Arkansas Update

During our summer meeting in Arlington we talked with many members that were not aware of all of the great things that go in SWATA. So in a continuing effort to keep our members informed about what goes on with the committees and state associations from time to time in this blog we will be highlighting SWATA committees and also the state associations of Arkansas and Texas. Today we will be highlighting the Arkansas Athletic Trainers' Association.

The Arkansas Athletic Trainers’ Association or AATA is still in the process of getting the Legislative task force put together which will study the impact as well as benefits of athletic trainers in the secondary school setting. This task force will be comprised of three members of the General Assembly appointed by the Chair of the Senate Committee on Education, three members of the General Assembly appointed by the Chair of the Senate Committee on Public Health, Welfare, and Labor; three members of the General Assembly appointed by the Chair of the House Committee on Education; and three members of the General Assembly appointed by the Chair of the House Committee on Public Health, Welfare, and Labor. There are also nonvoting members who include a single member from each of the following departments or associations: the Department of Workforce Education, the Department of Education, the Department of Higher Education, the Arkansas Athletic Trainers Association, the Arkansas School Nurses Association, the Arkansas Activities Association, the Arkansas Rural Education Association, the Arkansas Association of Educational Administrators.

The AATA is also proud to have won the Dan Campbell Legislative Award which was presented at the NATA Annual Meeting in San Antonio last summer and would like to thank Tim Atkinson for his hard work on this.

Also the AATA has their Hall of Fame Display up in the Arkansas Sport and Hall of Fame at Verizon Arena in Little Rock. Finally to wind up the year the AATA will be having the Mid-Winter Board Meeting on December 12.

For more information on athletic training in the state of Arkansas and the Arkansas Athletic Trainers’ Association please visit http://www.swata.org/aata/index.htm