1980-1990 was a decade that witnessed the rapid development of sports medicine and this in effect had prominently positioned the specialty into   the   forefronts   of o r t h o p a e d i c s. Simultaneous with the scientific progress of sports medicine, was the development of the specialty into a well-structured and organized set up in numerous countries. In 1985 John Feagin, MD and Werner Mueller, MD over a drink in Basel, Switzerland conceived of a traveling fellowship between Europe and North America. This discussion led to a formal sports traveling fellowship program between the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine (AOSSM) and the European Society of Sports traumatology, Knee surgery and Arthroscopy (ESSKA), In 1987, inspired by the successful exchanges between ESSKA and AOSSM, George Snook, MD and Bernie Cahill, MD proposed a Pacific Rim/North American Traveling Fellowship program. The idea was well received and formalized between the AOSSM and the Western Pacific Orthopaedic Association (WPOA) now known as the Asian Pacific Orthopaedic Association (APOA) and the first exchange took place in 1988.

 

In line with these developments, Dr. Antonio Rivera, the official POA liaison to the WPOA was requested to host the AOSSM traveling fellows in the Philippines. Since this was an exchange program, a host country will be required to send a country representative for the traveling fellowship in North America. Although the program was obviously a great learning opportunity for sports interested orthopods, the task of hosting and sending fellows for the program was something that required an organizational effort. Thus, accepting the challenge, Dr. A. Rivera and a core of key POA Fellows identified and invited POA Fellows to its first organizational meeting at Josephine’s Restaurant, Ortigas St., Quezon City. The inevitable happened where the Philippine Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine was created the following year 1989, and Dr. Antonio Rivera was elected as its’ founding president. It was also in the following year 1990 that the society was awarded an official recognition as an affiliate society of the Philippine Orthopaedic Association under the presidency of Dr. Camilo Te. From then on, the society annually created a program of CME activities focusing on updates in sports injury management. Living up to its’ being a “sports” society the quarterly meetings held was fashioned so as to promote sports itself among its members, hence each meeting was usually started with actual sports activities. Since its participation in the traveling program the society has actively joined in the formation of global alliances and foster scientific and cultural exchanges. Today the society continues to maintain its international commitments, functions, and gradually one could say that it has gradually “aged in youth” as new young sports orthopods join into its fold.