The Canadian Athletic Therapists Association is calling for research abstracts for the 2026 CATA Conference. The 3-day event will be held in Calgary, AB from April 30-May 2, 2026.

 
Submission of an abstract is for Research Presentations only, and not an application to be a speaker/presenter at the conference.

 
Deadline for abstract submission: October 1, 2025

 
Individuals may submit up to three abstracts as the primary (presenting) author but may submit unlimited abstracts as a co-author. All abstracts will undergo blind review. Data must be original (unpublished) and not have been previously presented at a CATA conference.

At the discretion of the editor, abstracts will be published in the Journal of Athletic Training; therefore, submissions must be new, unpublished research and not submitted to another journal.

Timeline for Abstract Review

May 21 - Call for research abstracts

October 1 - Submission deadline

October 2-30 - Submission review 

• Each abstract undergoes a review by at least 3 reviewers for scientific merit
• Reviewers are assigned to abstracts based on specialty area and experience
• Each abstract is reviewed by at least one CAT(C)/PhD
  The scoring rubric can be found here.

 October 31 - Notification of submission acceptance or rejection 

Notifications will identify if the submission has been:
a. accepted for poster and podium presentation;

b. accepted for poster presentation;

c. accepted for poster presentation with revision;

d. rejected

Posters accepted with revisions may contain formatting errors, minor omissions of information (such as forgetting to include means in the results), or present sound, relevant research that is poorly written and in need of improved clarity and organization.

Due to limited space at the venue, all submissions will be scored and ranked accordingly. The top 40 accepted submissions will be selected for poster presentations. In addition, the top 10 accepted submissions will also be accepted to present their research orally. Non-member submissions can only account for a maximum of 20% of all accepted submissions.

 
The conference will be presented entirely in English. Accordingly, all communications related to the event wil be conducted in English only.

Authors are required to categorize their abstracts in one of the following specific areas of research:

Basic Science - includes controlled laboratory studies in the sub-disciplines of exercise physiology, biomechanics, and motor behaviour, among others, which relate to athletic therapy.

Clinical Studies - includes assessment of the validity, reliability, and efficacy of clinical procedures, rehabilitation protocols, injury prevention programs, surgical techniques, etc.

Educational Research - a broad category ranging from basic surveys to detailed athletic therapy/sports medicine curricular development. An abstract in this category will generally include assessment of student learning, teaching effectiveness (didactic or clinical), educational materials and curricular development.

Sports Injury Epidemiology - includes studies of injury patterns among athletes. These studies will generally encompass large scale data collection and analysis. Surveys and questionnaires may be classified in this category but are more likely to come under the Observation/ Informational Studies category.

Observation/Informational Studies - includes studies involving surveys, questionnaires, and descriptive programs, among others, which relate to athletic therapy.

Case Studies - Information on a single case relating to a unique injury or outcome. Sections heading might include background, differential diagnosis, treatment, uniqueness, and conclusions.

Abstracts should be word-processed using Times New Roman 12pt. font. Top, bottom, right, and left margins should be set at 1.5" using a standard 8.5" x 11" paper size. Type the title of the paper or project starting at the left margin. Left justify the paragraphs. Please do not save as a PDF.

 
On the next line, indent three (3) spaces and type the names of all authors, with the author who will make the presentation listed first. Type the last name, then initials (without periods), followed by a comma. Continue with the other authors (if any), ending with a colon. Indicate the institution (including city and province/state) where the research was conducted on the same line following the name(s) of the author(s). If multiple institutions were involved with the research, list the primary institution of data collection first followed by a comma, and then the next institution. Continue this format until all institutions have been listed.

 
For collaborative projects where portions of the project were conducted at different institutions, list all authors as described above then list the institutional affiliations using the following consecutive symbols (*, †, ‡, §,?, ¶, #, **, etc.), place the corresponding institution symbol immediately after the author’s name.

For Original Research, double space and begin typing the text of the abstract flush left, with single line spacing, in a single paragraph with no indention. Do not include tables or figures. Bold section headings: Context, Methods, Results, and Conclusion.

The Title of your Abstract Bolded and in Title Case

[3 spaces]Doe JT*, Public JQ†: *First Author's Institution Name, †Second Author's Institution.

[Blank Line]

[Blank Line]

Context: Write a sentence or two summarizing the rationale for the study, providing a reason for the study question and/or uniqueness of the study. State the precise objective(s) of the report, including a priori hypotheses, if applicable. The objective/purpose statement MUST identify the target population, intervention or exposures, and outcomes.

Methods: Describe the overall study design of the project reported (e.g., randomized controlled trial, crossover trial, cohort, or cross-sectional). Describe the environment in which the study was conducted to help readers understand the transferability of the findings (e.g., patient clinic, research laboratory or field). Describe the underlying target population, selection procedures (e.g., population-based sample, volunteer sample, or convenience sample) and important aspects of the final subject pool (e.g., number, average age, weight, height, and measures of variance, years of experience or gender). Some qualitative studies may use population data as outcome measurements instead. Appropriate sample size should be evident. Describe the independent variables (e.g., interventions, exposure) in the study. Describe the essential pieces of the experimental methods, types of materials, measurements and instrumentation utilized, data analysis procedures, and statistical tests employed. Identify primary or critical dependent variables that support the primary objective(s) of the study. Provide validity and reliability information on novel instrumentation. Survey research should state the validity and reliability of the survey and how it was validated. Indicate the statistical analysis employed to answer the primary research objective(s).

Results: The main results of the study should be given. Comparative reports must* include descriptive data (e.g., proportions, means, rates, odds ratios or correlations), accompanying measures of dispersion (e.g., ranges, standard deviations or confidence intervals) and inferential statistical data. In some qualitative research it may be appropriate for the author to list the important aspects of the final subject pool here if it is part of the outcome measurements. The exact level of statistical significance should accompany results. The P-value should not exceed 3 digits to the right of a decimal. When the exact significance is below P < .001, the exact significance should be reported as P < .001. Survey research should report a comparison between the survey sample and the overall population the findings are generalizable to.

Conclusions: Summarize or emphasize the new and important findings of the study. The conclusion must be consistent with the study objectives and results as reported and should be no more than three to four sentences. Relate implications of the findings for clinical practice and relevance to the athletic therapy profession – provide a clinical take-home message.

Word Count: Limited to 450 words, not including headings.

* The purpose of having both descriptive and inferential data is that it provides the reader with the ability to judge the concluding statements. Descriptive data provide confidence that the data are 'reliable' and provides a gauge to determine whether the inferential statistics and conclusions are meaningful. Studies reporting analysis of larger databases with multiple variables do not need to report all descriptive data. However, they should provide descriptive data for those variables that the author(s) believe to be the primary outcome(s) and support the overall conclusions of the study. Tables or figures can be efficient methods to share these results.

For Case Studies and series, double space and begin typing the text of the abstract flush left, with single line spacing, in a single paragraph with no indention. Do not include tables or figures. Bold section headings: Background, Differential Diagnosis, Treatment, Uniqueness, and Conclusion.

The Title of your Abstract Bolded and in Title Case

[3 spaces]Doe JT*, Public JQ†: *First Author's Institution Name, †Second Author's Institution.

[Blank Line]

[Blank Line]

Background: Include the individual's age, sex, sport or activity, pertinent aspects of their medical history, a brief history of their complaint, and physical findings from the athletic therapist's examination.

Differential Diagnosis: Include all possible diagnoses suspected based on the history, mechanism of injury, and the initial clinical examination prior to physician evaluation and subsequent diagnostic imaging and laboratory tests.

Treatment: Include the physician's evaluation and state the results of diagnostic imaging and laboratory results if performed. The final diagnosis of the injury or condition and subsequent treatment and clinical course followed should be detailed. Relevant and unique details should be included, as well as the outcome of the case.

Uniqueness: Briefly describe the uniqueness of this case, such as its mechanism, incidence rate, evaluate findings, rehabilitation, or predisposing factors.

Conclusions: Include a concise summary of the case as reported and highlight the case's importance to the athletic therapy profession and provide the reader with a clinical learning opportunity.

Word Count: Limited to 450 words, not including headings. 

Full results must be presented, including subject information and (if applicable) means, standard deviations, and full statistical information. The abstract must not exceed 450 words. Abstracts not conforming to submission directions are likely to be rejected.

Save two copies: The blinded copy document will be saved with just the title of your abstract. The non-blinded copy will be saved using the last name of the primary author and first initial followed by the title of the abstract. The CATA uses a blinded peer-reviewed process for assessing the quality of the abstracts, each abstract is evaluated by at least 2 qualified reviewers.

E.g. Blinded: The impact of multiple concussions on cognitive processing

E.g. non-blinded: Smith J. The impact of multiple concussion on cognitive processing

By clicking on the box below, I agree to the following statement. Failure to comply with the following statement, may result in your abstract removed from review.

Please note: abstracts may not be submitted to another journal or conference prior to presentation at the CATA conference: