SPORTS medicine in the country is set to get a shot in the arm with the 2nd International Olympic Committee (IOC) Sports Medicine Course.

The four-day event at a hotel in the capital kicked off yesterday with the aim of providing participants the opportunity to better understand the basic principles and concepts underlying sports medicine and sports science.

Organised by the Department of Youth and Sports and the Brunei Darussalam National Olympic Council (BNOC), the course’s objectives are to raise the awareness of local sports personnel and athletes in the fields of athletic training, doping control, exercise, physical therapy and sports trauma.

The President of the Brunei Darussalam National Olympic Council (BNOC) His Royal Highness Prince Hj Sufri Bolkiah officially declared the course open.

Twenty papers will be delivered by seven authorities from Asia over the duration of the course, with a workshop on first aid and resuscitation on Thursday afternoon marking the event’s climax.

This year marks the second time that Brunei has been given the privilege to host the event, the first being in 1998.

Conducted under the auspices of the IOC Medical Commission and funded by the Olympic Solidarity, 300 participants comprising members of the local and foreign medical profession and sporting fraternity are attending the course.

In his speech, the Chairman of the Medical Commission of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) said that the response for the course was better than expected.

“I am thoroughly impressed with the turnout,” said Datuk Dr M Jegathesan, who is on the panel of speakers.

“One of the key elements in deciding which country should host the course was a previous track record, and we were happy with Brunei’s efforts during the first course.

“The purpose of this course is to impart knowledge in sports science to all here, and we hope to extend its critical mass (of knowledge),” added the Deputy President of the Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM).

Other speakers include Maj Gen Dr C Thurairaja, Datuk Dr Ramlan Abd Aziz, Professor Sukadiyanto and Dr Nazar Luqman Bilgrami.

Dr Hj Danish Zaheer, Head of Sports Medicine and Research Centre under the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports will be delivering three papers and Brunei’s Ilham Hj Mohd Ali will deliver a paper on “Nutrition for Elite Athletes” tomorrow.

Adviser to the Medical Committee of the SEA Games Federation (SEAGF) and Honorary Medical Adviser of the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF), Datuk Dr M Jegathesan presented papers on the Olympic Movement Medical Code, World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE) Standards and WADA Anti-Doping Code 2009 yesterday.

Maj Gen Dr C Thurairaja talked about “Pre-Sports Participation Examination” while Professor Sukadiyanto gave an overview of Sports Psychology.

It will be a busy day for participants today with seven papers set to be delivered; “Adolescent and Children in Sports”, “Elite Athlete Training Principles”, “Pre-Competition Routines in Sports”, “Principles of Sports Injury Rehabilitation”, “Sexual Harassment and Abuse in Sports”, “Sports Biomechanics and Performance”, and lastly, “Sudden Cardiovascular Death in Sports”.

Tomorrow’s focus will be on “Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) Knee Deficit in Women”, “Goal-Setting Techniques in Sports”, “Health Consequence of Doping and Nutrition for Elite Athletes”.

A workshop on taping is also in the programme.

Talks on “Fieldside Assessment of Injuries”, “International Development in Sports Science and Physical Education”, “Stress Management in Sports and Women in Sports” will be delivered on Thursday. Courtesy of BruneiTimes

For an amount of $5 annually and $80 per season, Bruneian Manchester United Supporters can now merged in one roof...The Manchester United Supporters Club Brunei (MUSCB).

MUSC is currently on a membership registration drive where members entitled to purchase the official member club wear at a discounted price.

Registration forms can be obtained from Safari Bistro restaurant in Kiulap or downloaded from their Facebook fanpage ‘Manchester United Supporters Club (Brunei) – Facebook Group’.

Submit completed forms to Muhammad Syazni (8168450) for those residing in the Belait district or Siti Rahmadiatul (8632492) for those in Tutong.

Interested members in the Brunei Muara district can contact Sarimah (8142779), Farryzul (8819600) or Rabbani (8135556).

Supporters can view its official website at http://www.manutdbrunei.com or send an e-mail to manutdbrunei@gmail.com.

Before the year 2008 ended few months back, few weeks after the born of sportsbrunei, we did come up with this idea on thinking what will be the most popular sports in Brunei Darussalam. So sitting, thinking of what to write on this blog should be related to what most people like to know on the sporting events in Brunei and regionally...

One evening, while learning on how to actually do blogging, I've seen the word poll on the widget (seen this few times, but overlook if this actually helps), so we decided to take this opportunity to have this on sportsbrunei. But, I only manage to think of 8 sports on the lists (badminton, basketball, futsal, netball, soccer, softball/baseball, swimming & tennis).

As the poll runs, soccer remains as the most popular choices amongst our readers here with 50% of the votes, followed by futsal and badminton/swimming with 37% & 19% respectively. Basketball, netball & tennis finish up with 7% while 1% goes to softball/baseball. From these poll results, most of the time, sportsbrunei will be covering soccer games, but from time to time, other sports will be as much as possible not to be left behind.

Also, we would like to thank for all the readers as well as the chatters who left some comments on our shoutbox. As question by the red, he liked to see coverage on track & field events...and hopefully, that will be done accordingly. Again thanks for all the supports, hope to see great sporting events coverage oppurtunity this year all.

It has been a week that I couldn't update the sport news. Something has come up last week. Now here is the medadl tally for the 6th BIMP-EAGA which come to an end last sunday, 30th November 2008. Hosting the 6th game for the first time, Brunei Darussalam 'A' only managed to bag 12 gold, 9 silver and 14 bronze. While Brunei Darussalam 'B' finished with 6 silver and 2 bronze medals. Keep up the sports spirits.

Today 30th December will remarks the final day for the 6th BIMP-EAGA Firendship Games in Brunei Darussalam. All the 7 competitives event will resume where most of the games will enter its final rounds. Listed below would be the schedule games for today:-

As for the closing ceremony would be held at the Indoor Stadium by 4pm. The stadium is open to public to give the morale supports. The Honourable Pehin Orang Kaya Setia Pahlawan Dato Seri Setia Dr Awang Haji Ahmad bin Haji Jumat, Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports, Brunei Darussalam will be the guest of Honour to officially ended the game before handed game flag to the next game host nation.

For today, only manage to cover the Futsal and Badminton events at Multi-Purpose Hall and Indoor Stadium, Hassanal Bolkiah National Sports Complex at Berakas respectively.

For the Group A, Brunei Team 'B' beat Sarawak 8-7 at the preliminary round. The Brunei Team 'A' easily through to the quarter final after thrashing Sabah 12-2.

While for the Brunei badminton, the team failed to proceed to the next level after beaten 3-0 to the Indonesian group.

Less than 24 hours before the games started, I was physically inside the house again to accompany friend and finalize some unfinished duty with regards to the game preparations. Got some chances to snap some shots and might be worth sharing here..'sorry for the pic's quality, im only armed with HTC Diamond'. Here we go....