TY - JOUR T1 - Hosting international sporting events during the COVID-19 pandemic: lessons learnt and looking forward JF - British Journal of Sports Medicine JO - Br J Sports Med SP - 3 LP - 4 DO - 10.1136/bjsports-2022-106096 VL - 57 IS - 1 AU - Margo Mountjoy AU - B McCloskey AU - R Bahr AU - James H Hull AU - Joanne Kemp AU - Jane S Thornton AU - Jon Patricios Y1 - 2023/01/01 UR - http://bjsm.bmj.com/content/57/1/3.abstract N2 - It is the ethical responsibility of the sports and exercise medicine (SEM) community to ensure that the health of participants at sporting events is protected.1 The COVID-19 pandemic impacted the delivery of such events, initially stopping them completely, and then, adding layers of complexity in the delivery of health programmes to ensure participant safety. Any mass gathering, most notably those held indoors, risks cross-infection and contagion with SARS-CoV-2. In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic has exposed and magnified inequity in resources between high-income and low-income and middle-income countries, including those hosting mass sporting events. It has also increased the mental health burden suffered by athletes.2 Together, these difficulties make the safe and pragmatic hosting of sporting events an urgent priority. As the pandemic evolves, what lessons have we learnt and how should we adapt our health and safety programmes to mitigate COVID-19-related health risks at sporting events in the future?We can learn from the outcomes of sporting events held during the COVID-19 pandemic in the professional leagues, international federations and the summer and winter Olympic Games.3 For example, at the Tokyo Olympic Games, impactful countermeasures included (1) physical distancing, hand hygiene, mask wearing and enhanced room ventilation; (2) rigorous testing, contact tracing and isolating of positive cases and (3) a worldwide vaccination distribution programme for National Olympic Committees. Ultimately, … ER -