StFX student-athletes have been fortunate to experience the expertise and knowledge of head athletic therapist Tara Sutherland over the years while competing for their respective X-Men and X-Women teams, but professionals in the field of athletic therapy will also now get a chance to witness her insight firsthand.

Sutherland has been selected to join an elite group of leaders from across Canada to guide a workshop in Calgary January 17-19 pertaining to athletic therapy and the topic of concussions.

Chosen as one of eight members from the Canadian Athletic Therapy Association (CATA), Sutherland is seen as an expert in the field of concussions, and along with other CATA members, she will be working on defining the practice of athletic therapy in Canada.

The three day workshop takes place in Calgary this coming weekend where Sutherland will be participating in the final phase of CATA’s Role Delineation Study. Tara and her colleagues will be helping to define the role of athletic therapists in Canada as the CATA moves into a more prominent direction in the allied health field.

She comments, “It is exciting to be recognized as a leader in my field and in my profession. I am looking forward to the conference and having an impact on the direction of athletic therapy in Canada.”

Sutherland was also recently selected to present at an upcoming CATA national conference in Winnipeg this May on the topic of concussions and how to build a concussion clinic.

“Brain injuries are likely the biggest issue facing high performance contact sports,” says Director of Athletics & Recreation Leo MacPherson. “In the university sport sector, it is critically important that we be leaders in this area and we have the student-athletes' best interests at heart. Given her expertise in the area of athletic therapy and concussions, StFX is fortunate to have Tara Sutherland on our team.  Her dedication to her profession is exemplary.”

A native of Ottawa, Tara has been employed as the head athletic therapist at StFX University since 1996, overseeing the health and well-being of close to 300 varsity athletes, along with numerous club sport athletes.

She is a graduate of Queen’s University (BPHEd and BA), and received her Diploma in Sports Injury Management from Sheridan College. She went on to receive her Masters in Kinesiology degree from the University of Calgary and became a Certified Athletic Therapist in 1988. Prior to joining StFX, Tara was the head athletic therapist for the University of Calgary from 1989-1994.

In addition to her athletic therapy duties, Sutherland teaches three courses in the Human Kinetics Department and has been involved with the StFX women’s rugby program as an assistant coach since 1998. She was the co-chair of the host organizing committee for the 2012 CIS women’s rugby national championship at StFX.
 
Tara has served on the Education Committee and the Board of Directors for the CATA from 1994 until 2001, and was the President of the Association in 1999-00. In addition to working a number of Canada Games throughout the years as a therapist, Tara also worked with the national women’s hockey team in 1992 where they won a gold medal at the world championship in Tampere, Finland.
 
Recently, along with Dr. David Cudmore, Sutherland has established the Antigonish Concussion Clinic which has been going strong for the past five years. In this clinic they treat community members and athletes who have suffered concussions and help them return to play, work or life’s activities.

Sutherland and Cudmore have been involved in a conducting a number of local presentations to the general community on concussions, as well as to a number of medical professionals throughout the province of Nova Scotia.