Sports vision specialists from around the globe gathered virtually this year to identify solutions and attend education at the 2021 International Sports Vision Association (ISVA) conference. More than 400 people were registered to attend the event, which occurred Feb. 20 and Feb. 21. Additionally, the event is available on-demand through May 20. Visit https://bit.ly/3f4pL0j .

 

 

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“While we all miss live presentations, ISVA 2021 was a resounding success, considering the fact that the meeting was held virtually,” says Charles Shidlofsky, O.D., F.C.O.V.D., vice president of ISVA. “Sports Vision is a difficult subject to teach without the capability of doing hands on workshops/trainings. However, ISVA certainly made the best of this situation by choosing some excellent didactic subjects and some great leaders in the field to deliver that message.”

COURSES TO BETTER ONE’S GAME

The event was open to eye care professionals, athletic trainers, coaches and other professionals who are interested in aiding athletes. Attendees were treated to 14 COPE-Approved CE courses as well as presentations from sponsors and a Virtual Exhibit Hall.

Courses included some presented by OM contributors, such as “Business Strategies” columnist Gary Gerber, O.D.’s “Bringing a specialty into your practice…and making sure it stays there” and feature contributor Jennifer Stewart, O.D., who presented “Establishing a sports vision practice – tips from the pros,” with Frederick R. Edmunds, O.D., F.A.A.O.

Dr. Shidlofsky, who also presented on a number of topics at the meeting, says that an advantage of this format is that “we can expose a wider audience from around the world and also many more students and residents to the world of sports and performance vision.”

WORKING AS TEAMS

Secretary and treasurer of ISVA, Jarrod Davies, O.D., F.C.O.V.D, was happy to see the interaction among those in attendance.

“I was pleasantly surprised to see people connecting in the chat, or texting me or others outside of the meeting platform,” Dr. Davies says. “It is difficult to have an online meeting feel connected, and it was encouraging to see some of that interaction between attendees going on.”

E-ATHLETES DISCUSSIONS

Dr. Davies added that the program also went beyond traditional sports vision training to discuss e-athletes, which he found particularly informative. (See Dr. Amanda Nanasy’s previously published article, “Game On: Esports in Practice” in the March 2021 issue of Optometric Management at https://bit.ly/316clbX .)

Sponsors of ISVA included, in alphabetical order: Binovi, Cognivue, FitLight, MacuHealth, Neuro Solution, Reflex Pro, RightEye, Senaptec, ShedLight and TheraSpecs.

Registration for this event will continue to be open through the on-demand period for those who missed the event and would like to take part in what the show had to offer. OM