NATA Beat: Fall 2025 Advocacy Updates
Every day, NATA and the NATA Government Affairs Department are working on behalf of the athletic training profession. With staff members experienced in all aspects of the legislative process, the NATA Government Affairs Department is the sole department focused on advocacy for the profession. NATA’s goal is to ensure that all ATs can work to the fullest extent of their education and skill set. These bipartisan efforts consist of five key areas: state legislation, federal legislation, regulatory, reimbursement and NATAPAC.
Students: Making the Most of the NATA Convention
Soon, athletic trainers and AT students from across the country will gather for the NATA Convention. I would like to take a minute to discuss a few things that athletic training students can do to prepare for the annual event. Since I know that not everyone can attend the convention, I will break my suggestions into two sections: one for those who will be there and one for those who will not.
For students who are going to convention:
Quiz Bowl Field Set!
The First NATA Meeting
When NATA meets for the 65th time this June, the athletic trainers who attend will find a well-planned symposium with a wide variety of topics. Few of the 10,000 or so attendees will stop to think about the difficulty of successfully pulling off such a large meeting. This is a credit to both the innumerable volunteers and NATA staff, for there was a time when a meeting 100 times smaller could not be accomplished by those attempting to do so.
PR Contest Winners Announced!
For complete coverage of the PR Contest winners and their efforts, be sure to read the article about them that will be featured in the July issue of the NATA News.
Best Student Effort:
2 Winners University of Montana
President Obama Announces NATA/NFL Collaboration
NATA, in collaboration with the Professional Football Athletic Trainers’ Society, will support a national initiative to place athletic trainers in underserved high schools in NFL markets during the 2014 football season. The National Football League Foundation and NFL teams will provide $1 million, with NATA adding another $125,000, to improve the health and welfare of those student athletes. President Barack Obama announced this initiative during the White House Healthy Kids and Concussion Summit in Washington, DC, this morning.
Process to Update the Standard Occupational Classification System Announced
NATA is planning to submit a response on behalf of the athletic training profession requesting a change to the classification of athletic trainers in the Standard Occupational Classification system. The Department of Labor announced the update process, which includes a public comment period, on May 22. Updates to the classifications are infrequent, and ATs are currently classified at the technician level.
Doug Casa, Dr. James Andrews...and the Knicks City Dancers?
The Korey Stringer Institute's Doug Casa, PhD, ATC, FACSM, offers tips on keeping athletes safe during exercise in the heat.
Behind the Scenes at Philips Arena with NBA Head AT Wally Blase
Now in his 14th season with the Atlanta Hawks, Head Athletic Trainer Wally Blase, MS, ATC, CSCS, has become somewhat of a fixture in NBA sports medicine. The Midwest-raised Blase, a die-hard Chicago Bears fan, started out volunteering with the Chicago Bulls in his spare time before he eventually earned a spot as an assistant AT. After receiving a master's degree in sports psychology, Blase continued working with Bulls through two championship seasons before heading South for warmer weather and a new opportunity: serving as head athletic trainer of the Atlanta Hawks.
Students: Success Starts in the Summer
In Disney’s Frozen, Olaf (a jolly snowman) breaks into song singing about what frozen things do in the summer. Thought athletic training students aren’t likely to melt during the summer, they can plan ahead to make the most of this time of year. Here are a few suggestions to help AT students keep skills sharp over the next few months in preparation for the fall semester:
5 Stories You Might Have Missed This Week
We know you don’t have time to see all the news that's out there, especially news that is relevant and interesting to ATs. Those stories aren’t the easiest to find as they don’t often show up at the top of news feeds. But there are stories out there every week that feature ATs or are related to the profession. So here are five stories that you might not have seen this week but we thought you might like to check out.