EDITORIAL: By SEPNZ President Blair Jarratt

Kia ora to our November SEPNZ Bulletin and welcome to all our new members including our student members after a successful student night in September which drew in 130 plus participants through a virtual gathering, good luck for the final placements for the year and graduation. Also, as we move closer to the end of the year, we are holding our annual SEPNZ photo competition. It is your opportunity to showcase a slice of New Zealand to the world with the winner of the competition getting their photo on the front cover of the British Journal of Sports Medicine. If you would like to enter this competition, please see the advertisement below this editorial for details and the deadline to enter.

In this edition, Executive Member Justin Lopes interviews Sharon Kearney after she received her Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for her contribution to Physiotherapy and Netball Congratulations Sharon! Sharon gives us a glimpse into her journey in physiotherapy and touches on the vital point of the role of physiotherapists in performance. Sharon leads Netball Smart, which is a pioneering programme in the field of injury prevention.

The research has been out for some time now regarding changing tempo in runners and the benefits this may have to musculoskeletal pain. Sure, we know that you can download songs with specific tempos - but honestly, some of those playlists are pretty horrendous! Our feature APP this edition is Run Tempo - it differs from other apps as it allows your favourite music or podcast to play at the same time as the tempo reminder. Not only is this an excellent tool for clients, but we know how Physios like to multi-task. You can get your CPD podcast fix, work on your run tempo and get your exercise hit all at the same time.

Our Key sponsor ASICS provides our members with a succinct footwear review on new GEL-Nimbus Lite and GEL - Kayano Lite and their role in limiting the progression of foot pain and deformity due to Rheumatoid Arthritis.

We round out this bulletin with a clinical review for SEPNZ member Amanda O'Reilly on the International Olympic Committee Sports Mental Health Assessment Tool and Sports Mental Health Recognition Tool. A recommendation from this statement was the need for an appropriate screening tool for elite athletes due to the prevalence of mental health symptoms in elite athletes. This article describes the development and preliminary reliability and validity of the tool.

Finally, on behalf of the SEPNZ Executive we would like to congratulate Ben Hinchcliff for being elected as the new PNZ president at last week’s AGM. Keep safe as we head into the end of the year, and we will see you back in December for our Christmas edition.

Kind Regards Blair Jarratt SEPNZ President