Participant medical pre-event screening of athletes is no longer a luxury

Posted on 16 November 2019

For the past three years Mediclinic’s dedicated special events medical team have worked with race organisers across multiple sporting codes to promote and endorse pre-event screening of athletes.

Participant pre-screening was introduced as an interventional tool to significantly reduce the amount of adverse events during mass participation and endurance events. It also empowers the medical support team to prepare adequately according to best clinical practices in being EVENT ready on race day. “Resource planning and distribution as well as effective risk assessment and management ensures that our support service is not good, but great,” says Dr Darren Green, Race Doctor to the Absa Cape Epic.

He continues, “We are making the best use of technology to keep us informed. The race questionnaire is easy to complete and allows us to receive a full medical history for each contestant. Out on course, our medics do not always have the luxury of taking a full medical history before responding to emergencies. This survey gives us everything we need to prepare.”

The questionnaire is a simple drop down set of questions that may branch out to ask for details where necessary. It may also pick up risks for the rider, and in these cases the rider may receive personalised information regarding any potential health risks. It should take no more than 10 – 30 minutes to complete depending on the depth of history required.

The questionnaire was compiled in collaboration with Prof. Martin Schwellnus and the Sports, Exercise, Medicine and Lifestyle Research Institute at the University of Pretoria and has been used across a number of international profile events such as the Cape Town Cycle Tour and Sanlam Cape Town Marathon.

The services we offer Absa Cape Epic participants is world class. We have experienced doctors, nurses and medics across the route each day and a strong relationship has been built with returning riders over the course of the event’s history. This is just one more way we are able to tailor the care we are able to offer during an event.

We are excited for March and encourage each rider to complete the pre-event screening of athletes questionnaire to enable us to deliver the right care at the right time ensuring that you ride and complete your best race ever. Screening saves LIVES.