Article reposted from The Claremore Daily Progress
Author: The Claremore Daily Progress
The Oklahoma Athletic Trainers Association (OATA) has been announced as the recipient of the 2017 Public Advocacy Award by the Board of Certification (BOC). The BOC is the national credentialing agency for athletic trainers and also establishes both the standards of practice and continuing education requirements for the profession. The OATA won the award for their “Safety in Football Campaign” that ran in September of 2016. The campaign was designed with the goal of helping each and every football team in Oklahoma identify ways in which they can lessen the risks of injury and keep the focus on the fun and camaraderie of football.
This national honor is designed to recognize an individual, group, or organization who has demonstrated leadership in protecting athletic training consumers. In the words of Shannon Leftwich, BOC Director of Credentialing and Regulatory Affairs, “the ‘Safety in Football Campaign’ has been so important to protect the public and athletic training consumers. The time, commitment, and service {the OATA} have provided is immeasurable.”
The campaign ran from Sept. 6-17 and participation from 26 high schools from across the state and one university. Throughout the campaign, those schools self-promoted the measures they take every day to ensure safety in football. The schools also wore helmet stickers with the OATA Logo showing their support for the campaign. The campaign’s success resulted in several television, newspaper and online articles highlighting ways to increase safety for football players across the state. Governor Mary Fallin even issued a state-wide proclamation for the event.