Successful AO Trustees Meeting 2023 in Sydney, Australia

The Trustees Meeting 2023 kicked off on June 22 with a warm welcome from AO President Florian Gebhard, explaining the ten reasons why he chose Sydney as the location for this year's event. This was followed by a heartfelt presentation from keynote speaker Mark Mathews, a famous local professional big-wave surfer who explained in detail the nature of life-changing injuries sustained during a surfing accident and his arduous but inspiring journey back to surfing. This very much set the stage for further fascinating talks by local AO Trustee Marinis Pipiris on AO and diversity in Australia before Jake Meney, Head of Reptiles and Spiders at the Australia Reptile Park, gave the audience a fascinating talk on how he milks snakes and spiders for their venom as part of his anti-venom program. After coffee, sports medicine specialist Rawiri Durie gave a deeply personal talk on his Maori roots, the "true" meaning of the All Blacks Haka, and the nature of injuries in rugby. The morning session was rounded off by local AO Trustee Michael Schuetz, who gave a fascinating insight into the nature of polytrauma care in remote areas in Australia, illustrating its challenges and dangers from his own experiences.