IOF Licence / Medical Certificate

[greywolf]

Looking at the pre-registration for the French sprint champs / 3 days of Provence it says:
"To be timed, the participant must either be in possession of IOF licence certified by a medical certificate or have a medical certificate less than a year with the following : not against to practice in orienteering competition.Otherwise, the participant will not be timed."
Any ideas as to what this means in practice - do you need a letter from your GP?

[Gross]

Being a member of BOF should be ok! (and make sure your insurance covers orienteering... which many travel policies don't as it is a form of time trial) and take you EU Health card..............

Being a member of the SOA only restricts you to a 'get out of jail free' card when you are really ill, but you do get a hero's welcome when you get home with lots of Scottish flags being waved

[geomorph]

Thank goodness for Gross's familiarity with such translations
I really thought this was some sort of heavy handed H&S thing

[Big Jon]

Lots of continental races -eg marathons, hill races etc demand a medical note - a visit to your GP should get a note stating you are of suitable health, and if you're lucky, will cost nothing! If they want to charge, try a friendly o-ing doctor!

[Clive Coles]

I think you will find this is a "French thing". They are very in to "Personal health, fitness and wellbeing. It's a nice little earner for the medical professionals.

If you are a club orienteer in France I believe you are expected to renew your medical certificate each year ~ part of the cost of being able to orienteer competitively in France. Makes our BOF membership fee look good value.

As in the UK with folk who are not BOF members, those who don't comply with National regulations risk being disadvantaged. In our case we are usually surcharged at the larger events.

It doesn't however always happen ~ depends on the organising club and the level of event.

All they seem to be saying in this instance is that if you do not have a medical certificate you will not be listed in the results with a time. They are almost bound to be using SI so you will know what time you took.

So ( I think) you can still attend, compete and enjoy. I would be amazed if you were told to go away though you could always check with the organisers before you travel.

Have fun.

[xtophe]

I'm French but never orienteered properly in France or own a FFCO license.

France is also (albeit differently) affected by the nanny state and lawyer/insurance lobby.

So to take part /take part competively in sport competition you need a proper license of the national body and a medical certificate.
It causes some questions and silly situation like why a accordeonist needs a sport license to play on-board an old bolt during an old boat regatta/reunion.

Some properly dangerous sport (diving, gliding, private pilots) have a list of GPs specially qualified and/or knowing the particular risk and things to check for this sport.

For all the other you're meant to go and see your "usual" GP.
In practise it's a bit of a joke:
You can get a medical certificate from any doctor you may otherwise know if you ask nicely (poker partner, ...)
Your usual GP might just to one quickly in 2mins between 2 real patients
or he might check your heart and blood pressure and do it.

For healthy people it might be the one time of the year you see your GP

Normally foreigner are exempt as long as they're member of thei national body but the wording on the 3 days of provence website seems to indicate the opposite.

[Fat and Forty]

In my limited experience (one event EOD a couple of years ago), they were happy with a BOF card, I guess they assume that we have the same medical certificate requirements for BOF membership as they do for their national federation.

Travel insurance, try the Post Office, orienteering is included in the standard poilcy, unlike the BMC where it ranks alongside climbing new routes.

[Duncan]

I've done loads of orienteering races in France over the last two years and at local events they've always been quite content with you showing them a BOF card, and at big events (e.g. French 5-days August 2008, and Fontainebleau 3-days July 2009) they didn't ask for anything of foreign competitors apart from the obvious indication in the entry form that you were foreign.

[JK]

French races always insist on this. I have done a few MMs there and they were on the verge of calling out a Dr at 11pm at night to certify me for the following day when I showed them my BOF membership card and they said "OK, that will do" (or words to that effect in French). Luckily I still remained a BOF member while I was living in CH since CH doesn't have such a national membership card, my Swiss colleagues brought medical certificates with them.

So all being well that will stll work OK.

cheers

JK

[mikey]

Looks like they are insisting on a certificate this time for Provence.

Code: Select all

Hello everyone,

You are registered for 3 days in Provence and / or championships France sprint / night race open but you are not licensed FFCO (French Federation of Orienteering).

To be timed races, you must provide a medical certificate. Without this medical certificate, you can run but you will not have your race time and you will not classified.

For foreigners, it might seem odd, but in France, for all sports (especially competition), the law requires a medical certificate.
If there is a problem during the event (I hope there will be none!), It is the organizers who may have problems if we do not respect this law.
It is true that if you have already come to France to make orienteering, no you never asked. But things have changed and now it compels us to respect this rule.

You will find attached a typical medical certificate. It's in French and we do not have it in English.
The sentence: "I certify that he(she) has, to date, no anti medically indicated to practice orienteering competition" is very important, it absolutely must appear on the medical certificate. (you can translate the rest of the medical certificate using google translator: http://www.google.fr/language_tools?hl=fr).

If you speak French, you can do this medical certificate, free and by appointment, at the medical center of Aix en Provence: 6 rue Pasteur, Aix-en-Provence Tel: 00 33 4 42 91 94 88. You speak little French because there will be questions. You must also be able to justify some vaccines while you Bring your health card or equivalent in your country.

I hope you understand that we do not do this for our pleasure and we are applying the rules that we require and which was never applied before.

If you already have this medical certificate and to facilitate the management of registered, please send it by mail or by post.

If you have any questions,  contact us!

Sportingly.

The organization.

[Failing Eyesight]

I have also received that email asking for a medical certificate, surely if one country is going to insist on this it should be acrosss the board and possibly a standard proceedure run by IOF.

If i have to get a signed cert from my GP (who i havent seen in 10 years) it will cost me, waste his time and basically prove nothing. He can take my blood pressure, ask a few questions and that is it. My arteries wont be checked, i wont be scanned or even asked to run on a treadmill. This seems a pointless expensive excercise.

However i want to be timed in France so have to provide the cert, i assume i can just take it on the day and show them !! as for vacinations, they havent said what I need - this is the nanny state gone mad !!!

Why cant we just sign the usual disclaimer (which isnt worth the paper it is written on) but at least it is something ..... how long before BOF go down this line ? ... maybe they should employ a Dr to sign every member of BOF as fit - a brave person to do that....

[frog]

It is a French nanny thing. audax cyclists get it too. If you don't know a GP then make an appointment with one, apologise for wasting their time and they'll usually sign the form in return for asking you a load of health promotion questions and checking your bp. They may charge depending on practice policy and whether you have preexisting health problems that make completing the form more than a formality.

[seabird]

Can this be the same France that seem to have a very healthy devil-may-care attitiude to safety when it comes to signposted paths in precipitous areas?

As against the nannyish Ozzie's who seem to have safety notices and railings everywhere - at least in the Blue Mountains.

[Failing Eyesight]

Great -- a 3 week waiting list to see my GP on a non-urgent case, as i intend to travel over to france before that it appears i wont be appearing in the results !!!

I could get my physio to sign it, who has a better idea of my health having seen me run on a treadmill and take my blood pressure ... just looking at the form again to see if it stipulates a 'Medical doctor' !!!

Rules & Regulations --- who needs them

[greywolf]

I emailed the organisers to ask then to clarify
"You must also be able to justify some vaccines while you Bring your health card or equivalent in your country."
Their response was
"You'll also be able to justify some vaccines. Take your health record."
Am guessing that "justify" = "demonstrate that you have had", but anyone got a definitive view of which vaccines, and what they mean by "health record"?