SWATA Competency Workshop was a huge success

This past weekend in the Metroplex SWATA hosted a competency workshop to help collegiate athletic training students prepare for the BOC and also state licensing exams. The workshop was attended by over 70 athletic training students from schools in Texas, Arkansas, and Oklahoma. While SWATA hosted the workshop many kudos should be given to workshop chair Dr. Gretchen Oliver of the University of Arkansas and her committee. They have worked tirelessly in the planning and excution of this workshop for the past year.

You might ask "Why would SWATA host such a workshop?" I can tell you that when the idea was proposed two years ago to the executive board we felt that such a workshop would be beneficial for several reasons. As an association we feel that we need to address the needs of all of our members and that includes the student members. One of the most important things that an athletic training student can do is prepare for and pass their BOC and state licensure exams. If we as an association can host an event that helps them do that then it would most definitely be a member service for them. Another reason that we wanted to host this workshop was to make the athletic training student more aware of SWATA and hopefully because of that they will become and stay a professional member. We on the executive board feel that it is much easier to get a young athletic trainer to become and remain a member throughout their career than it is to try and get a more experienced athletic trainer who has never been a member to join. We feel like once someone becomes a member of the NATA/SWATA they will realise that their best interests are being looked out for and membership has tremendous benefits regardless of the setting that the athletic trainer works in for their job.

Once again thanks to Dr. Oliver, her committee, and everyone that helped put on this workshop. The students of SWATA and the association in general are better off because of it.