The 2024 Physicians Soccer Summit is a three day event (Feb 9-11, 2024) for physicians focused on friendship, soccer, and education. Participants, both national and international, will compete in a round-robin format soccer tournament, with full length games each day as well as dedicated practice sessions. An accredited CME conference, “The 2024 USMST Congress on Sport and Health”, will accompany the tournament and provide a forum for participants to interact professionally, network, and disseminate knowledge. There will also be a youth outreach event in support of our outreach program, "Healthy, Fit and Smart". A gala dinner on Saturday evening highlights our focus on friendship with our national and international cohort of physicians.

The soccer activities will take place at the Orange County Great Park in Irvine, CA. The official PSS hotel and site of the 2023 USMST Congress, will be the Hilton Costa Mesa in Costa Mesa, CA. The Saturday gala dinner will take place on a boat cruise in Newport Harbor.

FAQs

1. Are non-physicians allowed to participate?

The Physicians Soccer Summit (PSS) is for physicians only. All participants must be medical doctors with an MD or DO degree.

2. What is the tournament format?

Players will be divided into teams for the weekend, depending the number of registered physicians. The Open division will be for players of any age wishing to compete in a more traditional 11 vs 11 format on a regulation field. The Masters division will be for players 45 years and older (must turn 45 by July 18, 2024) and will be a 7 vs 7 format, with a smaller field. For. the first time, we will have a Women's Tournament for female physicians. The field size will be determined by the number of participants registering.

There will be international teams from the region that will be participating, and will join the US Round Robin cohort teams in the Open, Masters and Women's tournaments.

3. Is there an age cut-off?

No. Any eligible physician of any age is welcome. Fitness is important to get through the weekend, but we incorporate everyone of all ages together on the teams. Keep in mind that if you are 45 or older, you can play either in the Open or Masters division, but not both.

4. How are the teams formed?

We try to form the teams to make them competitive based on player age, skill, and position. Most players are known to us, but for the new players, the intake assessment at registration is our guide.

5. Do I get uniforms?

We will provide each player with a high quality commemorative jersey for the weekend and ask that you bring white soccer jerseys for the practices and likely 1-2 games. We ask US players to also bring Navy blue shorts and Navy blue socks.

6. Grass or turf?

Both. The Great Park in Irvine has beautiful, grass pitches. Given the unlikely, but not impossible, potential for rain, we have also incorporated a turf field into the weekend. Bring your cleats and any preferred turf shoes (cleats will work on the turf).

7. How do I play with USMST at the World Medical Football Championships (WMFC)?

All Open and Masters (45 and over) players need to attend the PSS, as well as the MANDATORY additional two practice weekends to be on the roster for the 2024 World Medical Football Championships in Sunshine Coast, Australia (near Brisbane), taking place July 17-24, 2024. If enough women are interested in playing for USMST, we will send a female team.

We use the PSS to bring everyone from our organization (past and present) together at least once annually, and to also invite potential new players. The weekend is fantastic, and gives new players a flavor of what we're all about while also providing a fun opportunity to network and enjoy a weekend of friendship with our growing community. At the end of the weekend, our coaches and Competition Committee will work on creating our team roster for the WMFC, and notify the participants within a couple weeks. All players wishing to participate with USMST at the WMFC need to attend the mandatory practice weekends!

Here are those practice weekends:

1. May 17-19, 2024, Columbus, OH.

2. June 21-23, 2024, Salt Lake City, UT.

Our website also has the dates listed and additional information for the team practices. If you have any desire to play in the WMFC, block out all the required dates on your undoubtedly busy schedule!

8. Can I give a talk at the USMST Congress on Sport and Health?

Yes!! We welcome everyone to give a talk, and information on how to submit an abstract appears at the end of the registration process. This medical conference is a true gem and one of the big highlights of the weekend! We need as many speakers as possible, so please consider giving a talk. It is an incredible way to get in front of our group and share your passion for any medical topic of interest, ideally focused on sport and health.

9. Do I receive Continuing Medical Education (CME) credit at the Congress?

Yes. The Congress will provide up to 3 hours of AMA Category 1 CME Credit through the University of California - San Diego.

10. When do we get to interact off the pitch?

We will have plenty of social activities during the weekend. Beyond the soccer, we'll have an informal Happy Hour on Friday evening and a Gala Dinner on Saturday night. Guests are welcome for all events, but will need tickets for the Gala Dinner. We will also have an outreach event during the weekend, which will be a great way to interact with your teammates while providing community service.

11. Can I get a refund if I can't attend?

Unfortunately, we cannot honor refund requests after December 17, 2023 due to finalizing plans for the weekend. Requests coming prior to that will be reviewed on an individual basis.

12. Is there any more information on USMST?

Our website: http://www.usmedicalsoccerteam.org/

A recent publication on our organization by USMST co-founder Gautam Nayak

2024 USMST Physicians Soccer Summit

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