NOC Holds Solidarity Sports Medicine Seminar In Lagos

The Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC) on Wednesday began the quadrennial Olympic solidarity sports medicine seminar with participants calling for more awareness of its activities within the sports circle.

The three-day sports seminar will be concluded on Friday.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) backed seminar is titled “Protection of the Health of Clean Athletes’’, is being held at the Command Guest House, Apapa, Lagos.

The seminar drew sports medicine practitioners and physiotherapists from all the states of the federation.

They gathered to chat the way forward in the sports medicine in the country and to proffer solutions to problems facing the sector.

Declaring open the workshop, the NOC President, Habu Gumel, represented by Dr Akin Amao, Chairman, NOC Medicine Committee, urged the participants to use the seminar to chat a way forward in sports medicine.

“It is important to note that the IOC president has tasked all National Olympic Committees on the need to use their respective medical commissions as channels for educating their athletes.

“We are tasked as sports officials on healthy sporting lifestyles using sports or physical activity as a tool with a goal of protecting clean athletes in support of Agenda 2020.

“Educational programmes of this nature are critical in ensuring that key stakeholders of our sports are not left out of emerging global trends in sports medicine management and administration.

“There is need therefore, for active collaboration of efforts by all to ensure safe delivery of the objectives as we will continue to work hard for continuous promotion of noble olympic ideals,’’ he said.

The Chairman, Lagos State Sports Medicine, Akin George, called for more sensitisation among the practitioners and inclusiveness of sports medicine.

“We need to move from where we are now to the next level of sports medicine. We need new ideas, equipment and solutions to sports medicine.

“There is need for more state in the federation to have their separate sports medicine departments because aside Lagos and Abuja, sports medicine is almost non-existent.

“Sports medicine takes the front seat in the development of sports and it is critical, so we need more efforts in this regard to drive it to the hearts of all,’’ he said.

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) CobbMED, Dr Femi Bali, co-sponsor of the programme, called for more synergy between the athletes and the sports medicine practitioners.

“The sport medicine practitioners, physiotherapists and sportsmen must work in concert for the development of the game.

“Sports medicine practitioners gives adequate information and advice to the athletes on what they need to know about drugs, nutrition and care. Athletes must not work in isolation.

“Athletes need information on nutrition that can make them healthy and the simple treatment they need to observe in case of injury and other things,’’ he said.