2015-07-04 05:52:28
Game changers
THE 2015 PAN AM/PARAPAN AM GAMES being held in Toronto this summer will be one of the biggest international events the city has ever hosted. Nearly 7,000 athletes from 41 countries will be participating in a combined total of 51 sporting events between the Pan Am and Parapan Am Games.
When everything is said and done, the ultimate winners in an event of this magnitude are not the athletes or the coaches or the event executives. The ultimate gainers are the 20,000 or so unpaid volunteers who took time away from their normal routine – their jobs, their schools, their families – to be part of sporting history.
A significant part of those thousands of volunteers are the health-care practitioners who are volunteering their precious time away from their practices and their patients to make sure the athletes are given appropriate care when they need it so they can play at their optimum level.
More than a hundred chiropractic doctors are volunteering at this year’s Pan Am/Parapan Am Games, all travelling to Toronto from various parts of the country. It is such an excellent opportunity to showcase the value of chiropractic for the body’s maximum performance.
We spoke to three of these exceptional doctors for our cover story (page 28) . They all feel that participating at the Games is not just giving them a chance to grow personally and professionally; it’s also providing a valuable opportunity to represent the chiropractic profession among the other players in the health-care profession.
And they will do an excellent job. The application process for the Pan Am/ Parapan Am medical volunteer gig was long and elaborate, which is a testament to the dedication and commitment of those who have made the cut.
This summer, the world’s best athletes are giving the greatest performance of their careers. At the same time, chiropractors are helping shape and galvanize the future of the profession as a vital player in the health of the sporting community.
And as we cheer for our favourite athletes and teams at game time, let’s also give a shout out to our favourite team of doctors working on the sidelines.
A big thank you to the Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College for letting us use its facilities for our cover photo shoot. Always a pleasure working with the CMCC folks.
MARI-LEN DE GUZMAN, Editor
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