olympic Games. Many of us are already considering the impact the Olympic Games will have on London and, in particular, on the sports science and sports medicine communities within the UK. For some people this will be eager anticipation, but for others it may be with a sense of foreboding, not knowing how the city and the professions will cope with the potential increase in demand.

Games will provide a tremendous opportunity to promote the roles of sports science and sports medicine within the UK. However, this opportunity does not apply only to the sports science and sports medicine associations and their individual members; it also applies to all science and medicine professionals who are involved in promoting healthy active lifestyles to the general public. Professional bodies throughout the UK, rather than just within Greater London, need to discuss how best to use London 2012, and the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, to advocate active and healthier lifestyles. LOCOG already has a medical advisory

group, chaired by the chief medical officer Dr Richard Budgett. The group has representatives from able-bodied and disability sport, doping control, physiotherapy, the ambulance service, the Health Protection Agency, NHS London and primary care. This group has already helped to promote cooperation between the various agencies and representatives; for example, a computer programme, DIPS (Duty and Information Planning System), developed by St John Ambulance, is being considered for use in planning the allocation of LOCOG physiotherapists during the Games. The medical advisory group is not a decision-making body but has been established to advise LOCOG. Although the post-Games legacy was an important part of the London bid to the International Olympic Committee (IOC),

LOCOG is not a delivery service for the legacy. As LOCOG will cease to exist once the Olympic and Paralympic Games have finished, the responsibility for the legacy has passed into the hands of the Department of Culture, Media and Sport, and LOCOG will only provide advice and act as a facilitator for the legacy.

In January 2008, LOCOG in conjunction with the IOC organised a medical services workshop to update key personnel. During the day there were several relevant points for the sport science and medicine professions: n The IOC will permit a few chiropractors to work in the Olympic Village, under the control of LOCOG’s head physiotherapist n Recovery-type sports massage will be under the auspices of LOCOG’s head physiotherapist n Although statistics from previous Olympic Games show a decrease in physical and mental illness, and in the crime rate, in the host city during the actual time of the Games, it is expected that there will be an increase in workload for both private and NHS health practices in Greater London – the “Olympic effect” n There are great challenges associated with maintaining professional standards, including accurate record-keeping, in a busy and demanding sporting environment. LOCOG anticipates establishing a medical strategic team in April 2009. The medical strategic team will help to plan the medical

sportEX medicine 2008:38(Oct):8-9