December 2022
Members,
I am delighted that I am writing this message as your newly elected Chair of The Society of Sports Therapists, which comes after a very busy couple of weeks of events. I would also like to congratulate Dr Lynsey Northeast on her appointment to Vice Chair.
So what has been going on?
On the 23rd November, I travelled to the TherapyExpo in Birmingham to listen to some of our fantastic Members speak. I was blown away with the quality of talks on the various topics and would like to extend my congratulations to everyone who was involved. I would also like to thank Society President, Professor Graham Smith, for his chairing of many of the talks.
A week later, on 29th and 30th November I was with over thirty-five academic colleagues at the University Forum 2022 in London. The talks had the aim of informing the development of future Graduate Members, including open discussion sessions and an opportunity to network. We heard about the inclusion of psychology of injury in the Sports Therapy degree programme from Dr Emma Moseley, the impact of Sports Therapy research and new ways forwards from Professor Matt Greig, and the increasing healthcare employment opportunities within Connect Health for MSK clinicians from Andrew Cuff. A key announcement was made by Major Stephen Chappell, from the Ministry of Defence, who confirmed that Membership to The Society was now accepted for applications into Exercise and Rehabilitation (ERI) roles. Further discussions were facilitated by Dr David Rhodes and NEEDSs‘ Chair Tyrone Cassius. It was great to see and speak to so many colleagues, I hope that they enjoyed it as much as I did, and a big thank you to the speakers who provided so much thought-provoking content.
On the evening of the 29th we also had our Annual General Meeting where was saw the election of Dr Chris Holland to the Board and the re-election of Keith Waldon. Congratulations to you both.
We also saw Dr Kevin Campbell-Karn step down from the Board. We are grateful for the time and effort that he dedicated to the Board over the last 7 years, spending the last 13 months as Chair. We all wish him well in the future.
In the evening we hosted the Presidents dinner where Professor Graham Smith said a few words, Members and Academic colleagues mingled, and we even managed to watch some of the England football game! I hope that those who stayed for the dinner enjoyed themselves.
So what can you expect from your new Board, Vice Chair and Chair?
We will be meeting regularly to discuss and make decisions on matters important to the strands of membership, education and communication. We will also be be supporting Sally Steadman, CEO, to deliver projects as the Society continues to develop and improve for the benefit of the Members. As you can see from the talks at the University Forum, we are making great strides forwards.
Finally, if you are celebrating Christmas, I hope that you have a wonderful time and I look forward to representing you, the Members, in my role of Chair of the Society of Sports Therapists.
Kristian Weaver
