Staged every two years and alternating between summer and winter sports, the Manitoba Games, powered by Manitoba Hydro, is the largest multi-sport event in the province. This past August, the Manitoba Summer Games were held in Dauphin, Manitoba and attracted top-tier young provincial athletes in over 12 sports.
The medical team for the games was led by nine UWinnipeg-affiliated athletic therapists and current students, including UWinnipeg faculty member Ben Trunzo and alum Michayla Esteves (BSc 18), (CAT)C. Medical services were provided around the clock and included on-site field or competition access as well as a centralized Polyclinic.
Michayla Esteves agreed to volunteer at the Manitoba Summer Games to gain organizational experience and promote the field of athletic therapy. In addition to providing her athletic therapy skills and expertise during the games themselves, Michayla volunteered as a member of the Manitoba Summer Games medical committee. The medical committee was responsible for organizing the Polyclinic and providing athletic therapists, nurses, physiotherapists, and on-call physicians to the athletes during the games.
“It’s always great to have people start at the minor games, so they can work their way up to the Canada Games or the Olympics,” said Michayla. “The more you volunteer and have exposure, the better you are prepared to work the bigger games.”
In addition to gaining the personal and professional experience, Michayla is committed to promoting the profession of Athletic Therapy. “We have a lot of different groups of athletes that don’t have exposure to athletic therapists or anybody who has medical training when they work with their team,” said Michayla. “Not all sports have adopted athletic therapists on their team.”
Michayla Esteves treating client at UWinnipeg Athletic Therapy Centre
The Manitoba Summer Games was a great opportunity to provide access to some of the smaller sports that don’t have access to athletic therapy during regular competitions. “This was a great opportunity for us athletic therapists to show them what athletic therapy is, and how it can benefit performance,” said Michayla.
Michayla said that athletic therapy is not just limited to athletes. “There are definitely no limitations on who we can work with. It could be anything from car accidents to workplace injuries or even just carrying your groceries into the house wrong.” Athletic therapists work to provide prevention and rapid rehabilitation of muscles, bones, or joint injuries.
Path to athletic therapy
Michayla first became interested in athletic therapy when she witnessed an injury at a Winnipeg Jets game and saw a therapist rush onto the ice to assist the player. “I wondered how I could do that.”
After further research, it was a UWinnipeg Open House night and a future student demo with Valerie Pelleck that truly captivated and solidified Michayla’s pursuit of athletic therapy. “It was Val Pelleck who really piqued my interest,” said Michayla. “She was hosting an open lab session, where we did a bunch of hands-on skills. She had us try to tape an ankle and work with different modalities. It was very cool, and I felt excited about learning. That was my lightbulb moment when I thought, ‘this is probably something that I would enjoy’.”
Michayla went on to complete her Bachelor of Science with a major in Kinesiology and specialization in Athletic Therapy in 2018. She completed the national examination with the Canadian Athletic Therapists Association and has been a certified athletic therapist ever since. In addition to her working with clients in a private clinic and the UWinnipeg Athletic Therapy Centre, Michayla also supports up-and-coming athletic therapists as a lab instructor in the UWinnipeg Department of Kinesiology and Applied Health.
“I want to help the profession grow,” said Michayla, who is also a board member of the Manitoba Athletic Therapy Association. “This program is a lot of work, but it’s also a lot of fun!”
