The International Federation of Sports
Physical Therapy (IFSPT)

is a worldwide Federation representing forty national
sports physical therapy organisations.
The IFSPT is the international resource for sports
physical therapists, serving people and athletes of allages and abilities.
Join us in our quest to create an environment for safe
participation in sport and physical activity, throughexcellence in education, research, practice, and clinical specialization.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Mission Statement

Page 2

Table of Contents

Page 3

Board of Directors and Staff

Page 4-7

President’s Report

Page 8-9

Fifth World Congress of Sports Physical
Therapy

Page 10-11

World Physiotherapy Congress - 2023

Page 12Belgian Partnered Congress

Page 13-14

SportsComp Project

Page 15-16

Education and Registration Committee

Page 17

Research Committee

Page 18-19

Financial Committee

Page 19

Communications and Marketing Committee

Page 20

Membership Committee

Page 21-22

Member Organizations

Page 23

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EXECUTIVE BOARD
AND STAFF
President
Luciana De Michelis
Mendonça(Brazil)
Luciana has been a
SONAFE (Brazilian
National Society ofSports Physical Therapy and Physical Activity) associate since2007 and has always
engaged to help her
profession grow. She took part in the Organizing
Committees of three SONAFE's Conferences. Moreover, she had six years of dedication to SONAFE's
Executive Board. She was the first female presidentof SONAFE (2016-2017), in a country with many restrictions to women's participation in sport and politics. Luciana is a teacher in a Federal University in
Brazil (Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais UFMG) and develops research in the Sports Physical Therapy field. She was the coordinator of a Postgraduate Program in Rehabilitation and was avisiting professor at UGENT (Ghent, Belgium)..

at the Padoa University. He is serving
IFSPT also as chair of
the membership committee.
Treasurer
Suzanne Gard
(Switzerland)
Suzanne discovered
the IFSPT when she
studied in the MSc in
sports physiotherapy in Bath. The MSc was tailored
to meet the 11 competencies defined by IFSPT.
Suzanne has been very active during her career indeveloping CPD, organizing courses, conferences,and workshops in Switzerland and internationally.
She is works in a Swiss Olympic medical center at
the University Hospital of Lausanne, working withadolescent athletes. Since 2016, she has taught at
the University for physiotherapists in the bachelor’s
degree and postgraduate departments. She travels
with teams and works pitch side on major tournaments, and major events like the Olympic Games.
Her work on the board of societies, like Le Réseau
Sport et Santé andSportfisio Switzerland,
has inspired change
and makes our
profession thrive.

Vice President
Carlo S. Ramponi(Italy)Carlo Ramponi started
to work in sport rehabilitation a few
months after completing his Physiotherapy
degree, working withprofessional athletes
and or teams. His principal interests aremuscle injuries, ACL and shoulder instability rehabilitation. He works as part of the health team inKinè rehab center, in national teams and in sports
clubs. He has also been involved in professional association committees for many years. Carlo is aformer president of the Group of Italian Sports
Physical Therapists (GISPT). The GISPT is a younggroup which started in 1997and joined IFSPT for
the first time in 2001. He completed his Postgraduate diploma in SPORT Rehabilitation at the University of Genoa in 2007. Carlo teaches in SPT
Postgraduate diploma at the Biomedical Campus
University in Rome and in Physio graduate course

Secretary
Chris Napier(Canada)Chris is an AssistantProfessor in the Department of Biomedical
Physiology & Kinesiology at Simon Fraser University (SFU) and Research
Lead at the Human Performance Lab at SFU’s
WearTech Lab. He also actively practices as a sportphysiotherapist at Restore Physiotherapy in downtown Vancouver where he specializes in the treatment of running injuries. Chris obtained his Masterof Physiotherapy degree in 2003 and his Diploma of
Sport Physiotherapy in 2007, and went on to complete his PhD in Running Biomechanics and Injury
Prevention at UBC in 2018. His research focuses on
biomechanics and training load factors in runningrelated injury, using lab- and field-based measures.

4

Member-at-Large
Kenneth Watt
(UK)
Kenny is an experienced musculoskeletaland sports physiotherapist based in Edinburgh, Scotland. He is a
Director and Consultant Physiotherapist at
project: physio, where
he specialises is musculoskeletal, sports, and orthopaedic rehabilitation.
Prior to joining the IFSPT board, Kenny spent 6
years as the Regional Representative for Scotland
for the Association of Chartered Physiotherapists in
Sports and Exercise Medicine, taking an active rolein the organisation and development of CPD
opportunities and networking events.

Clinically, he has worked at all levels of sport fromweekend warrior to professional level. He is currently a physiotherapist for Athletics Canada andhas been a member of the medical team for WorldChampionships, Pan Am Games, CommonwealthGames, Winter Olympics, and Summer Olympics.
He is the author of the bestselling book Science ofRunning.
Member at Large
Aleksander
Killingmo(Norway)
Aleksander has been a board member of the Norwegian Sports Physical Therapist Organization
since 2015. His connections with decision
makers in Norway has
already resulted in
new partnerships for
IFSPT.

Kenny has presented at a number of national sports
medicine conferences, as well as appearing on anumerous clinical webinars. His sports work includes 4 World University Games and 3 Commonwealth Games with Team GBR and Team Scotland
respectively. He continues to work actively in national and international level sport.
Sadly, Kenny left the Executive Board at the 2023
General Meeting in September, but has generously
offered to continue to assist on both the Educationand Marketing Committees.

Aleksander promotes
partnership and collaboration with large
international organizations such as FIFA,IOC, IAAF, and FIS.
He suggests IFSPT
should be a central
consultant in arranging sport events, leagues and teams regarding theneed for a sports physiotherapist and a guarantor
for the quality of sports physiotherapists.
Aleksander’s goal is to position IFSPT as the "goto" organization for everyone in need of a Sports
Physiotherapist!

Member at Large
UmmukulthoumBakare(Nigeria)
UmmukulthoumBakare completed her
Doctorate in Physical
Therapy at the
University of
Witwatersrand inSouth Africa. Her
research is focused on
women’s football and injury prevention. She is afounding member of the Nigerian Sports Physiotherapy Association and is active indisseminating
the FIFA11+ injury prevention programme in her
native country and across Africa.
Her passion has centred around the sports offootball, basketball and para-athletes. She received
her Bachelor of Physical Therapy and her Masters
of Physical Therapy from the College of Medicine,5University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria.
Ummukulthoum has worked as a physicaltherapist since 2001 and has won several awards
for her service locally, regionally and internationally. She is a member of the Medical and Scientific Commission of the Nigeria Olympic
Committee and an Associate Editor for the British
Journal of Sports Medicine.

New Board Members
Member at Large
Víctor Olivares
Ibarra(Chile)From 1990 to thepresent, Victor has
worked as a trainerand physio, mixing
both careers as a comprehensive approach
when addressing
sports and musculoskeletal health issues
through exercise and training. Since 1997, he has
had his own private practice within sports facilities.

Unfortunately, Ummukulthoum chose not to run
again when her term ended in September 2023.
She has promised to continue to support the IFSPT
through her many contacts on the African
continent, and within the football community.
Staff
Mary Wilkinson
Director ofMarketing
Mary Wilkinson ispresident of Opus
Design Group, amarketing-based creative company inIndianapolis, Indiana.
Mary’s backgroundspans many
consumer and business to business fields; however,she has worked in the healthcare field for over 35
years, and with physical therapists for 25. Mary’s
responsibilities for the IFSPT include marketingstrategy and execution, communications with both
member organizations and outside organizations,
event execution, marketing support for member
organizations, and strategic planning consultation
for the Board of Directors. She also is responsible
for graphic design and website
management, as well as coordination of RISPTs.

Regarding his experience in organizations, he was amember of the board of the Chilean Society ofSports Medicine (www.sochmedep.cl) for 10
consecutive years (1996-2006) holding various positions on the board. This organization is the second
oldest Sports Medicine Society in Latin America
and held its 66th Congress in 2021. The society
brings together professionals from different
disciplines, such as doctors, physios, Physical Education teachers, trainers and nutritionists, among
others. After leaving the board of SOCHMEDEP, he
had the idea of creating a sports physical therapy
society, and in 2008 the Chilean Society of Physical
Therapy in Sports, SOKIDE (www.sokide.cl)
was born. Together with seven othersports physios, Victor gave shape tothis wonderful project, and theirsociety quickly generated
interest andparticipation
both nationallyand in international relations with sister societies,
such as AKD from Argentina
and SONAFE from Brazil.

A many-times-over award winner for her creativeand marketing campaigns, Mary began work with
the IFSPT in 2005, becoming the Marketing Director in 2011. She has served under every presidentof the IFSPT. She is also Executive Director of theInternational Journal of Sports Physical Therapy.

Member at
Large
Mina Samukawa(Japan)Mina Samukawa is aVice President of theJapanese Society ofSports Physical Therapy and a Japanesedelegate to the IFSPT
since 2019. After attending the 2nd World
Congress of Sports Physical Therapy in Belfast,
Mina learned of the excellent collaborations be-6tween the MOs and the IFSPT Board. In 2019, shebecame an executive board member at theJapanese Society of Sports Physical Therapy andsince then she has made developing and improving
the society one of her top priorities.

Rehabilitation Department since 2014, and as the
Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences since 2019.
She is also a co-founder of the Physiotherapy andRehabilitation Research, Application and Innovation Centre. Derya lists strong collaborative skills as
one of her personal talents.

For the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, more than 700
Japanese sports physiotherapists gathered from allover the country despite the tricky Covid-19
situation. “We had many wonderful experiences
working together to provide physiotherapy services
at not only the central polyclinic but also at manyof the competition venues. Four years of dedicatedpreparation was one of the keys to our success. I
was deeply involved as an educator for the lead-up
workshops, and served as the core physiotherapistof physiotherapy services in the polyclinic during
the Olympic games. Watching our physio teamgain in confidence as the Games unfolded is anespecially poignant memory for me,” Mina says.
She has been working as an Associate Professor at
Hokkaido University since 2013 and has taught
graduate students and sports physiotherapists froma variety of Asian countries.

ARE YOU INTERESTED INSERVING ON THE IFSPTEXECUTIVE BOARD?
At the Fifth World Congress of Sports Physical
Therapy, IFSPT will hold an election during theGeneral Meeting on June 13. The IFSPT is now takiing nominations for this election.
Nominations are welcomed for an individual tojoin the International Federation of Sports Physical
Therapists (IFSPT) Executive Board (EB). Nominations will require the following documents to besubmitted:
1. The candidate member is to provide thefollowing media and documents:
A. A cover letter outlining their strengths, skills,
and knowledge, and how they foresee thoseenhancing the EB and the IFSPT as a whole.
B. A short video (max 2 mins) featuring thenominee detailing their professional
background, their reasoning for wishing to join
the IFSPT board, and the skills they would
bring should they be elected.
C. A brief 1-2 page CV outlining their:
experience; education; previous and current
committee working; communication skills;
team working skills; leadership roles currently
or previously held. Written and spoken
English level to be included (All EB verbal andwritten communication is carried out inEnglish).
D. A brief statement outlining individuals’ ability
to provide around 3 hours a week to IFSPT
board and committee work.

Member at Large
Derya Ozer Kaya
TurkeyFrom her first IFSPT
meeting, Derya says
she had a strong feeling to be an active
part of the organizationinthe upcoming
years.
The Turkish
Association of Sports
Physiotherapists has been amember since the establishment
of IFSP.T As a founding member, theAssociation of Turkish Sports Physiotherapists has a strong relationship and confidencewith the mission and vision of the Federation.
Derya’s colleagues and supervisors (Gul Baltaci and
Nevin Ergun), worked also as EB members.

2. The Member Organisation (MO) is to provide
the following documents:
A.A brief statement directed to the IFSPTExecutive Board in support of their nominee.
B. Confirmation of nominees’ current
membership to the nominating MO, as per
WCPT regulations
C. A brief statement indicating that the MOagrees to financially support their nominee toattend in-person EB meetings, and thebiennial General Meeting.

A graduate from Hacettepe University, Health
Sciences Faculty, and Department of Physical
Therapy & Rehabilitation in 2002, Derya received
my Master's Degree in Sports Physiotherapy in
2004, and Ph.D. degree in 2009. She has been a professor at Haceteppe University since 2019. She has
been working at Izmir Katip Celebi University as
the founder and the head of the Physiotherapy and

IMPORTANT:Member Organisations are expected to financially
support their member’s travel and living expenses
when joining the annual IFSPT Executive Board
meeting and the biennial General Meetings. Individuals may not self-nominate. If you have any
question, please contact Secretary Chris Napier atsecretary@ifspt.org.

7

PRESIDENT’S REPORT
2023
Luciana De Michelis Mendonça
Since the last General Meeting (GM) held on site
during the 4th World Congress of Sports Physical
Therapy (WCSPT) in Nyborg, Denmark, in August
25th, 2022, the Executive Board (EB) held ten
online EB meetings. Members reached out to me
during the 4th WCSPT, congratulating our work andour union! We started 2023 with the IFSPT bank account based in Switzerland. Mary Wilkinson, ourDirector of Marketing, who was given the task ofmanaging the US-based bank account after the previous treasurer resigned from the board, andSuzanne Gard, our exceptional
Treasurer, worked together ontransferring our account from the
US to a new Swiss account. Now,
Suzanne can proceed with proper
registration in Switzerland.

I worked on the Congress Program Committee(CPC) for the last two years and I attended the 2023
World Physiotherapy Congress, financially supported by WP. The Research Committee of the
IFSPT held a focused symposium, which wasdelivered by myself, as chair, and Maria
Constantinou (Australia), Aleksander Killingmo(Norway) and Monika Grygorowicz (Poland) as
speakers. Attendance was good for this focused
symposium. On the same day, we had a subgroupmeeting with Tracy Bury and Jonathon Kruger.
Aleksander attended this meeting with me and I received a certificate of recognition of service
given to all presidents of subgroups during the World Physiotherapy General Meeting.

World Physiotherapy (PT) is
continuously communicatingwith the IFSPT about membership updates. The WP
recommended that Argentina
should not be eligible formembership since theArgentinian National PT organization no longer recognizes the
SPT group. I had meetings and amessage exchange with Pablo
Policastro to answer some questions and tried tohelp in some way. Sadly, it seems that the situation
remains the same. In addition, Poland resigned
from WP, forcing IFSPT to rescind membership to
its sports physio community. This is a great disappointment to the IFSPT.

Later that day, IFSPT held a Networking session on Sports Physiotherapy. Alex and I chaired thesession, which hosted over 55 attendees, with the support of
Mario Bizzini. WP also delivered
International Service Awards toprofessionals nominated by WP
and its subgroups. The IFSPT
nominated Nicola Phillips forManagement and Administration, and Mario Bizzini for Research. Both received
recognition from WP for their work! Congratulations to these former board members who havecontinued to support IFSPT!
After the last EB meeting in June, I participated in
the online version of the 2023 World Physiotherapy
Congress. I supported the World Café to networkwith participants, a seminar on Rehabilitation in
Conflict and the focused symposia about Sport Injury Prevention. The World Physiotherapy Congress is a good opportunity to connect with other
IFSPT members, to reach new ones, increase thepartnership with our mother organization andother subgroups and to disseminate the work of the
IFSPT. I appreciate Aleksander Killingmo’s support
throughout the Congress.

Just a few weeks before the 2023 World Physiotherapy Congress in Dubai, I participated in the last
subgroup meeting prior to the Congress with Tracy
Bury and Emma Stokes of the WP board. I participated online the first day of the WP General Meeting, on May 30th. Unfortuantely, on the secondday, I wasn’t able to attend due to my travel toDubai. However, during the General Meeting, the
IFSPT was approved to continue as a subgroup(now named as specialty group) of WP.

8three years. It is an amazing
experience working with an incredible team!
I appreciate the efforts of Ben Waller (Finland), Jo
Verschueren (Belgium), Maria Constantinou (Australia), Eleni Kapreli (Greece), Chris Napier (Canada), Carlo Ramponi (Italy), Mati Arend (Estonia)
and Mario Bizzini (Switzerland).

I sent an email to thenew president and vicepresident of World Physiotherapy, Michel
Landry and Suh-Fang Jeng, respectively, asking fora meeting with the IFSPT EB.

The Delphi survey was disseminated in November,and the goal is to distribute round two in early2024. The project consortium consists of fiveorganisations: Jamk University of Applied Sciences,
University of Tartu, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, University of Thessaly, and the International Federation of Sports Physical Therapy. In addition, Mary
Wilkinson of Opus Design Group, and the IFSPTDirector of Marketing, is providing graphic, communications and website support to the various
teams. Important decisions are being made related
to the project development, planning and properuse of the income. Once all is organized and decided, we will update our members during the next
General Meeting in Oslo, Norway.

According to the budget approved during our
General Meeting in 2021 and 2022, we expected
income from the 4th WCSPT of about 10,000 euros.
However, the congress didn´t reach the number ofparticipants initially expected before the pandemic(around 1000 registrations), and even adjusting thisexpectation because of the pandemic, the final
number of attendees was low…around 471. The
impact on the IFSPT budget wasn’t as severe as
expected, because the EB worked quickly on
initiatives that raise income for the IFSPT, such as
holding a partnered conference in 2023.
The Belgian group delivered an incredible sold-out
conference in September! The agreed income will
help the IFSPT financially. Moreover, the conference was of high quality and had a dynamic
atmosphere. We appreciate the effort of the Organizing and Scientific Committee of the conference.
Initiatives like this strengthen our bonds and increase IFSPT awareness.

On October 25th a short EB meeting was held with
our new members, Victor Olivares (Chile), Derya
Ozer Kaya (Turkey) and Mina Samukawa (Japan),to adjust roles and expectations. The EB reorganized some positions, with Suzanne leaving as chairof the Education Committee and Derya Ozer Kayaaccepting that role. Mina Samukawa will accept thechair position for the Research Committee andVictor Olivares will lead the membership team.

Communications with Kurt-Tomas Nyheim,
president of the Norwegian group, the site of ournext WCSPT, occur frequently to update both teamson the progress of the 5th WCSPT. The board, as theguardians of the IFSPT, need to carefully monitor
the agreements between host countries and the
IFSPT in order to protect our Federation. The
Norwegian group offered to advance a payment to
IFSPT to help offset the lack of income from the 4th
WCSPT. This will decrease issues related to maintaining a balanced IFSPT budget.

The EB members and Mary Wilkinson keep
working hard to increase IFSPT awareness, dissemination, and organization. We need the support andinvolvement of our community to achieve andconquer higher levels on our profession! We must
be aware, always, that the mission of IFSPT is to be
the main source for sports PT and to bring SPT
globally.
Thank you all the Sports Physiotherapists
worldwide!

Regarding the Consensus about Physical Activity,
the last update was presented by Kristian Thorborg
during the partnered conference in Brussels. He
said that at this time they are looking for a confirmation about who would lead the writing process ofthe consensus. Therefore, the plan is still forshowing results during the 5th WCSPT.

Sincerely,

IFSPT President Luciana De Michelis Mendonça

On the consensus on Competencies update, IFSPTis pleased to that our Erasmus+ Cooperation Partnership Project, Higher education to improve competency in Sports Physiotherapy (SportsComp), wasgranted funding for an international project lasting9FIFTH WORLD CONGRESS OF
SPORTS PHYSICAL THERAPY
OSLO, NORWAY | JUNE 14-15, 2024

Register now for the Fifth World
Congress of Sports Physical Therapy!

register now, as well as reserv their accommodations in order to get best pricing, Kurt Tomas Nyheim, Norwegian group president, says. “Exchange
rates are attractive and the best hotel rooms areavailable now.”

From Research to Clinical Practice will be held
June 14-15, 2024, in Oslo, Norway. The IFSPTGeneral Meeting and election will be held on June
13. Most activities will be held at the conference
center at the Clarion Hotel.

The Fifth World Congress will feature everything
our members have come to expect from the World
Congress: engaging sessions, speakers who areexpert in their field and global diversity.

The scientific programme is complete, andregistration is open. “It’s important that attendees
The IFSPT board and Norwegian WCSPT5
organizing committee members Kurt Tomas Nyheim
and Kenneth Martinsen.

10Networking eventsand social opportunities are partof the plans for the Fifth World Congress as

Parallel Sessions andWorkshops
Attendees may attend their choiceof ten parallel sessions and eighteen different
workshops. There is something for everyone! An
optional Congress Dinner will be held on Friday
evening...be sure to reserve your spot when you
register.

well.
Speaker List
Roald BahrGrethe Myklebust
Luciana De Michelis
Mendonça
Clare Ardern
Chris Napier
Phil Glasgow
Rod Whiteley
Else Marte Sørli-Lybeck
Tore Øvrebø
Harald Markussen
Georgie Bruinvels
Olivier Materne
Hilde Gundersen
Amanda Johnson
Tom Henning Øvrebø
Stian Bahr Sandmo
Synne Stangeland
FENDURA project
Anna Melin
Torstein
Dahlen-Lorentsen

Robert Reid
Sondre Solberg
Siri Marte
Hollekim-Strand
David Fevre
Jessica Scott
Shona Halson
Matt TabernerArne Jørstad Riise
Tormod Skogstad Nilsen
Lene Thorsen
Bjørn Einar Romøre
Roland van den Tillar
Martin Asker
Maria Hrozanova
Sondre Skarli
Michael McNameeHåvard Øvregård
Mette Andersen
Pim van Dijk
Atle Lie McGrathCall for Abstracts
Abstract submission is now open and closes
February 26. Submission instructions may befound on the website.
The Venue
We are thrilled to welcome you all to Oslo for the
5th World Congress of Sports Physical Therapy!
The conference take place at Clarion Hotel The
Hub.
With an unbeatable location, just about as central
as you can get in Oslo, you'll be within easy reachof the city's best bars, cafés, shops and restaurants.
The venue is just a 2-minute walk from Oslo Central Station, with connections to the tram, subway
and the airport express train. In the same walking
distance you´ll find many of Oslo´s top attractions
like The Deichman Library, Oslo Opera House
and Munch.

Plenary Sesssions
Our plenary sessions will review important trending topics for the sports physical therapist.

You can book your stay at The Hub or choose anumber of hotels nearby. See your options when
you sign up for the conference. Please note thatyou might need a valid VISA to enter Norway.

• Global perspective in Sport Physical Therapy• How to become the Greatest Winter Olympian of
All Time?
• The female physiology• Growth and development factors in adolescence• Injury burden in youth elite sports• The Role of the Team Physiotherapist• Clinical Reasoning• Is Football Failing Women?
• Ethics in Sports• Exercise Oncology

Early Bird
Early Bird Registration ends February 28, 2024.
Save even more by registering now.
Oslo, Calling!
We look forward toseeing all of you in Oslonext year! All the details
may be found at
wcspt.org or byscanning the QR code.

11

WORLD PHYSIOTHERAPY CONGRESSDUBAI
JUNE 2-3, 2023

The World Physiotherapy Congress 2023 was heldat Dubai World Trade Centre, Dubai's epicentre for
events and business.

Symposium titled The Injury Prevention and Implementation Landscape: Where Are We Now?
WP Honors Two
Two former Executive Board Members, Nicola
Phillips and Mario Bizzini, received awards fromWP.

Dr. Luciana De
Michelis Mendonça,
IFSPT President, andAleksander
Killingmo, Executive
Board Member, represented the IFSPT at
the Congress. Luciana
was also a member ofthe World Physiotherapy Congress programme committee(CPC), supportingIFSPT’s active role in
WP.
THE IFSPT AT WP
2023
Luciana and Alex,
Dr. Luciana De Michelis
along with former
Mendonça, IFSPT
board member Mario
President, presenting.
Bizzini, presented at
the IFSPT networking
session at WP 2023. Luciana, Alex, Maria Constantinou, also a former EB member, and Monika Grygorowicz, Poland, presented a well-attended Focused

Dr. Mario Bizzini and Dr. Nicola Phillips.

Nicola was awarded the Management andAdministration honors and Mario took Researchhonors. Both were nominated by IFSPT as
providing exceptional service to the global sports
physiotherapy community. Congratulations to
both!
World Physiotherapy Congress 2025 will take place
29-31 May 2025, in Tokyo, Japan.

Attendees at the IFSPT networking session in Dubai.

12

INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM OF
SPORTS PHYSICAL THERAPYSEPTEMBER 22-23, 2023

IFSPT partnered with
the Belgian Federationof Sports Physiotherapy
on September 22-23 inBrussels for an international symposium. A
sellout crowd of 300
people met at the Holiday Inn Brussels Airport for one and a halfdays of stimulating
education and the opportunity to meet face
to face.

be valued by the Executive Board. IFSPT
welcomed on site MOs
Slovenia, Israel, Italy
Norway, Turkey,
Canada, Brazil, Austria,
Belgium, Japan, Switzerland and Greece! Many
more MO's participatedonline in this hybrid
model.
Sadly, IFSPT said farewell to Kenneth Watt,
who is stepping down
due to personal reasons,and Ummukulthoum"KT" Bakare, who did not run for a second term.
Both will be sorely missed.

The IFSPT held its
Executiive Board Meeting and General Meeting on Thursday, September
21. The intmate General Meeting was a great opportunity to introduce IFSPT's three new board
members, Mina Samukawa, Japan; Derya Ozer
Kaya, Turkey; and Victor Olivares Ibarra, Chile. All
are experienced professionals and their skills will

The sold out symposium kicked off with greetingsfrom Prof. Dr. Erik Witvrouw, followed by a presentation entitled The impact of the sport physiotherapist

13

On Friday evening a dinner and award ceremony
was held, featuring the presentation of the Alfa
Care award to Anna Stitleman, Switzerland.
Attendees enjoyed a delicious Belgian buffet, andnetworking followed.
“The best thing about the face-to-face symposia isthe camaraderie and relationships that are built
there,” Luciana says. “ The internet is a valuable
tool in keeping communications flowing, but is no
substitute to actually meeting colleagues in person.
We are grateful to the BFSP for hosting this partnered Symposium with the IFSPT!”
Saturday’s sessions focused on sports-specificrehabilitation, including running, handball, soccer
and more. The Symposium closed at noon with awalking lunch.
Thanks go out to Didier Florentz, Séverine
Abellaneda, and Jo.Verschueren, along with IFSPTPresident Luciana de Michelis Mendonça andIFSPT Director of Marketing Mary Wilkinson forspearheading the Symposium and making sureevery detail was complete.
IFSPT President Luciana de Michelis Mendonçapresents in Brussels.

on injury prevention success by Dr. Luciana deMichelis Mendonça, IFSPT president.
Other speakers included Prof. Dr. Ann Cools, Prof.
Dr. Clare Ardern, Prof. Dr. Jo Verschueren, former
IFSPT President Prof. Dr. Kristian Thorborg, Styn
Vereecken and Suzanne Gard, IFSPT EB Member,and many more.

Former IFSPT president Kristian Thorborg ispresented a thank you momento from current IFSPTPresident Luciana de Michelis Mendonça at the dinnerand award ceremony.

Séverine Abellaneda, BFSP, and Mary Wilkinson,
IFSPT, celebrate a successful Symposium at the Friday
evening dinner.

14THE SPORTSCOMP PROJECTERASMUS+, Co-founded by the European Union
Carlo Ramponi, IFSPT Vice President

One of the most important IFSPT milestones was
the creation of the Sportsphysiotherapy Competencies and Standards (SPT) document. This
statement, finalized by an international panel of experts almost 20 years ago, thanks to The European
Union-funded Sports Physiotherapy for All (SPA)
project, describes effective professional behaviours
and integrates specific knowledge, skills and attitudes for this specific context of practice. These
competencies provide a basis for policy development, enable quality assurance activities and facilitate individual professional development

national Federation of Sports Physical Therapy(CH).
As stated by the Erasmus+ assessors, “the involvement of and the role of the IFSPT (CH) is pivotal inbringing the results of the project to a broad range
of international institutions to use and could impact
the sports physiotherapy education and profession
globally.”
Project implementation began 1 September,.2023,
and is divided into five Work Packages, which focus
on to the long-term competence development theacademia, students, and professionals by updating
sports physiotherapy competencies for higher education and physiotherapy organisations. The
project supports the development of English-taught
Master programmes, courses, and flexible study options in sports physiotherapy by developing and piloting innovative e-learning courses throughcompetence-based education. This project enhances international collaboration in sports physiotherapy and supports the digital competencies ofacademia, professionals, and students.

In August 2022 at the 4th World Congress of Sports
Physical Therapy, the IFSPT research committee
held a meeting with interested member organizations (MO) to discuss the future of sports physiotherapy. During the meeting, the attendees suggested
updating the SPT competencies, based on the global
need for extending the role of the sports physiotherapist. This project would also support each MO toproviding educational opportunities to its members.
Thanks to the vision of the IFSPT researchcommittee and under the guidance of Ben Waller(FIN), and Jo Verschueren (BEL), IFSPT
established a small international group to build astrong application to the European Union to support
its goal. Last September, IFSPT announced that theErasmus+ Cooperation Partnership Project, Higher
education to improve competency in Sports Physiotherapy (SportsComp), was granted 400 000€ for aninternational project lasting 3 years.

The concrete results of the project include• Updated competencies of SPT based on theEuropean Qualifications (EQF) level 7 andredefined role of the sports physiotherapist
according to the CanMEDS model. This is done
in line with the World Physiotherapy (WP)
educational framework.
• Three innovative e-learning courses in sports
physiotherapy at EQF 7 level (3 x 5 ECTS Credits)
including innovative teaching and learning

The project consortium consists of five organisations: Jamk University of Applied Sciences (FIN),
University of Tartu (EE), Vrije Universiteit Brussel(B), University of Thessaly (GR), and the Inter-

15

content and materials. Courses will be integrated
to partner HEI’s curricula at a later stage in the
project. This is done according to thecompetencies utilizing digital methods and tools.

the participating countries focusing on the current
sports physiotherapy competencies. The team wasable to reach almost 200 participants around theworld! IFSPT wishes to thank all MOs for joining tosupport this important project.

The courses will be developed based on the
newly-established core competencies, which will
be globally applicable, irrespective of context in
sports physiotherapy. Two of the courses arepiloted with feedback and assessment, with one
course updated. Courses will be promoted
forward to academia and working life

Promising answers are starting to come in, but inthe meantime, the committee is moving ahead on
further steps of the project.
The IFSPT Executive Board wishes to also thank• Ben Waller (FIN) for his great work in building
the successful ERASMUS+ application.

• A Tutor Guide to support competencedevelopment, learning and teaching for theacademia, professionals, and learners to be usedin different environments and settings to also
support the knowledge and skills development of
end-users andbeneficiaries.

• Jo Verschueren (BEL), Maria Constantinou (AUS),
Eleni Kapreli (GR), Luciana de Michelis
Mendonça (BRA), and Carlo Ramponi (ITA) for
their professional contributions.
• Mary Wilkinson IFSPTDirector of Marketing,for her design andmarketing contributions
plus her dedication to
IFSPT.

• The report on thecompetency update ande-learning material, which
includes two publications:the update in competency
and roles of sports
physical therapist aroundthe world.
The first face-to-face kick-off
meeting was held at Jamk
University of Applied
Sciences, Jyväskylä,
Finland, 25-27 October,2023. The meeting included
all project partners.

• Nicola Phillips (UK)and Mario Bizzini (CH)for their always “saying
yes” when IFSPT asksthem to contribute theirgreat internazional
experience.

Attendees at the kick-off meeting in Finland, October
25-27, 2023.

During those three days,
experts focused on building
the implementation details for the five work
packages with the finalisation of administrative,
communication and dissemination actions to be
carried out throughout the project duration of 36
months. In addition, experts began discussing thecreation of e-learning courses in sports
physiotherapy and continue co-developing the ongoing project to update the sports physiotherapy
competencies at EQF level 7, which is due to be
finalised in summer 2024.

• To all MOs delegatesand board members fortheir support done indissemination, inrunning the Delphi
study and forsupporting this project;
The IFSPT SporstComp representatives admit that
the SportsComp project is adding a great amount ofwork to the other tasks and duties, but it’s known
that all MOs and partner organizations can rely on
the SPT community to respond with great energy.
SportsComp will generate untold advantages to the
SPT global world.
Please take time to join the SportsComp official
channels on LinkedIn and Facebook and to follow
the updated news on the IFSPT website.

The next project consortium meeting is planned in
Brussels, held by the Vrije Universitet Brussel(VUB) in April 2024. The committee scheduled five
face to face meetings over the next three years,
with the final seminar and meeting held by the
IFSPT in 2026 in Switzerland.

If clarification or more information about the
project is desired, please contact Carlo Ramponi,
IFSPT Vice President and IFSPT Representative to
the SportsComp Committee at
vicepresident@ifspt.org.

The committee now turns its focus to a Delphi
study survey, which was created and sent out to16

EDUCATION AND
REGISTRATION COMMITTEE
Suzanne Gard, Chair
Education Webinars
Following on from discussions held at WCSPT in
Nyborg it was agreed to explore an online
educational program focused around the IFSPTCompetencies. These webinars would be designed
to improve the knowledge and skills of sports
physiotherapists, help our member organisation’s(MOs) increase their reach, and generate income
for the IFSPT.

Networking Sessions:
In the last year these have included developing theonline webinar series and an evening focused on
master’s degree courses.
RISPT Pathways:
We continue to provide support to MO’s looking todevelop their own RISPT pathways. We are regularly in contact via mail or zoom with MO’s.
REGISTRATION: CONTINUOUS GROWTH
The number of RISPTs is growing and the larger
this community, the more interest it raises. We arevery happy to help our MOs build a recognized
CPD pathway and to assist them in applying for
RISPT recognition. Ultimately it helps in raising thequality of care for athletes of all ages and abilities
across the world.

In November, a webinar for the MO’s on RISPT
Pathways development was recorded with Nicola
Phillips and Colin Paterson, former board
members, who led the UK’s creation of its certification pathway.
The plan then for the Education committee is todevelop a webinar series that would run on theZoom platform with two separate streams. One
stream primarily focused around clinical skills
linked to the competencies and one giving MOs the
chance to network and reach larger audiences.
To ensure fair representation and inclusivity of the
speakers chosen, an education sub-committee wasassembled with members drawn from around theglobe with representation from every continent.

We have thirteen Countries with approved
pathways.
RISPT numbers as of December 31, 2023:
Australia: 54
Belgium: 5
Canada: 122
Denmark: 9
Ireland: 3
Italy: 12
Netherlands: None
Norway: 9
New Zealand: 2
Sweden: 12
Switzerland: 6
United Kingdom: 30
Total: 264 active

Isokinetic Congress London May 2023:
Mario Bizzini and the Swiss Sport Association
Sportfisio invited IFSPT to organize a joint workshop. Suzanne Gard, chair of the IFSPT Educationcommittee, represented IFSPT. The programaround the impact of the brain in injury prevention, the Optiknee for better knee health after ACL,
and women in editing, publishing, teaching andparticipating in sports physiotherapy was a great
success.

Five MOs have started the process to apply for approval of their pathway. In 2024, we plan to develop more standard information to help our MOs
achieve this goal.

Collaboration with ESMA:The 21st ESSKA Congress will take place in Milanin May 2024 and IFSPT will hold a symposium
together with ESMA/ESSKA on the theme: One
Sport / One Lesion.

17

RESEARCH COMMITTEE
Chris Napier, Chair
The IFSPT research committee includes Research
Chair Chris Napier, Canada; Bakare Ummukulthoum, Nigeria; Derya Ozer Kaya, Turkey; Alexandre Rambaud, France; Jo Verschueren, Belgium;
Maria Constantinou, Australia; Davie Mulenga,
Zambia; and Ben Waller, Finland. The main focus of
the IFSPT research committee is translation anddissemination of research relevant for the sports
physical therapy community. A secondary aim is tofacilitate research relevant to sports physical therapy within our member organizations. The IFSPT
research committee has in 2023 worked towards
bringing relevant national scientific sports physicaltherapy research environments and scientific journals to work closer together with national IFSPT
member organizations to facilitate
more research translation anddissemination.

informally at the Congress and a working group
was put together. A plan to apply for funding
from the ERASMUS+ program was devised inorder to assist with the process of updating thecompetencies as well as in the implementationand dissemination. In July, we received a
confirmation that we were successful inobtaining the ERASMUS+ grant, which will
greatly assist in prioritizing and moving thisproject forward in the coming year. A smaller
working group consisting of Jo Verscheuren(Belgium), Maria Constantinou (Australia), Carlo
Ramponi (Italy), Luciana de Michelis Mendonça(Brazil), and Chris Napier (Canada) has beentasked with running a Delphi survey of IFSPT
MOs in order to inform the
updated competencies. See thearticle in this annual report for
updates on the status of theSportsComp project.

The main achievements during2023 were• The IFSPT Perspective in theInternational Journal of Sports
Physical Therapy (IJSPT) allows
the IFSPT a consistent voice tothe sports physical therapy
world. In 2023, the following
articles have been published:• The 5th World Congress ofSports Physical Therapy, Oslo,
Norway. The organizing
committee has finalized theprogram for the June 14-15
Congress and registration has
opened. We encourage all MOs
to promote this Congressto their membership.

Leadership Practice in Sport andExercise Medicine – from
Diagnosis to Dialogue by
Glasgow P• Applications for symposia andworkshops at major
conferences. The Research Committee has beenvery successful this year again with regards
to symposia and workshops at significant global
conferences. The IFSPT hosted a workshop at
Isokinetic Medical Congress in London in May
and a focused symposium at the World
Physiotherapy Congress in Dubai in June. The
Research Committee also submitted a proposal fora symposium at the 2024 IOC Prevention
Conference, but was unsuccessful.

Alternative Flexibility Training: Do we Need
Alternative Methods for Improving Range of Motion?
by Behm DG, Aragão-Santos JC, Korooshfard N,
and Anvar SH
Is it the End of the Ice Age? by Kwiecien SY
Research from Low-Income and Middle-Income
Countries will Benefit Global Health and the
Physiotherapy Profession, but it Requires Support by
Sharma S, Verhagen A, Elkins M, et al.
Do the International Competencies of the Sports
Physical Therapist need Updating? by Verschueren
J and Constantinou M.

• Updating the Sport Physiotherapy Competencies.
During the 4th WCSPT, Maria Constantinou(Australia) proposed an update to the 2005 Sport
Physiotherapy Competencies. An in-person
meeting between interested parties was held

The Abstracts for the 2023 Belgian Sports
Physiotherapy Congress in Brussels, Belgium,
were also published in Issue 4.

18
11• AlfaCare Award for early-career
no later than May 1, 2024, whichsport physiotherapists. This
will be shared with all member
award is for €1000 and is aimed
organizations via the newsletterat passionate early career sports
and during an IFSPT networking
physiotherapists to assist themsession.
to attend either the World
Applications for the 2024 Alfa
Congress of Sports PhysicalCare Prize, to be presented at the
Therapy or an IFSPT partnered
Fifth World Congress of Sports
congress in non-WCSPT years.
Physical Therapy, are now being
The Research Committee again
accepted. Interested applicantsreceived some very high-quality
should refer to IFSPT website atapplications for the award.
http://ifspt.org/the-alfa-careAnna Stitelmann (SUI) was theprize/ for criteria, application
2023 winner of the second
process and award information.
annual AlfaCare Award and
Dag Grindheim, Alfa Care, Anna StitleBest of luck to our early careerman, Switzerland, and Chris Napier,was publicly honoured at the
professionals!
IFSPT’s Secretary and Research Chair,evening dinner of the Belgiancelebrate Anna’s receipt of the Alfa CareSports Physiotherapy
Prize.
The Research Committee is
Symposium on September
always seeking professionals who
22nd, 2023, by representative
are interested in advancing global research throughfrom AlfaCare, Dag Grindheim and IFSPT.
the IFSPT. If you are so inclined, please contact
The winner of this award is expected to share theChris Napier at secretary@ifspt.org.
knowledge they obtained with their peers once
they return home. The IFSPT Researchcommittee expects to receive a written reportfollowing knowledge translation from the winner

FINANCE COMMITTEE
Suzanne Gard, Chairhuge success thanks to the work of all the members
involved.

Following the vote in the GM 2022, IFSPTtransferred the bank account and the association
registration to Switzerland to give us more flexibility in the day-to-day management and to facilitate
the treasurer’s work.

A new fee structure was accepted during the GM in
Nyborg, with a price per member. This will help tostabilize our income. We experienced the first yearwith this system and we are happy to say that allMOs paid their fees very swiftly.

All the payments and transactions are very easy tofollow for the treasurer. The account is set in
EUROS and part of the SEPA for payment. Thismeans that all payments within Europe are free.
This should reduce costs regarding currency costs
as many of our MO’s are within this zone.

We would like to thank our sponsors: Alfacare our
Platinum Sponsor for the great support andPhysitrack that we signed in 2022.
The Partner Congress in Brussels was a success anddid generate a small income also for the Belgium
group. We didn’t make a provision in our budget for2023 so it is only a bonus!

We are also trying to improve our efficiency from afinancial point of view: as you know, IFSPT is justcovering its costs and the plan is to try and havesome more income from sponsors and fromeducation content to provide more member
benefits.

The financial situation of IFSPT is balanced and therevised 2023 accounts will be presented in Osloduring the WCSPT.

The ERASMUS project on the revision ofcompetencies is financed by a fund and should be a

19

COMMUNICATIONS AND
MARKETING COMMITTEE
Mary Wilkinson, Chair
Marketing and communications are essential for a
global organization such as IFSPT. IFSPT’s
Marketing Committee is hands on in the service of
the Executive Board, the Federation, and all
Member Organizations. Mary Wilkinson, presidentof Opus Design Group, serves as Director ofMarketing and leads this Committee.

social media communications on behalf of the
IFSPT.
• Reaching out to member organizations to solicit
articles and information for our newsletter andwebsite.
• Website revisions and maintenance• Management of the RISPT process for the
Education and Registration Committee, including
application processing, reminders for renewal,
production and dissemination of certificates andmaintenance of the roster.

Marketing works closely with the Executive Boardon many projects, and with the President, VicePresident, Treasurer and Secretary in evaluating
initiatives and helping to maintain administrative
systems within the Federation. In addition, Marketing works to assist in strategic planning,development and execution with the EB.

• Support for the Treasurer in facilitating payments,
accessing records and working through logistics ofmanaging the United States bank. This
responsibility will no longer be necessary in 2024with conversion to the Swiss bank.

The largest initiative for Marketing this year was
promotion of the BFSPT/IFSPT partnered Symposium in Brussels. IFSPT Marketing created literally
hundreds of graphics, posts, Tweets and email communications in both English and to drive attendees
to the symposium. We are excited to say the symposium was a sellout! .

• Support for all members of the EB and allcommittees as needed to facilitatecommunications and execute projects• Dissemination of relevant research articles andpodcasts on social media (Twitter, Instagram,
LinkedIN and Facebook).

Marketing is already deeply involved with thepromotion of the upcoming World Congress ofSports Physical Therapy in June. Registration is
open!

• Serves as a liaison to the International Journal ofSports Physical Therapy in facilitating article
publication and special projects.

Marketing is responsible for providing benefits forour sponsors, such as social media posts, e-communications, exposure at events and more. This
team also seeks out and provides tools for exposure
for IFSPT at MO and partner events. The support ofSportfisio Swiss was also much appreciated with the
IFSPT display in the exposition hall at their symposium.

• Supports the Education Committee in the
production and dissemination of webinars andother special projects.
Marketing is anxious to hear from your Member
Organizations (MO) so that we may share your activities with your fellow MOs! Please submit news
and articles to Mary Wilkinson at
mwilkinson@ifspt.org.

Marketing also serves as a resource for Member
Organizations in providing marketing and communications guidance, as well as implementing
resources for exposure of conferences and educational opportunities through IFSPT’s website andnetworking.

In addition, any MO that wishes to have ournewsletters sent directly to their members, pleasefeel free to send a simple Excel spreadsheet including first name, last name and email, and we will
send the newsletters and our communications tothem on your behalf! We will not use these emails
for any other purpose.

Activities in 2023 also included• Consistent newsletters, sent every other month.
Marketing is also responsible for all email and

20

MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEECarlo Ramponi, Chair
The IFSPT Membership Committee is currently
comprised of Carlo Ramponi (Italy, Chair);Aleksander Killingmo (Norway); UmmukulthoumBakare (Nigeria). Kenneth Watt (Scotland) joined
the committee and served until August 2023 when
he stepped down from the IFSPT EB. We thankUmmukulthoum Bakare for her work on thiscommittee. Ummukulthoum chose to not run for asecond term on the EB due to personal reasons.

throughout the application process and isreaching out to potentional new members fromall regions. We are in contact with the national
sports groups from India, Mexico and
the Philippines. We are working with our MOs
planning to reach new potential members,
following and monitoring the Potential Member
Map presented to all our MOs last year.
• Supporting and advising prospective
member organisations and increasing
membership value and benefits is one of themembership committee’s key activities.

Mina Samukawa and Victor Olivares Ibarra, new EB
members since last August, have begun to support
the committee as well.
The committee meets periodically online under
the guidance of the chair. Business is also carriedout using regular email communications and ourdesignated online networking tool (Slack).

• Increasing and facilitating networking
opportunities across and within ourcommunity. We managed three Delegate
Remote Networking Sessions (February, May andNovember, 2023) and the face to face Networking
Session during the Partnered Symposium in
Belgium last September. As usual, the sessions
have been designed to follow two streams that will
run consecutively: Administration focused and
Educational focused. Sessions have been designed
around communication of ongoing and upcoming
IFSPT projects and actions as well as regional
opportunities for member organisation delegatesto interact with each other. We also sharedknowledge and experience among our MOs on
how to build an SPT master degree program. The
network sessions have been successful with goodengagement and membership numbers continue
to increase.

The Membership committee’s strategic goals andactions were focused on• Increasing the number of IFSPT member
organisations and members.
This year we reached an important goal: TheIFSPT community is fnow comprised of forty
MOs, including more than 15,000 physios. This
number has recently increased thanks to thethree new MOs approved during the last General
Meeting in Brussels (Colombia, Estonia andGuatemala). Sadly, Argentina and Poland losttheir member status due to their motherassocation decisions.The committee supported
and guided each of the potential new Members

Attendees at the IFSPT Belgian General Meeting are shown above.

21

We also worked on themaintenance of theDelegate Slack channel
to enhance quick andeasy communication
between MOs and theEB.

implementation; the
WCPT Awards application for Nicola Phillips
and Mario Bizzini (bothwinners). We supported
the Secretary andTreasurer to reachMember Organisations
during the annual dues
payment process andfor updating themembership database.

• Supporting thewider Executive
Board in therunning of theorganisation. We
supported the
We would thank all of
President in updating
you for your collaboWP about our MO
ration and engagement
status, our community
showed during all ourconsistency and
Networking Session and
Networking session in Dubai at the WP Congress.
obtaining the confirall our email exchange.
mation of the status of
We are happy to see
official subgroup of WP.
increased enthusiasm inside our community.
We managed the finalization of the new WCSPT
application criteria and the new EB nomination
criteria as well.
We supported the research committee and thepresident in finalizing the IFSPT Symposia for the
WP Congress (accepted) and the IOC (notaccepted), the SportComp Erasmus+ projectapplication (accepted) and the first phases of the22

MEMBER ORGANIZATIONS

Australia

IsraelAustria

Italy

BelgiumJapan

Bulgaria

Luxembourg

BrazilNetherlands

Cameroon

New Zealand

CanadaNigeria

Chile

NorwayColombia

Portugal

CyprusSaudi Arabia

Denmark

Slovenia

EstoniaSouth Africa

Finland

South Korea

FranceSpain

Germany

SwedenGreeceSwitzerland

GuatemalaThailandHong Kong

TurkeyIndonesia

United Kingdom

IrelandZambia23

www.ifspt.org@IntFSPT