Age-limited spot has long been limited by the veracity of birth certificates but MR imaging appears to provide a safe, reliable way of levelling the playing field. This blog post contains an article from the African press providing the background, MR images of a young, and mature, wrist, and a photo of the team that has provided the science that underpins this new policy.

Fifa’s Age-Check Technology Can End This Charade

All Africa, 02 Sep 2009

You have to imagine that several soccer bosses across the continent wet themselves senseless after football governing body Fifa announced this week that new technological advancements would make it possible to determine the ages of players who will be taking part at the Under-17 Soccer World Cup in Nigeria next month.

Tests will be conducted on players from the 24 competing nations with a new bone magnetic resonance imaging scanner that will accurately determine their ages. This bit of news should have been enough to make many stomachs turn, and several teams will no doubt suddenly undergo major personnel changes in the weeks before the start of the October 24-November 15 junior tournament. Read full article…

Related Articles:

Is MRI the beginning of wisdom for NFF? (234next.com)

Coach claims age cheating rampant in Cecafa U-17 (nation.co.ke)

Nigeria: ‘Probe Under-17 Team Age Scandal’ - I Warned The Country Against Age Cheat - Adamu

(www.allafrica.com)

NFF To Dare FIFA On Bone Test Policy (thisdayonline.com)

At Last NFF Admits 15 Failed MRI Test (234next.com)

Sudden cardiac death has always been at the apex of ’serious’ sports medicine conditions. We all agree that one death is one too many. Sports physicians with expertise in cardiac issues — Jon Drezner and Babette Pluim — will guest edit a 2009 Themed Issue that will include, but not be limited to, original data and commentary on the use of automated external defibrillators (AEDs) in the athletic setting, emergency preparedness for sudden cardiac arrest, and the secondary prevention of sudden cardiac death in young athletes.

We look forward to the opportunity to work with authors, groups convening to provide consensus statements, and partner journals to contribute to minimizing sudden cardiac death in the sporting setting.

This special issue will form the June 2009 Issue of BJSM. More details will follow and the deadline for submissions is 11:00 pm, Dec 31. 2008.

One of the questions that is always asked of sports medicine clinicians is how much training kids should be doing. At a time where physical inactivity is the major childhood disease, we also have the paradox of parents encouraging 3-yr old golfers and 4 yr-old tennis players. After all, the earning potential of those children exceeds the annual salary of all but the most successful CEOs.

Until now, there has been very little to guide training the elite athlete. The IOC Medical Commissionhas a goal of protecting the health of the athlete and to this end, it convened a group to develop a Consensus Statement on the training of the elite child athlete. The paper provides a holistic approach to training the elite child athlete, including exercise prescription, psychological training, nutritional guidelines and special considerations.

It is now available in the March issue of BJSM (Br J Sports Med 2008;42:163–164). The expert committee members were: M Mountjoy, N Armstrong, L Bizzini, C Blimkie, J Evans, D Gerrard, J Hangen, K Knoll, L Micheli, P Sangenis, W Van Mechelen.

What are your thoughts? Is this helpful? How could it be improved? What is your experience with the elite child athlete. Please leave any feedback in the comment section below.