FIMS travelling fellowships

The FIMS travelling fellowship program is an active program aimed at promoting contact between continents and countries, and is available to individual members of FIMS. The program is usually conducted once or twice a year, and successful applicants usually spend a few weeks travelling around a continent and visiting various sports medicine facilities. Partial financial support is available from FIMS through its association with Aircast. The guidelines for traveling fellowship will provide you with more information about this exciting opportunity. For further information, contact the President of FIMS, Professor Walter Frontera (wfrontera@rcm.upr.edu).

FIMS Fellowship news and reports

Report on the FIMS Travelling Fellowship (China, October 30 to November 11, 2002)

As chosen by the European Federation of Sports Medicine Associations (EFMSA) I had the honour to take part on the FIMS Travelling Fellowship Tour to Hong Kong, Beijing and Shanghai in the fall of 2002. For me, as a recently graduated doctor and now a PhD-student of the National Institute for Sports Medicine in Budapest, Hungary, this was an exceptional chance to meet other young sports medical professionals from around Asia. (Unfortunately fellows from Africa and America had to withdraw from this year’s fellowship tour.)

Before mentioning the highlights of the tour I want to express my thankfulness to the Hong Kong Sports Medicine Association and personally for the recently elected president of FIMS Prof. K.M. Chan (and his never tiring “right hand” Ms. Winnie Wong) and the local organizing boards in Beijing and Shanghai for the excellent organization of the fellowship tour. Furthermore I am very grateful for the Aircast Foundation and Mr. Jim Johnson for sponsoring the fellowship tour, for the Semmelweis PhD School for providing financial support for the flight from Budapest to Hong Kong and back, and last but not least for Dr. Éva Martos and Prof. István Berkes of the National Institute for Sports Medicine for directing my attention toward this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

The fellowship tour stared for me in the very early morning of October 30, 2002 in Budapest, when I left to Frankfurt am Main. After a transfer in flew to Hong Kong via Seoul. I arrived after ca. 36 hours in Hong Kong in the evening of October 31.

The following day I could finally introduce myself to my roommate, Lalith ijayaratne, the team physician of the famous Sri Lanka cricket team, and other six fellows from around Asia. The first morning we visited different institutes in the field of sport sciences. For me personally the biomechanical labs of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University were the most interesting. In the afternoon we took a little tour on the banks of Hong Kong Bay in Kowloon, where we could explore the famous skyline of the city. The day ended with a friendly gathering in the restaurant of the Hong Kong Sports Institute, where fellows, senior FIMS members and executives met each other and had some very friendly
talks.

On day two we took part on the Hong Kong Congress for Sports Medicine at the Prince of Wales Hospital, which featured interesting lectures of numerous well-known senior members of FIMS. As a conclusion of this exciting day of science, FIMS-delegates and –fellows were invited to a barbecue-dinner.

Day three was an off-day. Most of us went to see different places in Hong Kong, or did shopping. Late in the afternoon I decided with Dr. Éva Martos — who is of course a fellowcountrywoman, and one of the senior professors of my home institution, the National Institute for Sports Medicine — to see the Monastery of the Thousand Buddhas. It was on the top of a hill near the metro-station Mong Kok. Unfortunately, we were quite late, so we couldn’t enjoy the one-of-akind atmosphere, and the wonderful hilltop-view on Hong Kong, but it remained as one of the main highlights of the Fellowship Tour.

After the visit to the monastery and a last visit to the Hong Kong skyline in the night we really deserved some rest, just like many others, all having had a really exhausting day. Actually, I was still packing my suitcase late in the night, when I started to hear the sound of something like an alarm clock. For it was screaming for more than 3 minutes, I looked outside to the corridor, to see if it’s not something else… and it turned out to be a fire-alarm! So I looked after the concierge, who was of course quite in some panic, but after a short conversation I found, that we should evacuate our rooms. In order to be not alone in the impolite event of waking up senior FIMS-members, I started to knock on the door of the other travelling fellows. But before them, Dr. Angela Smith looked out of her room — that some 10 minutes after the alarm had started — and of course helped me in this truly unthankful task. When every sleeping human being in the building was awake and evacuated, fireworks came, located the source of the fire alarm, but found no signs of fire… After this night every time delegates were together and saw Dr. Smith and me in the same place (e.g. every time we have boarded a bus), everyone started to yell “Fire alarm!” at us.

Still, after this night-event — which just created one of the loveliest memories of the Fellowship Tour — we had to wake up very early to reach our flight to the Chinese capitol, Beijing. Unfortunately, one of the fellows, Dr. Talia Alenabi from Iran, could not join us, for her visa-acquirement to mainland China was unsuccessful. The Northern Chinese metropolis has welcomed the rest of us with a chilly but clear weather, so it was quite nice for November. I was personally very impressed by the huge dimensions of Beijing right from the first moment. After we took our hotel rooms, we took a guided tour at the Sports Hospital of the NRISM. The evening included a formal FIMS dinner, hosted by Jim Johnson of the Aircast Foundation.

The next morning we attended the opening ceremony and opening invited lectures of the Chinese Congress of Sports Medicine. In the afternoon we had another chance to listen to some senior FIMS-members’ scientific papers, but many of us were busy with preparations for next day’s own paper presentations. Dinner was presented by the organizing committee of the Beijing Congress, which featured — besides some specialities of the Northern Chinese cuisine — many friendly chats, and a surprise lottery.

November 6 was the day of presentations to some of the FIMS-fellows. My paper followed interesting lectures from Dr. Lalith Wijayaratne, and Dr. Hsing-Kuo Wang (Taipei). After a visit to the training facilities of the NRISM and the culinary excitement of a special restaurant, where the one-of-a-kind taste of Southern China was introduced, the whole FIMS-delegation went to see the Forbidden City. Although the architecture of the emperor’s home was very strange for the European eye, the dimensions were amazing. We were also impressed by the many artworks, like stone-carvings, different sculptures and old-style furniture. For me personally, the best was saved for last in the forbidden City when we entered the emperor’s garden, which was colourful even in the late autumn.

The seventh day of the fellowship was the second day of presentations for the FIMSfellows. Some of us had to miss the tour to the Great Wall because of our speeches the day before. But thanks to the never tiring Winnie Wong, a special visit to maybe the most amazing building of China was organized for us in the morning. At the wall we had an extremely chilli cold, with heavy winds, but the fun-factor made us forget about the weather. It was awesome to think about the fact, that the wall we were standing on ended some 4000 miles further to the west… When we got back from the most impressing excursion of the Fellowship Tour, our suitcases were already packed, because in the afternoon we said goodbye to Beijing and headed to Shanghai. Curiously enough, the shortest flight of the tour between the two huge cities was a B-747. The Shanghai organizers have warmly welcomed us with one of the most tastiest and intimate dinner of the Fellowship Tour.

Our first full day in Shanghai started at the Sports Institute of Shanghai with a welcome meeting hosted by the rector of the Sports University. Later we were guided through every corner of the Institute and its facilities. My best personal impression was the training centre for disabled persons, and the presence of my favourite game, baseball. Fellows got the afternoon free, and after dinner Dr. Hsing-Kuo Wang, Dr. Shun Wook Chung (South Korea) and I decided to take another “dive” into the Shanghai night — for we had so much fun and adventure the night before.

The 9th day of the 2002 FIMS Travelling Fellowship Tour in China begun attending the opening ceremony of the 2002 China Advanced Course and International Symposium on Orthopaedic Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation, including a big photograph session at the end. Later the day the new commercial city centre of Shanghai was introduced to the FIMS fellows, while I took the afternoon with Dr. Hsing-Kuo Wang to discover the old commercial city centre on the opposite bank as well. The night-programme included a farewell dinner on a boat, where — despite the always-friendly conversations —one could already feel the atmosphere of the next evening.

But before leaving for good, the Shanghai organizers shared us another great day in their town. First we took another look at the new commercial centre, and then visited a museum, which introduced us the history, the present and the future-plans of this wonderful metropolis. Later we were taken to a market, where we had a lunch, dominated by seafood, according to the style of the month of the
cancer (in gastronomic and not in astrological meaning of course). Many of us used the last chance to pick up some last souvenirs in some of the lovely gift-shops. Concluding the last day in Shanghai our bus took the direction to the city’s brand new airport Pu-Dong. All of us flied with the same plane, but I already said goodbye to most of the FIMS-delegation, for in Hong Kong I promptly changed with Dr. Shun Wook Chung to our next flight heading to his home, Seoul.

Dr. Chung was so friendly, and took me to a tour at the Olympic Stadium and other surrounding facilities of the 1988 Summer Olympic Games in the South Korean capitol, making the most of a 9-hours-long transfer of flights. It was really moving for me to see eleven Hungarian gold medallists and their results carved into stone more than 10000 kms away from home, and to see the birthplace of
many Hungarian success stories. Another main highlight in Seoul was for me to see the baseball stadium, where my favourite game was introduced to the Olympic Games as a promotional event.

On the long flight back to Budapest my head was full with fresh memories, and with many many plans about what I learned during this fortnight, and of course with some future plans and possibilities of different co-operations, which were born during the 2002 FIMS Travelling

Fellowship in Hong Kong and China.
Budapest, January 2003
Ákos Kynsburg