Dr Khalifa Al Kuwari:

“Leaders in Performance is an international conference dedicated to furthering research, and developing best practice strategies with a focus on how an athlete’s performance can be positively influenced”.

Doha, Qatar (07 October 2013) – Aspetar is yet again set to demonstrate its commitment to helping athletes achieve their full potential by partnering with the prestigious Leaders in Performance conference for a third year. As the name suggests, Leaders in Performance will attract key figures from the world of elite sport to discuss the identification, development and management of sporting talent and the key medical issues of importance today. As one of the main partners of the two-day conference, which is set to take place in London on October 9 and 10, Aspetar will present a comprehensive symposium and also preside over an informative discussion panel. The leading orthopaedic and sports medicine hospital is also set to host the official pre-event dinner. The symposium is entitled ‘Concussion in Sport: Prevention, readiness to return to play, and the debate on ‘Chronic Traumatic Encephalopthy’ (CTE) – do multiple concussions lead to serious long-term health problems?’ It will feature Professor Roald Bahr, Head of the Aspetar Injury and Illness Prevention Programme (ASPREV) alongside some of the world’s leading concussion experts from the fields of neurology and sports medicine. The session will be moderated by Prof Karim Khan, Aspetar’s Director of Research and Education. This thought-provoking forum aims to address practical issues that can be applied by club management and executive sports administration in professional and amateur sporting organisations. Additionally, Dr Paul Dijkstra and Dr Juan Manuel Alonso, two Aspetar Sports Medicine Physicians who will speak at a session entitled ‘When the heat is on: Getting the most from your athletes in high temperature environments’. The discussion will focus on the strategies and techniques that can be adopted during training in hot climates, and the presentation will be punctuated with real-life examples. A selection of senior figures from Aspetar will also be attending the event, Dr Khalifa Al Kuwari, Chief Executive Officer at Aspetar. “By partnering with Leaders in Performance for a third year, Aspetar is demonstrating its ongoing dedication to finding ways in which to improve sporting performance,” he said.

“The conference brings together top coaches, managers and performance directors from around the globe. Therefore, the summit is the ideal opportunity for the doctors at Aspetar to present their research findings to leading industry figures”.

Aspetar delegates set to attend include Dr Hakim Chalabi, Acting Chief Medical Officer and Executive Director of the National Sports Medicine Programme (NSMP), Mr.Ibrahim Aldarwish, Chief Operating Officer, Dr Philippe Landreau, Chief of Surgery, Celeste Geertsema, Chief of Sports Medicine, and Professor Karim Khan, Director of the Research and Education Centre at Aspetar. To find out more information about Leaders in Performance, please visit the website www.leadersinperformance.com/ . Aspetar, based in Doha, Qatar, is a world leading specialised orthopaedic and sports medicine hospital and the first of this kind in the Middle East. Since 2007, the hospital has provided, and continues to provide, top-level comprehensive medical treatment to all athletes in a state-of-the art facility that sets new standards internationally. In 2009 Aspetar was officially accredited as a FIFA Medical Centre of Excellence (F-MARC). Aspetar is a member-organisation of Aspire Zone Foundation, Qatar’s innovative sports and healthy lifestyle destination.