UB club sports will have access to full-time professional athletic trainers next semester through a temporary program that many team members hope to make permanent.
According to Frank Carnevale, director of Health Services, the issue of professional trainers for club sports has been around for a long time.
"Students from club sports approached Student Affairs to have assistance with trainers to cover home games," Carnevale said.
Colleen Connors, president of the club volleyball team, said club teams have needed professional athletic trainers for a number of different reasons.
"Having athletic trainers for sports teams is not only an asset but a necessity. It is important that athletes have a place to go when they are injured during practice," Connors said. "In addition, seven sports clubs are mandated by their league to have trainers on site in order to host a tournament or game. The need is definitely there and for the first time Student Affairs, R&I Services, and the Student Association have collaborated to address the concerns of the student athletes."
Field hockey, men and women's ice hockey, men and women's lacrosse, men and women's rugby and the ski team are all mandated by their respective leagues to have an athletic trainer on site at home games.
Without a unified program in place, teams have had to hire trainers on a per game basis. Last year, the Recreation & Intramurals office spent about $3,500 on mandated trainers.
According to Carnevale, this game-by-game system only worked to an extent. Often scheduling conflicts between simultaneous games on North and South Campus created complications.
"It was tough to have constant coverage when a trainer is not a staff member," Carnevale said. "We had to come up with a plan to provide this service to students."
Many club teams said they ranked professional athletic trainers as a strong priority for next year.
Club sports not part of UB's trainer program include baseball, boxing, softball, gymnastics, women's soccer, ultimate Frisbee, and men and women's volleyball.
According to Carnevale, under the new plan UB will set up a room specifically meant as a station for the two full-time trainers.
The estimated cost of renovating an office in either Michael Hall or Clark Hall is $20,000. Another $30,000 would go towards equipment like athletic tape, ice packs, Ace bandages and splints, Carnevale said.
Carenevale added the hiring process will start later this month with an interview committee finalizing the two choices in early December.
For now though, the program is temporary until UB can secure long-term funding. One idea to help sustain the program is an increase in the student health fee, Carnevale said.
Despite the program's temporary status, Carnevale said he thinks students will be happy when the program launches next semester.
"This is a wonderful new set of resources for students," he said. "Students will really appreciate this program."
Connors, who also chairs the sports club council advisory board, echoed Carnevale's sentiments.
"Trainers have never been available to sports clubs in the past, so this new opportunity will help expand the sports club program to UB," Connors said.
Shawn Kowsky, a senior who plays for men's club soccer, said he believes the trainer program will have a positive affect on club sports.
"There has only been one trainer at our games, but we have only had two home games so far," he said. "Having a trainer is something that we've wanted for a while because it's nice in case someone gets hurt."
According to Carnevale, Health Services looked at other schools with trainer programs before developing its own, and the new trainers would also work closely with UB's sports medicine program.
"It was a team effort to get this going," he said.
