Instructions for Authors
Surfing Medicine, the journal of the Surfer’s Medical Association (SMA), is a scientific journal devoted to the publication of scholarly articles pertaining to the broad field of surfer’s health. It is an open-access journal and is published twice yearly.
Topics of interest to Surfing Medicine include but are not limited to acute surfing injuries, overuse injuries, tropical diseases, hazardous marine life, travel medicine, environmental injuries (e.g. hypothermia, sun exposure, salt water exposure), fitness and rehabilitation, surfing physiology, nutrition, mental health, injury prevention, rescue and resuscitation, environmental science (e.g. water pollution, global warming) and community outreach.
Submissions are Accepted in the Following Categories:
Original Research: Original studies of basic or clinical research in areas relevant to surfing medicine. The format of the manuscript should include the following sections: Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results, Discussion, Conclusion.
Review Articles: Reviews of the literature on a narrow clinical topic pertaining to surfer’s health
Case Reports: Brief descriptions of unique surfing-related medical issues. Limited to 2,000 words
Brief Reports: Small sample-sized studies limited to 3,000 words and 4 tables or images. The format of the manuscript should include the following sections: Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results, Discussion, Conclusion.
Current Concepts: Thought provoking ideas or techniques pertaining to surfing and health. Please distill these thoughts down to a reasonable length of 4,000 words or less. Include photos, illustrations and references when appropriate.
Images in Surf Medicine: Photographs, radiographic images, or ultra sound images that teach something about surfing medicine and/or tell an engaging story. These should be followed by a 2-4 sentence description, or pose a question – followed by the answer (answer will be revealed to the reader on another page).
Conference Reports: Descriptions of recent conferences including number of attendees, lectures given, activities, and surf conditions. Please include a few photographs.
Book reviews: Please include Title, authors and cost of book. Limited to 650 words
Synopses of relevant research appearing in other publications: Please include authors, title and Journal if applicable. Limited to 1,000 words
Interviews: Limited to 2,000 words. Please include a photograph of the interviewee.
Format for Submissions
- Manuscripts should be submitted in Microsoft Word, 12-point font size, double-spaced.
- Figures/Photographs in TIF, EPS, PDF, or JPG formats. Photos and Figures should include a caption. Photos and figures should include a credit (name of photographer). In other words, don’t just steal photos off the Internet and send them to us. Get permission from the photographer or use open access content. We get in trouble for copyright infringements.
- Tables in XLS or DOC formats. Tables and graphs should include a title. Try to place tables, graphs and photographs in the body of the text where you want them to appear. Alternatively, send in tables and graphs as a separate attachment, but indicate in the body of the body of the text where they should appear, e.g. [Place Table 2 here].
- Please include a title page with the following information:
- Full title and short working title (6 words or less)
- Authors: First Names, Middle Initials, Last Names, Degrees, Institutions, Departments, Phone, Street Addresses
- Corresponding Author’s E-mail Addresses
- Key words (3 to 5)
- Most importantly, please have a couple of other surfers proof read your manuscript prior to submission. Have them carefully inspect your work for any dings in the fiberglass, loose fins, or suspect leash-cords. Poorly written pieces won’t even get a paddle out – they will be sent immediately back to the shaping room!
Pier Review
Since its inception Surfing Medicine has been a pier-reviewed journal – meaning that articles submitted are passed around to surfers hanging out under the pier to see if they pass muster. The wizened old surfers under the pier may scrape a little wax off a manuscript, or even patch up a ding, but they do not have the time or interest to completely reshape your work.
Submissions
Before submitting a piece, please re-read all instructions above to insure completeness. Then send your completed work to [email protected]