70th Annual SWATA Symposium & Billy Pickard Expo
SWATA FAQ's 2024
July 17-19 Embassy Suites Hotel & Spa Hot Springs
400 Convention Blvd., Hot Springs Arkansas, 71901
(A few Rooms Left July 17-19 as of 5/23/24)
Meeting Space & Billy Pickard Expo Hall At Bank of the Ozarks Arena & Convention Center
134 Convention Center Blvd., Hot Springs, Arkansas 71901
Where is SWATA located this year?
SWATA is located at the Hot Springs Convention Center, in Hot Springs Arkansas at 134 Convention Blvd, Hot Springs, Arkansas 71901.
Directly across from the Convention Center you can book discounted rooms at one of two Hotel Locations.
PARKING:
The convention center is accessible by foot from the Embassy Suites & Hotel Hot Springs.
From Embassy Suites:
Take the elevator to the third floor; cross the sky bridge to the Convention Center. Walk around the Ozark Arena and down the concourse to the southwest side of the convention center.
FREE public parking on the "rear" southeast side of the convention center off Cottage St and Church St. Easy access to convention center with no stairs.
The Embassy Suites by Hilton Hot Springs Hotel & Spa at 400 Convention Blvd, Hot Springs, Arkansas 71901.
Book a Room at the Embassy Suites Hotel & Spa Contact Embassy Suites by Hilton Hot Springs Hotel & Spa with reservation questions. (501) 624-9200
Update!
An addtional hotel option is now available! The Hotel Hot Springs at 305 Malvern Avenue, Hot Springs, AR 71901 offers a SWATA discounted rate for July 17-19. Reservations accepted through June 24th. You may contact the hotel drectly for specific questions 501-623-6600.
Book a room at the Hotel Hot Springs Now
SWATA 2024 Details:
Reminder - to register as a SWATA Member, you must be a member of the NATA. If not, please register as a non member or renew your NATA membership today!
InEvent Mobile SWATA App
A unique SWATA App will be used for all schedules, maps, attendee communications and information related to SWATA 2024. Please stay tuned for an email inviting you to download the InEvent App before our event.
Professional Schedule Overview
The Annual Symposium includes many of our District Six professionals and nationally recognized experts from a variety of locations. All domains will be covered at different levels including essential and advanced. Please continue below for information on pre-conference events and highlights of regular scheduled conference programming! 
Tuesday July 16
2024 Arkansas Athletic Trainers Association Educational Symposium-6 Live Cat A CEU’s
$60 additional fee applies for this opportunity to attend educational sessions supported by the AATA!
Wednesday July 17
Keynote, 4 lectures, 1 panel, 1 breakout, 2 clinical labs running from 9:00am-4:00pm
NATA, SWATA, TSATA, AATA Forums.
2024 Welcome Reception 7:00 PM (keep scrolling for more info)
Thursday July 18
Six lectures, 4 clinical labs, 1 panel, 3 seminars running from 7:00am-3:00pm
Pre-registration required for lab and seminar.
Honors & Awards Ceremony 4:00 PM
Friday July 19
Five lectures, 2 clinical labs, 1 seminar running from 8:00am-1:00pm.
Thirty minute beginner yoga flow Friday morning; please bring your own mat!
Pre-registration required for lab and seminar.
August 1-September 30
Asynchronous virtual sessions worth 10 Cat A CEUs.
Please choose sessions that will enhance your current knowledge and practice or allow you to expand your current skill set. Having multiple sessions and speakers also allows for more direct contact with our amazing group of speakers.
SWATA Early Registration Ends July 5th. Prices increase for each category July 6-18.
Where do I pick up my badge if I pre-registered?
Report to the pre-registration booth inside the Exhibit Hall in the Convention Center with a photo ID and you will be able to pick up your badge. Badge pick up times are as follows: Wednesday 8:00 AM-3:00 PM, Thursday 8:00 AM-11:00 AM.
I still need to pay, where do I go?
Please pay by CC by clicking the links in your registration confirmation or mail checks as soon as possible to the address below.
Registration Mailing Address:
SWATA
1079 W. Round Grove Rd. STE 300-237
Lewisville, Texas 75067
Need a SWATA W9 Form for your employer? Email: swataoperations@gmail.com
Where do I go if I need to pay in Hot Springs?
Please see one of the Registration staff and they will be happy to take care of you and get a receipt emailed to you. Look for specific signage regarding onsite payment.
What do I do if my registration check has not arrived through the mail before I arrive to pick up my packet at SWATA this week?
Please make every effort to have all checks received before July 1. Keep in mind our staff must travel to Hot Springs as well, so we will not be able to access PO boxes after July 10. Payment must be made via credit card or check once onsite to gain access to the education sessions if a check was mailed and not received before July 10.
SWATA Refund Policy-Click Here
What night will alumni events be held?
Traditionally Friday night is Alumni night during SWATA. We are suggesting Thursday night July 18th as a good time for these gatherings due to the Awards Ceremony beginning early at 4:00 PM Thursday and invited receptions to follow. Please check with your individual alumni groups for additional details.
When does the Billy Pickard Expo Hall open?
The Billy Pickard Expo will kick off with a grand opening on Wednesday morning at 8:00 and remain open till 4:00 PM. The Expo hours on Thursday are 8:00 – 11:30 AM. Please visit these awesome vendors as they tirelessly support SWATA and athletic trainers everywhere!
When is the Honors and Awards Ceremony?
One of the highlights every year at SWATA is the ability to recognize and honor deserving members in the Honors and Awards Ceremony including Hall of Fame Inductees. This year’s celebration will be held in the Convention Center on Thursday July 18 at 4 PM. Please make sure to join us as we celebrate these individuals’ accomplishments as they receive their much-deserved recognition.
Where can I park for SWATA?
Self-parking will be available at the Hotel and adjacent to the Convention Center. If you are staying at one of the SWATA Hotels, you will be able to park in their parking lots throughout the length of your stay.
Registration Volunteers Needed!
If you can assist our dedicated volunteer staff with registration and other tasks please reach out to Catherine Windsor cwindsor312@gmail.com to inquire about where current needs are as the event draws closer.
What does "Company ID" on the invoice mean?
This commonly refers to the Company Tax ID of your employer. You're welcome to enter the tax ID, all zeroes, or any random numbers. It cannot be left empty but does not have an impact on registration or how your invoice is processed by SWATA.
2024 SWATA Welcome Reception
Title Sponsor: Alert Services
What to do in Hot Springs
- Bath House Row – self-guided tours, some will book massages
- Magic Springs and Crystal Falls – amusement and water parks
- Mid-America Museum – interactive science museum (great for kids!)
- Pirate’s Cove Miniature Golf
- T-Rex Fun Spot (indoor laser tag, blacklight mini-golf, and go-carts
- Big Axe Battleground – axe throwing
- Billiard’s Pool Hall
- Gangster Museum
- Hot Springs Overlook Tower
- Lake Catherine State Park Waterfall Trail (hiking)
- Cedar Glades Skate Park and Bike Trails
- Escape Hot Springs (escape room)
- A Narrow Escape (escape room)
- Shopping
- Crystal Ridge Distillery – tours and tastings
- Golf courses in Hot Springs Village
Downtown – near the convention center
- Brick House Grill
- Ohio Club – Burgers, Pub Food, Live music some nights
- Rolando’s Nuevo Latino Restaurante
- The Pancake Shop – Breakfast
- 420eats – Food Trucks and Live music
- Fat Jack’s Oyster Bar and Grill
- Ouachita Bar and Grill
- The Copper Penny Bar and Grill – Pub Food
- Picante’s
- Steinhaus Keller - $$ - German food, Casual or Business casual
- Café 1217 – Soup, Sandwich, Salad, Entrees, etc.
- Taco Mama’s
- The Porterhouse Steak and Seafood- $$$, Dress nicely, Need a Reservation
- 501 Prime - $$ - $$$, Business Casual, Need a Reservation
- The Vault - $$$, Dress nicely, Need a Reservation
- Fisherman’s Wharf (Overlooking Lake Hamilton) $ - $$$, Casual
- Back Porch Grill - $$ - $$$, Steak and Seafood, Business casual
- McClard’s BBQ (small dive BBQ place – but famous for their Tamale Spread)
- Rocky’s Corner – Pizza/bar across from Oaklawn
- Jose’s Mexican Grill
- Bleu Monkey Grill - a Chili’s-type place but more variety
- Colorado Grill – Mexican
- Bubba Brews On Lake Hamilton – Sandwiches, Pub food
Agenda
As athletic trainers broaden their scope of practice, they must be prepared to respond to and critically and efficiently manage a wide variety of emergency and crisis situations. The use of various evidence-based techniques in the preparation phase and management phase will dramatically improve morbidity and mortality rates of critically injured patients, as well as dramatically reduce risk and liability for all parties involved. Adequate preparation should be combined with clinical expertise to utilize skills and equipment during emergent situations. Perceived challenges such as budget, equipment constraints, and training should be explored and addressed with practical solutions.
Creating an inclusive environment for LGBTQIA+ patients begins with establishing and enforcing policies in the athletic training facility to eliminate discrimination and harassment. This session will focus on the development and revision of LGBTQIA+ inclusive policies across all athletic training practice settings.
Much is said about athletic trainers not being paid what one is worth. Yet when asked, the majority of athletic trainers truly do not know how to answer the question or better yet justify the amount stated. What one thinks is her value is much less accurate than what other stakeholders find to be the value. This conflict is at the crux of the profession. If we cannot clearly articulate our value, we should not expect others to pay us what we think we are worth. For decades now, we have resorted to the same talking points with minimal at best success if we are to be honest. In the end, it is not the full responsibility of the professional association to advocate in the trenches for every athletic trainer relative to fee for service remuneration. Rather, each athletic trainer MUST possess the knowledge and skills to effectively articulate and influence stakeholders one’s value and worth. Through interactive vignettes, participants will engage in role playing to demonstrate effective ways of determining self-value, perceived value, and actual value. A focus will be placed on situational opportunities such as salary negotiation, request for performance raises and/or bonuses, per diem work, and consulting. Learn from a Hall of Fame athletic trainer who gets paid to teach other athletic trainers how to get paid!
Female ATs are represented in all practice settings and throughout healthcare, but glaring equity gaps exist in the workplace. Inequities in salary, leadership positions and promotion for women ATs are well documented. As an example, the salary gap between men and women ATs INCREASED from 2018 to 2021 (NATA 2021 Salary Survey). This session will address recognition of the problem, analysis of underlying mechanisms and proactive measures to overcome them. It will bring awareness to the issues surrounding inequity in the workplace and will provide strategies for all ATs to work together to address them. Resources will be presented to help ATs address equity issues in the job interview process, current employment, and post-employment. Leadership training will be emphasized to empower women with the skills needed to address and achieve workplace equity. Gender inequity is a societal issue and pervasive throughout healthcare. Related literature on this topic specific to women in healthcare will be presented, as well as documentation demonstrating how gender equity enhances patient care. Equity initiatives and policies of other professional societies and associations will be shared to encourage collaboration on the state, regional and national levels.
Elevate your athletes' performance with the session, "Sports Nutrition Game Plan: Implementing Fueling Strategies." Tailored for high school and Division II/III athletic trainers and sports professionals, this session provides a comprehensive guide to effectively implement sports nutrition programming at your school. Learn how to implement a sports nutrition program via working with booster clubs, garnering athlete buy-in, and new approaches to funding fueling programs. The session will also cover how to navigate nutrition with parents, coaches, and administrators, as well as strategies to communicate and debunk hot topic nutrition myths with athletes.
Tendinopathies include both tendinitis and tendinosis and are associated with overuse that leads to inadequate tendon regeneration and repair which causes microtears and degeneration. Conservative management with rest and exercise therapies along with heat or ice have been the traditional way to treat tendinopathies. However, a variety of therapeutic modalities including extracorporeal shockwave therapy (ESWT), low level laser therapy (LLLT), or manual therapies (cupping, IASTM, and positional release) have been demonstrated to be very effective in the treatment of this pathology. The purpose of this presentation is to present scientific evidence for the clinical use of ESWT and LLLT, for tendinopathies and give attendees the opportunity to apply treatments using these techniques. Potential protocols will be provided for rotator cuff tendinitis, lateral/medial epicondylitis, patellar tendinitis, IT band tendinitis, and Achilles tendinitis.
This program will feature a panel on incorporating the ICF Framework into clinical practice and scholarship. Panel members will be clinicians, educators and preceptors working for/with CAATE accredited programs. Participants will be given information about the best methods for implementing the ICF Framework to enhance their clinical practice.
We know how to identify hamstring weakness and prescribe exercises to remedy the weakness. However, what about the muscles that set the hamstrings up for success? If the glut med on that side is weak, the hip will drop. If the intrinsic foot muscles on that side aren’t doing their job, the foot will overpronate. Let’s jump into simple ways we can dive into the kinetic chain and make the most of our rehab plans. This presentation will go over the anatomical slings, pronation syndrome, important trigger points, and a variety of strengthening and proprioceptive exercises to optimize rehab plans.
We spend so much of our time relying on machines and man made products to help aid in our rehabilitation that we sometimes forget how important and how powerful of a tool our hands can be. Manual therapies helps us to re-employ our hands as our favorite clinical tool in helping the rehabilitation process. There are times for machines like e-stim and ultrasound, but our first tool in our tool box should be our hands. The choice to utilize various types of manual therapies should be up to the discretion of the clinician, their skill sets, their certifications, and their means of practicing clinically. It also needs to be justified given the status of the tissue and the surrounding structures. Manual therapy is defined as the use of hands-on techniques to evaluate, treat, and improve the status of neuromusculoskeletal conditions. With this definition, we are able to see a wide variety of techniques and procedures. This presentation looks to explore these various techniques as well as provide a hands on demonstration and visuals aimed to represent how much pressure is needed to impact the various tissue levels, focusing specifically at different types of fascia and fascial lines.
Altered mental status (AMS) is a common sign with multiple potential causes. This presentation will discuss AMS & describe common non-traumatic conditions related to AMS ATs may encounter in practice. Appropriate emergency management for these conditions will be discussed.
Summer 2023 was one of the hottest on record in the world. As temperatures continue to rise and athletic schedules expand in summer months, ATs are tasked with monitoring environmental conditions to keep everyone safe during exercise in the heat. Lack of policy and oppressive weather can contribute to exertional heat illnesses (EHIs) and it is imperative that the AT use best practices in environmental monitoring to reduce the likelihood of EHIs. Wet bulb globe temperature (WBGT) accounts for 4 different factors contributing to heat stress- radiation (from the sun and playing surface), relative humidity, ambient temperature, and wind. Heat index is frequently reported on weather stations to communicate potentially dangerous conditions; however, heat index is measured in the shade and does not account for wind; conditions that are highly unlikely in an athletic setting. Using guidelines endorsed by the NATA and backed by evidence, WBGT readings can be incorporated into an athletic setting to modify work-to-rest ratios in high heat stress environments. Modification of activity and equipment based on WBGT readings allows for productive practices to take place while heat index readings may force cancel cancelation. In other words, heat index may be more restrictive than WBGT. The purpose of this presentation is to educate the AT on best practices in environmental monitoring and to provide strategies to educate stakeholders on the use of WBGT to mitigate EHIs.
Thrower’s tens and other common exercises can be great for strengthening the upper extremity, but what happens when the overactive muscles are doing all the work or the scapula isn’t providing a stable base? What if the thoracic region doesn’t allow rotation and shoulder is taking all the stress? In this presentation, we will look at how we can prepare the body for smooth, coordinated motions that optimize the subacromial space. We will go over manual techniques, important trigger points, humeral head depression, scapular stabilization, effective breathing, and thoracic mobility.
This session is an interactive lecture about plain radiographs and MRIs. What to look for and how to read your athlete’s images. I know you have been given that disc and asked to look at it. Let’s learn how to give a simple and effective opinion of the injury and make the AT as important a part of initial management of said injury as orthopedist knows you really are in today’s world. We will learn simple techniques and have multiple chances to interact with examples of images. I have successfully taught this to my ATs at Henderson State University. It works!
The internal and external pressures experienced by athletes place them at risk for disordered eating patterns. Medical professionals, such as athletic trainers, need to be educated on the signs of disordered eating. Early recognition and intervention are critical to help prevent declines in health, sports performance and progression to a clinical eating disorder.
This program will feature a panel on addressing implicit bias in athletic training. Panel members will be clinicians, educators and preceptors working for/with CAATE accredited programs. Participants in this presentation will engage in small group discussions about implicit biases they have encountered to allow the panel to comment further.
The intent of this presentation is to provide the athletic trainer an update on the current literature and findings from the 6th Consensus Conference on Concussion in Sport, October 2022.
This presentation will take data collection to the next level. Diving deeper into the bigger picture, this presentation will make AT Value a more valuable approach to advocacy efforts in healthcare. It is important that ATs understand more of the intricacies of healthcare that exists beyond the athletic training room.
This session will discuss factors of burnout and exhaustion of District 6 athletic trainers. Session will explore factors relating to career abandonment and provide strategies for assisting in personal mental health self-care.
Exertional heatstroke is a potentially fatal condition with best-practice guidelines that guarantee survival in athletic training. However, because the evidence-based recognition and treatment of this condition is invasive, many are hesitant to enact best practices. Athletic trainers are often unfamiliar with the potential legal aspects of incorporating, or deciding not to implement, these best practices. This symposium will review the best practice recommendations, cover related legal aspects, review recent litigation, and reenact deposition and trial questions posed by lawyers related to exertional heat stroke.
Time management is an essential skillset for athletic trainers. While its importance is often emphasized, the associated strategies are rarely instructed in athletic training education. This often results in poor time-management in training and early practice. Improving time-management practices may lead to decreased stress, increased productivity and career satisfaction, and improved well-being.
This panel discussion, consisting of athletic training faculty, will inform practicing clinicians of generational, cultural, and educational changes inherent to today's student and the effects these factors have on entry-level athletic trainers.
Many athletic trainers are placed in a mentorship or leadership position by the very nature of their employment position; however, often we are not always trained to be effective in our strategies to influence others around us. Leadership and mentorship are soft skills that are categorized as tacit knowledge meaning these skills are reliant upon a clinician’s lived experiences, clinician values, and clinical practice opportunities rather than something that can be easily trained for each individual in a traditional educational setting (explicit knowledge).
Navigating the relationship between professional success and personal fulfillment. This presentation delves into actionable strategies, practical tips, and the managerial lens, providing a process to navigate the delicate equilibrium between professional commitments and personal fulfilment.
Each year, sudden cardiac arrest claims the lives of over 2,000 children and adolescents in the U.S. and accounts for approximately 3-5 percent of all deaths in children aged 5-19 years according to a study done by Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. We also know that 20% of the population are in school during the week. Not to mention SCA is the leading cause of death in young athletes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XOv4Q5e7bjA
On average, 31 concussion-related articles are published in the profession literature. This presentation will provide an update on the latest concussion-related research .
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