36th Annual Congress, Malta - Wrap-up
   » Thanks to the organizers

The 36th annual meeting of the World Medical Tennis Society was held in Malta from October 14-21, 2006. The meeting was a great success in all the aspects of tennis, scientific sessions, and special events. Dr. Angelo Psaila and a large team of his organizers staged one of the best-ever WMTS meetings.

Nearly 400 participants, from 22 nations, registered for the meeting. There were players from Malta, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Latvia, USA, Japan, Canada, Indonesia, Poland, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Ireland, U.D., Croatia, Germany, Netherlands, Switzerland, Austria, Italy, and Taiwan.

Germany recaptured the Nations' Cup competition; our German friends were happy to offer champagne to be drunk out of the cup afterwards. It was good to see teams, from countries that don't field teams very often, such as Norway, Malta, and Latvia, play in the event. Latvia played very well but lost in the Finals to Germany. Now President of the German delegation must carry the trophy back to Germany and then to the U.S. next year.

We'd heard that it rains in Malta only about 20 days each year. For the first two days of the tournament...it rained in the mornings. Through great efforts of the tournament committee the matches got played-up to 140 matches on each of the first two days! That's a lot of tennis.

The caliber of tennis is always very high. I can make it to the 3rd round or so, but then I always "meet my match" as happened again this year. It's fun to watch the later rounds and see the very good players battling it out. Singles, doubles, mixed doubles-one sees such excellent tennis and then resolves to go home, practice, and come back next year ever stronger!

The scientific sessions were maybe the best ever. Dr. Psaila worked very hard on this aspect. Some topics presented were "Prevention of Coronary Artery Disease," "Prevention of the Complications of Coronary Artery Disease", "Secondary Prevention after Coronary Revascularization," "Prevention of the Complications of Diabetes Mellitus," "Prevention and Hazards of Obesity in Childhood," and others. Many of those who presented were students of Dr. Psaila years ago. The attendance at these sessions was very good.

The special events were memorable-a Knights Dinner at the Mediterranean Conference Center which used to be a huge military hospital many years ago, a visit to the town of Mdina, high on a hill, with a beautiful cathedral and a breathtaking view of Malta, and a final night's dinner complete with good wines, good food, and a live band.

Then it was time to head home.

The upcoming meetings now extend to 2011. Next year the USA in San Diego, California. In 2008, Umag, Croatia. In 2009, Helsinki. In 2010, Latvia. In 2011, Slovak Republic.

I will be sending timely updates on the USA meeting. You'll be able to download registration forms from their website at www.mdtennis.org. Some of you will remember the San Diego meeting in 1985; we're going back there next year "by popular demand" and will play at a large venue near the beach, the Barnes Tennis Center.

Please encourage younger doctors to attend WMTS meetings.

Ciao,
Jim Manion, Executive Secretary, WMTS

» Summary of tournament results.

» 63 Slideshow photos can be seen here.

36th Annual Congress, Malta - Wrap-up
   » Thanks to the organizers

The 36th annual meeting of the World Medical Tennis Society was held in Malta from October 14-21, 2006. The meeting was a great success in all the aspects of tennis, scientific sessions, and special events. Dr. Angelo Psaila and a large team of his organizers staged one of the best-ever WMTS meetings.

Nearly 400 participants, from 22 nations, registered for the meeting. There were players from Malta, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Latvia, USA, Japan, Canada, Indonesia, Poland, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Ireland, U.D., Croatia, Germany, Netherlands, Switzerland, Austria, Italy, and Taiwan.

Germany recaptured the Nations' Cup competition; our German friends were happy to offer champagne to be drunk out of the cup afterwards. It was good to see teams, from countries that don't field teams very often, such as Norway, Malta, and Latvia, play in the event. Latvia played very well but lost in the Finals to Germany. Now President of the German delegation must carry the trophy back to Germany and then to the U.S. next year.

We'd heard that it rains in Malta only about 20 days each year. For the first two days of the tournament...it rained in the mornings. Through great efforts of the tournament committee the matches got played-up to 140 matches on each of the first two days! That's a lot of tennis.

The caliber of tennis is always very high. I can make it to the 3rd round or so, but then I always "meet my match" as happened again this year. It's fun to watch the later rounds and see the very good players battling it out. Singles, doubles, mixed doubles-one sees such excellent tennis and then resolves to go home, practice, and come back next year ever stronger!

The scientific sessions were maybe the best ever. Dr. Psaila worked very hard on this aspect. Some topics presented were "Prevention of Coronary Artery Disease," "Prevention of the Complications of Coronary Artery Disease", "Secondary Prevention after Coronary Revascularization," "Prevention of the Complications of Diabetes Mellitus," "Prevention and Hazards of Obesity in Childhood," and others. Many of those who presented were students of Dr. Psaila years ago. The attendance at these sessions was very good.

The special events were memorable-a Knights Dinner at the Mediterranean Conference Center which used to be a huge military hospital many years ago, a visit to the town of Mdina, high on a hill, with a beautiful cathedral and a breathtaking view of Malta, and a final night's dinner complete with good wines, good food, and a live band.

Then it was time to head home.

The upcoming meetings now extend to 2011. Next year the USA in San Diego, California. In 2008, Umag, Croatia. In 2009, Helsinki. In 2010, Latvia. In 2011, Slovak Republic.

I will be sending timely updates on the USA meeting. You'll be able to download registration forms from their website at www.mdtennis.org. Some of you will remember the San Diego meeting in 1985; we're going back there next year "by popular demand" and will play at a large venue near the beach, the Barnes Tennis Center.

Please encourage younger doctors to attend WMTS meetings.

Ciao,
Jim Manion, Executive Secretary, WMTS

» Summary of tournament results.

» 63 Slideshow photos can be seen here.

Excerpts from Dr. Stanley McCampbell's, "My Memoirs of The World Medical Tennis Society," written in 1991.

"To me it has been a great honor to know and enjoy the friendship of doctors from around the world. It has been the most exciting experience of my life. Doctors... can be assured that if they travel thousands of miles to meetings, they will be certain of a warm welcome, well-organized tournaments and scientific sessions, and a grand, good time. It is an opportunity, unequalled, as far as I know, of enjoying the friendship of interesting, fun loving, sportsman-like doctors who will be friends for life. I would certainly like to do it all over again."