STATUTES OF THE EUROPEAN FEDERATION OF SPORTS MEDICINE ASSOCIATIONS

Art. 1     Name and address of the Federation

The European Federation of Sports Medicine Associations (EFSMA) is a not-for-profit association governed by Swiss law, in particular by articles 60 et seq of the Swiss Civil Code, having its legal seat in Lausanne, Switzerland.

The EFSMA is recognized by the International Federation of Sports Medicine (FIMS).

Art. 2     Aims and objectives

  • To have Sports Medicine recognized as a specialty in all of Europe.
  • To develop and harmonize education in Sports Medicine throughout Europe and for Sports Medicine to be included in the basic curricula and further education at medical schools for doctors, but also for physiotherapists, nurses and other health care professions, school-gymnastics teachers and sports trainers.
  • To be a common pan-European forum in Sports Medicine for the improvement of communication between Sports Medicine organizations in Europe; to coordinate European Sports Medicine actions and to cooperate with the sports science disciplines in Europe.
  • To increase understanding of the importance of physical activity and sports training for the whole European population and disseminating knowledge of the principles and methods of Sports Medicine for the prevention, treatment and rehabilitation of injuries and diseases.
  • To encourage the exchange of scientific results and experiences, for instance by promoting the organization of biannual European Congresses in Sports Medicine, to take initiatives when needed for consensus conferences and similar theme meetings, and to encourage and engage in common research projects.
  • To establish common strength and propagate a Sports Medicine code of ethics throughout Europe.
  • To promote, stimulate and advocate the publishing of books, journals, booklets, leaflets and other literature on the art and science of Sports Medicine.

Art. 3     Membership

The EFSMA is open to National Sports Medicine Associations and Societies of European countries, recognized as autonomous by the United Nations, who agree to the aims and objectives of the Federation.

The Council of Delegates shall admit not more than one voting member from each country, which is recognized as representing the interests of Sports Medicine in the concerned country. If two or more organizations of national character exist in any country, using different languages, these associations could participate in the meetings, but the country still has only one vote (internally determined). Where otherwise two or more organizations in any country claim recognition as the National Association of that country, it shall be at the discretion of the Council of Delegates to determine, after due consideration, based on the documentation and other information available, which, if any, shall be recognized.

Applicant National Associations must submit the following documents for consideration by the Executive Committee before the petition can be presented to the Council of Delegates:

  • Application in writing signed by the President and, if applicable, the Secretary General or another duly authorized representative of the national association;
  • Copy of the statutes of the national association;
  • List of the names of the board members and their functions;
  • Total number of members in each category of membership;
  • Letter of recommendation attesting the fact that the applicant association is the representative Sports Medicine organization in that country, from one of the following authorities: National Medical Association or Society, National Ministry of Health or National Olympic Committee or National Sports Association.

In the event of changes to any of the above, a revised copy of the institutional document, current list of officers and the total number of members shall be forwarded to the Secretary General of the EFSMA.

Upon decision by the Executive Committee and until admittance by the Council of Delegates, applicant National Associations are considered Waiting Member National Associations and shall pay annually a service subscription specified in the By - Laws.

EFSMA will keep a register of its member associations containing names, address, number of members, statutes and activities.

Art. 4     Honorary Members

An Honorary President can be elected among individuals who have served as EFSMA President, exceptionally contributing to the development of Sports Medicine in Europe and worldwide.

Individuals who have made exceptional contributions to the development of Sports Medicine may be elected to Honorary Membership. An Honorary President and Honorary Members are nominated by the Executive Committee and submitted for approval to the Council of Delegates.

Art. 5     Removal and restoration of membership

Every member which fails to pay the membership fee for two years or does not settle financial commitments to EFSMA and/or FIMS within a reasonable period of time will be removed from membership after being given two months’ notice.

Every member who acts in contravention of the aims and objectives of the Federation will be excluded by a resolution against the association passed to that end.

Resignation to be accepted by the Executive Committee.

National Associations whose membership in the EFSMA has been terminated for any reason, may be enrolled as members with the approval of the Executive Committee on written request and on payment of arrears if any.

Art. 6     Council of Delegates

The Council of Delegates constitutes the general meeting of the members of the Association in the sense of article 64 of the Swiss Civil Code.

All the affairs of the Federation, including financial and otherwise, shall be approved by the Council of Delegates through acceptance of the report of the Treasurer.

All member nations shall be entitled to vote provided the annual membership payment has been made by the rule one country, one fee, one vote for those in good standing.

In order to conduct the affairs of the Federation, the Council of Delegates shall exercise its powers through the Executive Committee.

The Council of Delegates shall be the high-powered body and all its decisions, taken in normal and extraordinary meetings, shall be binding on all its members.

Art. 7     Executive Committee

The Executive Committee is composed of a President, the Honorary President, a first and second Vice-President, a Secretary General, a Treasurer or Substitute (Officers), and 5 Members. Members of right of the Executive Committee, without right of vote, are:

  1. a) the Chairman of the EFSMA Scientific and Education Commission;
    b) a Co-opted Member from the European College of Sport Science, designated by the EFSMA Executive Committee among the ECSS Founding Members;
    c) the Past-President.

The Executive Committee has the right to appoint Observers nominated belonging to appropriate international organizations.

The Executive Committee has the right to nominate persons as Honorary President and Honorary Member. These proposals shall be submitted for approval to the Council of Delegates.

President

The President is the chief executive and legal representative of EFSMA. He is responsible for the general supervision of the work of the Federation and shall preside over all meetings. The President shall call meetings of the Executive Committee.

The President has the right to install a Bureau under his presidency, if he considers a Bureau to be needed.

Vice-presidents

The First Vice-president shall preside over the meetings and shall exercise the duties and powers of the President in the absence of the President. The Vice-presidents shall assist the President in his/her duties and shall work in consultation with the President.

Secretary General

The Secretary General shall be responsible for executing the decisions of the Executive Committee and the Council of Delegates, shall keep proper records of proceedings of all meetings held, and shall have custody and control of the records of the Federation and supervise the maintenance of the EFSMA website.

Treasurer

The Treasurer shall keep all the financial accounts, shall be responsible for all funds of the Federation, is empowered to act in all financial transactions for EFSMA, and shall prepare a balance sheet and income and expenditure account annually, duly audited by the elected auditors or/and by an accountancy office, recognized by the Swiss Law. This accountancy office will organize the Declaration form for the taxes office.

It will be signed by the Treasurer or the President or any other member of the Executive Committee so mandated.

The Executive Committee appoints another of its members to act as substitute of the Treasurer in case of his/her impediment or need for assistance.

Members

All other members shall assist the Executive Committee in the manner desired/required by the Executive Committee Officers.

The Executive Committee may form a Subcommittee for the purpose of supervision or management of special tasks of the Federation. The number of members in such a Subcommittee shall be determined by the Executive Committee and the chairman of the Subcommittee should be a member of the Executive Committee.

FIMS President (if a member of an EFSMA National Association) will be a member of Executive Committee.

Art. 8     Meetings

Council of Delegates

The Council of Delegates shall meet every second year (preferably in connection with the European Congress of Sports Medicine) to transact the following business:

  • Determine the agenda and confirm the minutes of the last meeting;
  • Approve and adopt the report of the work done by the Executive Committee and the audited statement of accounts;
  • Elect new office bearers of the Federation;
  • Elect two Auditors;
  • Transact all other business as circulated in the agenda;
  • Any other matter after consultation with the Executive Committee and if a majority of the participating members of the Council of Delegates so wishes.

Notice for the Council of Delegates meeting of the Federation shall be issued not less than 3 months before the meeting date.

Executive Committee

An ordinary meeting of the Executive Committee (at least two per year) shall be held on a date fixed by the Secretary General and shall be notified to all members at least three months in advance.

Extraordinary Meetings

Extraordinary Council of Delegates meetings of the Federation could be held as may be deemed necessary by the President or in pursuance of the direction issued by the Executive Committee and shall be held within three months from the date of receipt of a requisition signed by no less than 2/3 of the members, explaining the urgency.

Notice for the extraordinary Council of Delegates meeting shall be issued at the earliest convenience and at the latest four weeks before the meeting date.

Extraordinary meeting of the Executive Committee may be held to handle urgent matters or on the request of half of its members.

Notice for the Extraordinary Meeting of the Executive Committee may be issued not less than one month before the date fixed.

Congress Candidature is made 4 years in advance.

Art. 9     Funds and economy

09.01. The annual dues shall be paid by each Member National Association in Euros according to the amount established by the Council of Delegates and specified in the By-Laws.

09.02. Only members who have paid their dues and are not in arrears in relation to the previous fiscal year have voting privileges and may be elected or appointed for the Scientific and Education Commission.

09.03. No member shall be entitled to any remuneration whether holding any office or not.

09.04. The funds of the Federation shall be deposited in any scheduled bank approved by the Executive Committee in the name of “European Federation of Sports Medicine Associations”.

09.05. The financial year shall be from January 1st to December 31st.

09.06. In the event of dissolution of EFSMA, the funds shall be allotted to one or more organizations in the field of Sports Medicine in accordance with Swiss law.

Art. 10  Rules of elections

The renewable mandate period for the Officers and other members of the Executive Committee, except, if applicable, an Honorary President, is four years.

The Honorary President is elected for an indefinite period of time and not subject to any further election.

 

Election qualification

A candidate for election shall be a representative of a member association of the EFSMA, duly recommended as such by the member national association, which has paid the annual membership fee.

Qualification of voters

All member nations shall be entitled to vote in the election of Officers and other members of the Executive Committee, provided the annual membership payment has been made, by the rule one fee – one country – one vote. Any Member National Association may appoint a delegate of another Member National Association to represent it in the Council of Delegates. The proxy must be provided with a written power of the respective President/Secretary General previously addressed to the Secretary General of EFSMA. A delegate present in the meeting may not have more than one proxy.

Procedure of elections

The Secretary General shall announce the full schedule of elections at least 90 days in advance to be sent out to the Member Associations. A written proposal for nominations shall be made to the Secretary General from a Member National Association at least 60 days before the Election and is to be signed by the candidate to whom it relates and the President or Secretary General of the nominating Member Association.

A list of nominations shall be published 30 days before the Election by the Secretary General to the Member National Associations.

No Member Country shall propose or second more than one candidate for one and the same post.

A nominee for a position as Officer who is not elected may be nominated from the floor as a nominee for election as an ordinary member of the Executive Committee.

The elections shall be made through secret ballot (or, if the President asks approval from the Council of Delegates, by show of hands) and the names of the elected Officers and other members of the Executive Committee will be presented immediately after the count to all the representatives.

If the result of any ballot results in a tie, additional ballots will take place until the tie is resolved. If three additional ballots still result in a tie, the draw will decide.

Art. 11  Decisions

A quorum of one-third of the members must be present before decisions can be made.

All the decisions to be made in the meetings of both the Executive Committee and the Council of Delegates are to be taken by simple majority (over 50%) of the present participating members of the Federation. The President has the casting vote.

To make changes in the statutes of the Federation (including dissolution of it), a two thirds majority of the participating delegates is required.

Art. 12  The Scientific and Education Commission

The Executive Committee is supported by the Scientific and Education Commission. The aims of the Scientific Commission are:

  1. a) To promote scientific research in the field of Sports Medicine.
  2. b) To prepare statements regarding specific problems in Sports Medicine proposed by the Executive Committee.
  3. c) To cooperate with the organizers of the EFSMA Congress of Sports Medicine as well as with the organizers of other international scientific events sponsored by EFSMA, especially as regards the choice of topics, invited lecturers, chairperson of sessions, and publication of proceedings.
  4. d) To be involved into educational activities.

The Scientific Commission and Education Commission is composed as follows:

  1. a) A chairperson designated by the Executive Committee who directs the activities of the Commission and reports to the Executive Committee and Council of Delegates, with the right to attend both meetings.
  2. b) Up to four Members designated by the Executive Committee from nominations submitted by Member National Associations after considering recommendations of the Commission chairperson.
  3. c) Appointed Executive Committee members.
  4. d) Corresponding members.
  5. e) Temporary members, co-opted ad hoc, for particular purposes.

The working period for the Commission is 4 years.

Art. 13  Liability

The Officers and other members of the Executive Committee, the members of the Council of Delegates, and the members of the Scientific and Education Commission shall be exempt from any personal liability as far as commitments undertaken by EFSMA are concerned. Such commitments are guaranteed solely by the assets of EFSMA.

Art. 14  Official Language

The official language of EFSMA is English. Documents, for information and discussion, within EFSMA and its bodies shall be distributed in English and if possible, in French.

For the purpose of international meetings held under the patronage of EFSMA, the French, Spanish, Italian, German, and Russian languages, together with the language of the host country, may be used in addition to English at the discretion of the organizing body.

Art. 15  Date of entry into force

These Statutes and any amendment or alteration thereto enter into force immediately upon their approval unless expressly decided otherwise and supersede and cancel any and all previous Statutes of EFSMA.

These Statutes have been adopted by the EFSMA Council of Delegates in Portorož (Slovenia) on 4th October 2019 and amended in Brighton (UK) on 26th May 2022.


BY LAWS OF THE EUROPEAN FEDERATION OF SPORTS MEDICINE ASSOCIATIONS (EFSMA)


Art. 1     Name and address of the Federation

1.01. The official address of EFSMA shall be at Maison du Sport, Av. Rhodanie, 54, Lausanne, Switzerland. All correspondence shall be sent to the EFSMA’ official address.

Art. 3     Membership

03.01. Each applicant National Association shall, in the event of failure of the Executive Committee to recommend them for membership, have the right to a personal hearing of its application before the Council of Delegates

03.02. National Associations applying for membership in EFSMA shall be admitted to waiting membership by the Executive Committee once they have satisfied the requirements specified in Chapter II, Article 03.03 of the Statutes, pending election by the Council of Delegates. Waiting Member National Associations shall pay annually a service subscription of CHF 100.00.

03.03. As waiting members, they may participate in the activities of EFSMA and will receive all official communications to member nations but shall have no vote in the Council of Delegates and may not present nominations for the Executive Committee, nor for the Scientific and Education Commission.

03.04. Each Member National Association shall have only one representative entitled to vote on behalf of that Association in the Council of Delegates.

03.05. Before the commencement of each session of the Council, each Member National Association shall give notice in writing to the Secretary General of EFSMA of the identity of its delegate.

Art. 8     Funds and economy

08.01. Annual membership shall be established for each member National Association according to the number of its members in the following amounts:

  • Up to 100 € 100.00
    • 100 to 300 € 200.00
    •             300 and over € 300.00

08.02. The annual membership fee shall be paid by the Member National Associations not later than July 1st. A member in good standing at the end of the previous financial year may participate in a Council of Delegates taking part in the first six months of the year.

08.03 The accounts of the Federation shall be audited every year by two auditors appointed by the Council of Delegates or/and by an accountancy office, recognized by the Swiss Law.

Art. 15  Date of entry into force

These By-laws and any amendment or alteration thereto enter into force immediately upon their approval unless expressly decided otherwise and supersede and cancel any and all previous By-laws of EFSMA.    

These By-laws have been adopted by the EFSMA Executive Committee in Portorož (Slovenia) on 4th October 2019 and amended in Brighton (UK) on 26th May 2022.