By Luke Belval, Director of Military and Occupational Safety
This past week KSI converged on St. Louis for the NATA Clinical Sympoisa & AT Expo. This annual meeting of athletic trainers is unique for KSI as our staff fulfills multiple roles over the course of several days. From rolling out new programs at the exhibit hall to presenting research, KSI has developed a foundational presence amongst athletic trainers and the convention center in St. Louis proved to be no exception.
With its first class reputation for research, KSI uses the NATA Clinical Symposia to disseminate its information to help inform the practices of athletic trainers. Director of Research, Lesley Vandermark, kicked off the week by presenting a course on “Best Practices for Preventing Sudden Death in Athletes”, which examined how appropriate screening could help save athletes lives. As a continuation of the landmark CATCH-ON study, Assistant Director of Youth Sport Safety, Alicia Pike, presented the results of a study that examined athletic training services in private secondary schools to compare to the public setting. Vice President of Operations and Education, Rebecca Stearns, presented “Medical Injuries and Illnesses at an Ironman Triathlon Competition” as a result of KSI’s relationship with the Lake Placid Ironman to help shed light on the needs of the ultra-endurance athlete. Yuri Hosokawa, Director of Education and Communication, presented some results of the 2014 Falmouth Road Race Study demonstrating the physiological responses of athletes in the heat. Finally, William Adams, Director of Sport Safety Policies, released the results of a case study of a runner returning back to a race where 1 year prior he suffered a heat stroke.
Meanwhile, KSI along with its corporate partners exhibited their products and services at the AT Expo. A perennial highlight for KSI and its partners, we were able to join together this year for our largest giveaway yet. Athletic trainers who attended all of the booths as a part of our passport program were entered for not only daily prizes but amazing grand prizes. Lucky winners brought home everything from autographed merchandise to Kestrel units to AEDs. If you missed out on this program this year, be sure to check out our booth next year for a chance to win awesome prizes.
Also at the KSI booth was the launching of the NATA and KSI’s Athletic Training Location and Services (ATLAS) project. Robert Huggins, Vice President of Research, presented some of the initial findings of the project to the Secondary School Committee of the NATA followed by the public launch at the AT Expo. Individuals who visited KSI’s booth were able to verify whether or not the services they provide secondary school settings were accurate. This is part of a large database that captures how athletic trainers provide services to secondary schools and identifies school districts that could better protect athletes. If you would like more information about this project, check out the ATLAS database and contribute your information if you are a secondary school athletic trainer.
The NATA annual meeting is arguably the busiest and most productive meeting of KSI’s calendar. As our relationship with NATA and our corporate partners continues to envelop our presence will only magnify and our reach will optimized. If you missed KSI at the meeting this year or would like more information on the Korey Stringer Institute be sure to check us out on Facebook, Twitter and explore our website.