ST. LOUIS--A group of 25 American
Optometric Association Sports Vision Section member doctors and
students of optometry provided free vision evaluations for more
than 270 athletes who competed in the recent Amateur Athletic Union
Junior Olympic Games in Virginia Beach, Va.
The evaluation program, sponsored by CIBA Vision, the eyecare unit
of Novartis (NYSE: NVS), is intended to ensure that problems in the
visual system do not limit athletic performance, to increase the
visual performance of the individual athlete and to raise awareness
of the importance of healthy vision and vision care to the young
athletes and their parents, according to the AOA.
“These evaluations are a great health benefit for the
athletes and a great opportunity for optometrists and optometry
students to come together and learn from one another,” said
Steven Hitzeman, OD, co-chair of the event. “Vision is so
critical to athletic performance, and the evaluations consistently
identify visual problems in a number of athletes.”
CIBA Vision also sponsored a welcome reception and CE/orientation
program for the participating volunteers on the first day of the
evaluations. Volunteers received two hours of free CE regarding
performing a sports vision evaluation, presented by the event
co-chairs, Stephen Beckerman, OD, and Hitzeman.
Members of the AOA Sports Vision Section have provided sports
vision evaluations to more than 3,800 athletes at the AAU Junior
Olympics since 1994.
October 2006
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