Wednesday, December 07, 2011, Calgary, AB - Dr. Nicholas Mohtadi, an Orthopaedic Surgeon and Director of the Sport Medicine Centre at the University of Calgary talks examines the knee of patient Tori Orosz on Wednesday, December 07, 2011.Chris Bolin/The Globe and Mail
On Monday, the International Olympic Committee will recognize the University of Calgary as one of the IOC's four research sites on the prevention of sports injuries.
The certificate will be awarded to the school's Sports Injury Prevention Research Centre, which is best known for its research on youth athletics, including head injuries in hockey. Scientists from the three other IOC sites – in Norway, South Africa and Australia – will also be recognized at the ceremony.
The designation lasts four years and includes a $100,000 annual research grant.
"A key part of the grant is meant to foster collaboration with the other three centres internationally," said sports injury epidemiologist Winne Meeuwisse, co-chair of the Calgary site. "The IOC really wants to put a major thrust behind prevention of injury and protection of athletes and of athlete health. So this is meant to be a catalyst."
This weekend, researchers from the U of C, the Oslo Sports Trauma Research Center, the Centre for Injury Prevention and Safety Promotion at the University of Ballarat in Australia, and the University of Cape Town's Exercise Science and Sports Medicine Research Unit will meet to discuss new projects that could impact the health of athletes worldwide.
Researchers from Calgary and Oslo have already teamed up to assess new soccer warmup routines in a project that involves the sport's world governing body, FIFA. Another group is looking at concussions, with the Calgary researchers focusing on hockey and Australians on rugby and Aussie rules football.