The Spanish National Sports Council (CSD) via the Director of the Spanish Agency for Health Protection in Sport (AEPSAD), held an international meeting of the “Sports and Health” Working Group, named the “Grupo Avilés”, on the 12th and 13th of November 2018. This working group has been called “Grupo Avilés” since its creation in 2009 by the General Subdirectorate of Sport and Health of the Ministry of Culture and Sport, following an initiative which has been implemented in Avilés over many years, involving meetings between official Spanish sports medicine centres. The Grupo Avilés is comprised of sports medicine managers from all of Spain's autonomous regions, and medical service managers from high performance and sports technology centres. The group was later joined by representatives from municipal sports medicine centres who requested entry. The organisation was run by the Spanish Agency for Health Protection in Sport (AEPSAD), the General Directorate of Sports of the Principality of Asturias via the Regional Sports Medicine Unit of the Principality of Asturias, under the direction of José Luis Terreros and Nicolás Terrados.
The TOPICS FOR DISCUSSION were: the Support Plan for High Performance Athletes; the problems with sports medicine examinations; how sports medicine operates in promoting and prescribing exercise for disease.
ATTENDEES: The following were represented: CAR (High Performance Centre) Sant Cugat del Vallés, CAR Sierra Nevada, CAR of Leon, Andalusian Sports Medicine Centre, CRMD (Sports Medicine and Recovery Centre) Castile and Leon, CMD (Sports Medicine Centre) Community of Madrid, Consell Catalá de l’Esport (Catalan Sports Council), CMD AEPSAD Madrid, CMD Government of Aragon, CTD (Sports Technology Centre) Getxo Basque Country, CRMD of Cantabria, URMD (Regional Sports Medicine Unit) of the Principality of Asturias, GMD (Sports Medicine Office) Consell Insular de Menorca (Council of the Island of Menorca), CTD Logroño, CGTD (Sports Technology Centre of Galicia), CTD of Trasona, Asturias, CMD Rivas Town Council, GMD Miranda de Ebro Town Council, SMD (Sports Medicine Department) Puerto de la Cruz, SMD Alcobendas Town Council, the AEPSAD and CSD.
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The Avilés Group express the need to continue to hold these sessions on an annual basis.
It seems essential that, as part of the Spanish administrative and sports model, national and local sports medicine managers, those from the autonomous regions, and those from high performance and sports technology centres, should continue to collaborate, and that the Grupo Avilés should become the network of centres able to channel information and proposals between the professionals in charge of sports medicine in local government.
They should continue to collaborate despite the difficulties, and national and autonomous governments should be responsible for ensuring that they do so.
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The Grupo Avilés is aware of and agrees with the need for the creation and implementation of the Sports Health Support Plan by the Spanish Agency for Health Protection in Sport (AEPSAD), and the National Sports Council (CSD).
This Plan should enact Articles 41 to 50 of Chapter III of Organic Law 3/2013 on the Protection of the Health of Athletes and the Fight against Doping in Sports Activities (LOPSD).
The Group accepts the proposal by AEPSAD, to form a group of experts to enact the abovementioned Plan.
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The Grupo Avilés urges the AEPSAD and CSD to enact article 46 of the LOPSD of 2013, on Medical Examinations prior to Sports Practice.
To that end they suggest a review of the document on THE MEDICAL EXAMINATION SYSTEM FOR SPORTS PRACTICE drawn up by the Health Protection Subcommittee of the Health Monitoring and Doping Commission, updated by the Spanish Society of Sports Medicine.
Once the Grupo Avilés, the Spanish Society of Sports Medicine and other experts have reviewed this document, the Government will be urged to undertake the regulation of compulsory sports medicine tests within their area of competence (issuing national sports licences or regional sports licences approved by the autonomous regions).
This entire process must be gradually implemented with an economic and administrative impact study. It should cover the various levels of sports, types of activities, and sports specialities.
The Grupo Avilés places itself at the disposal of the Government as experts in Sports Medicine.
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The Grupo Avilés recalls the positive impact of plans and strategies to promote HEALTH-ENHANCING PHYSICAL ACTIVITY (HEPA), such as the CSD's A+D Plan, and therefore ask the CSD and AEPSAD to again design, develop and implement actions in this regard, and to do so with a collaborative approach, as recommended by World Health Organisation.
The Grupo Avilés can provide the Government with examples of good practices in physical activity prescription through sports medicine, with evidence of significant improvements in health and major financial savings, as a highly important element of this strategy.
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The Grupo Avilés expresses the interest and need for promoting research into sports medicine.
Because of their positive impact on sport, there is a need to reinstate and maintain specific calls for research into sport and sports medicine, either through national R+D programmes or those specific to the AEPSAD-CSD.
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The Grupo Avilés express their concern regarding the difficulties that specialist training in Sports Medicine has been experiencing for many years now.
They understand that it is essential to maintain the specialty to ensure that Spanish sport can meet its objectives as a healthy activity and to maintain the performance from the sports environment that it has achieved to date.
The meeting enabled the various participants to meet, discuss and exchange their knowledge, and discuss problems and initiatives. Because it was so useful, we feel that these meetings should be held at least once a year.
