Sport and exercise medicine--the state of play.

The delivery of clinical services and the organisation and teaching of Sport and Exercise Medicine in the UK were developed in concept as long ago as 1912. It accelerated, particularly over the last 36 years, until the Faculty of Sport and Exercise Medicine of the Royal Medical Colleges of the United Kingdom was established at the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh. From the concept of a hobby for doctors interested in sport to its coming of age as a medical speciality Sports Medicine has a long and fragmented history. This is well documented in Volume 36 of the Wellcome Witnesses to Twentieth Century Medicine entitled 'The Development of Sports Medicine in Twentieth-century Britain'. This short paper describes the role played by the key organisations in Sport and Exercise Medicine in the United Kingdom during the late 20th century and the early part of the 21st century.