MOC medical seminar to raise anti-doping awareness

Various foreign and local speakers will take part in a Malta Olympic Committee (MOC) Medical Commission seminar at the Crowne Plaza Hotel between Friday and Sunday.

The theme of the seminar is 'Correct usage of ergogenic aids and nutrition advice to help athletes improve their performance'.

The commission has a specific role within Malta's ruling body of sport. It was established with the aim of advising on all matters related to sports science as well as to provide athletes and their coaches with accurate, scientific information on training programmes.

The Medical Commission makes in-depth studies on the problem of drug abuse in sport and relative detection. It organises courses in sports science to develop the study of sports and other medical science-related matters at all levels, including University and post-graduate levels.

During the seminar, Dr John Buhagiar will speak about doping control procedures and Dr Costas C. Christodoulakis, of Cyprus, will deliver a speech on dangers of doping substances. Dr Janet Mifsud will focus on the 'Inadvertent Use of Doping Agents'.

There will be other lectures from Dr Lucienne Attard and Dr Kirill Micallef Stafrace. Lara Gerada's contribution is called 'Eating to Perform' while Mario Bonello, Laurie Pace and Jack Schiavone will tackle the issue from the perspective of an athlete.

Sports psychologist Adele Muscat and Dr Olga Fedotkina will also address the participants. Sedqa will be represented by Dr George Grech. His lecture is entitled 'Illegal Substance Misuse'.

The purpose of the seminar is to raise awareness on anti-doping.

There is a registration fee of Lm15 for each participant and Lm6 for students. One may obtain more details by phoning the MOC, National Swimming Pool Complex, Maria Teresa Spinelli Street, Gzira, tel. 2133-2801 or moc@nocmalta.org.