Strength & Conditioning Conference

This week’s column of ‘Back to Basics’ is presented by Chris Collins, MSc. CSCS, who is the owner of Okanagan Peak Performance Inc. and along with Dr. Greg Dumanoir (a previous contributor to this column) are hosts of the Okanagan Strength and Conditioning Conference which is happening in Kelowna on July 25-26, 2014.

Photo: Contributed

Local Strength & Conditioning Conference Draws Variety of Practitioners

Next weekend Kelowna is going to be invaded by a number of people coming here for a common purpose. And no, I'm not talking about those coming to town for the sports and concerts happening at City Park. The group I'm referring to is coming for the annual Okanagan Strength & Conditioning Conference.

In only its 3rd edition, this event has quickly grown to become one of the biggest conferences of its kind in Canada and attracts participants and presenters from all over the continent. The speakers list reads like a who’s who of performance, nutrition and rehabilitation.

This two-day event features seven speakers presenting on topics ranging from long term athlete development, managing training stress, nutrition for power, strength training, recovery methods and more. The format will see each presenter give a lecture and a hands-on presentation to allow attendees to learn the theory as well as put the new skills into practice.

As the name would suggest the conference was initially marketed primarily to strength & conditioning coaches. But with the growth of the event the demographic of the event has grown to include a variety of other practitioners. Attendees now include personal trainers, group fitness instructors, massage therapists, physiotherapists and chiropractors such as Dr. Marc Nimchuk, the regular author of this column.

Widening the scope of the audience has helped grow the attendance 400% in three years but has also has had the benefit of offering new perspectives, questions and discussions with each presentation. Imagine a strength coach, a physiotherapist and a chiropractor all working with the same athlete. Each brings a unique background and perspective when considering the treatment and development of an athlete. These unique perspectives help bridge the gap between science and application allowing the athlete to realize better results in less time.

Besides the education and continuing education credits so in need by health practitioners, attendees will also receive a performance training shirt, most meals, a licensed evening banquet, prizes and giveaways.

If you have a coach, trainer, physiotherapist, chiropractor or massage therapist who professes to have interest in performance, nutrition or rehabilitation they should be attending this event, which won't happen anywhere else in Canada. To register go to strengthconference.com. It's what everyone not downtown July 25-26 will be doing.

This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.