Monaco 2011: IOC commitment moves injury prevention to centre stage.

of any bodily harm that may be caused by sports activities. 1 Consequently, the programme for Monaco also includes keynote lectures, symposia, workshops and abstract presentations by world leaders on key issues, such as the female athlete triad, respiratory health, sudden cardiac death, exercise-induced hyponatraemia, infections in athletes and many others. Third, in 2009 the IOC announced its intention to establish a network of IOC Research Centres for Prevention of Injury and Protection of Athlete Health. A total of four out of 36 research centres in the competition—from Cape Town, Melbourne, Calgary and Oslo—received an IOC grant of SFr 100 000 per year for 4 years to stimulate further research and collaboration. Nevertheless, perhaps the most significant benefi t from the various IOC initiatives will result from the umbrella position the organisation enjoys in the somewhat complicated worlds of sports and medicine. Although there are certainly health problems that are specifi c to a particular sport, many injuries are common across many sports. The IOC is uniquely positioned to bring all international federations to the table to develop and implement various measures to make sport safer. This process is already well under way, and in April the IOC Medical Commission will again convene the International Federation Medical Commission presidents to share their experiences across the different sports. Some international federations have already made signifi cant In June 2008, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Medical Commission Chairman, Professor Arne Ljungqvist, wrote a BJSM editorial related to the 2nd World Congress on Sports Injury Prevention. 1 In this, he announced their intentions to organise a 3rd World Congress on 'prevention of sports-related injuries and disorders' under the auspices of the IOC in 2011. This is now reality. The IOC World Conference on Prevention of Injury and Illness in Sport takes place in Monaco, 7–9 April 2011, and in this issue you can enjoy the conference abstracts (see page 310). During three beautiful midsummer days, more than 500 delegates gathered for the fi rst time to focus on how sports injuries may be prevented. This was a hallmark event, signifying a signifi cant shift in interest from a treatment focus towards prevention. Three years later the second congress attracted over 700 participants from 55 counties, this time in Tromsø, Norway. Although the weather well above the Arctic Circle was somewhat cooler, the second congress followed the successful format of the fi rst, with …