Apunts Sports Medicine is the most long-standing sports medicine journal in Spain and one of the oldest in Europe. It was founded in 1964 by a group of young and enthusiastic Catalan doctors who were pioneers in sports medicine. In 2006 a new phase in the journal's long history began. That year and in the following years, Apunts became a purely electronic journal, with the commitment of the Editorial Committee to improving editorial quality on the one hand, and visibility on the other.1

Apunts has seen times of prosperity and times of great difficulty but has managed to publish regularly throughout its 55-year history. The magazine is currently completely digitally managed and, since 2007, the website (www.apunts.org) has offered all articles published since 1964 in PDF format.2

Last year, 2019, Apunts underwent a complete renovation of various aspects. On the one hand, Futbol Club Barcelona joined the project via Barça Innovation Hub, sharing co-ownership at the helm. Thanks to this union, the magazine is achieving greater and more global visibility. And on the other hand, the decision was made to focus the magazine's knowledge on the impact of sports performance on team sports and the different expressions of the impact of sport on muscles and tendons. The Editorial Board has been enhanced, and both the national and international scientific committees have been renewed.

One of Apunts’ great virtues has been to continually adapt to new times and face new demands. In this regard, the full English version of some articles has appeared in the journal since 2009.3 The Editorial Board, as well as the journal's Scientific Committee, have announced that from 2020 all scientific production should be offered in English. This means that the financial burden will be extremely high and therefore, much to our regret we will have to abandon the Catalan and Spanish versions. We are sure that if those Catalan doctors of 1964 were to set up a sports medicine journal today, they would do so in electronic format and, no doubt, in English.

Both the Catalan Sports Council and Barça Innovation Hub believe in and support Apunts Sports Medicine. We share the enthusiasm of those doctors of the sixties who believed in a project that is now ours. We declare ourselves heirs to their exciting vision.