Membership to professional organisations

[Pitbull]

I am a sports massage therapist and a full level 4 member of the SMA. I did my training with SPS and so was automatically directed to the SMA as the organisation with which I was to be a member. Reading through some of these threads it seems the SMA may not be as prestigious as it is initially made out to be, and that there are some other organisations that may be worth looking into.

As a newbie to all of this I was wondering if anyone could please help enlighten me as to which is actually the best organisation to become a member of, with some regards to popularity with teams and events, etc. I'm interested to hear some general opinion about where the SMA looks to be heading!

Cheers!! loupie

 

[Preggers]

There was an earlier thread on this forum:
ISRM or SMA membership???

There has also been a lot of discussion about the SMA on the 'sports therapies' forum, and there was also quite a heated debate on
http://smaconspiracy.blogspot.com/

The SMA doesn't seem to have issued any form of newsletter to its members since the SGM in March this year, although its website is now functioning again after being unavailable for several months.

Regards

Alan

 

[LizzakaMel]

I am aware that the one PA is preparing to challenge SMA in the public domain aboout their statements self proclaiming lead body, governing body, regulator status as this is clearly in question. I would favour a PA who are members of the GCMT who have recently had meetings with the SMA to ascertain the direction the newly formed SMA board are taking. In my opinion there seems to be some issues regarding the levels of membership that SMA are now offering, a level 1 member might only require a passing interest in sports massage, I believe it is a direct attempt to inflate membership numbers which currently stand at below 700 of which a high proportion are untrained, non practising therapists. As a contrast the collective of GCMT represent approx 50 000 members from massage disiplines including several 000s of sports massage and sports therapy practitioners.
I believe there will be more information forthcoming by the end of the month as there seems to be a few industry meetings taking place this month
regards
BGFL

 

[south253side]

According to this article http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/l...cle6387962.ece the SMA is the governing body for Sports Massage. What cheek!

RP

 

[froggie88]

First things first, my name is Paul Medlicott and I'm currently Vice Chairman of the SMA. As a PA We are in a slightly difficult position when responding to forum comments as we have to be aware of confidentiality and, occasionally, legal issues. However, I will do my best to respond to the above comments. We have had some constructive meetings with GCMT recently and will make a decision on joining at our next Board Meeting, suffice to say we can see some potential benefits for both sides, but will not be making any decision without careful consideration. I can also confirm that the wording on our website has been changed as requested.

The SMA is a small organisation in terms of membership numbers and has been since its inception. We will seek to grow membership sensibly over the next few years and certainly have no problem in encouraging masseurs to join us at level 1 or 2---our aim is to create opportunity for the vast numbers of masseurs out there, including those who come under the GCMT umbrella, who may want to add sports massage to their skill set.

Remember, we are not a commercial organisation, we are utterly dependent on membership fees and the goodwill of the (unpaid) Board.

The SMA has been the subject of, but not party to, some heated debates on this forum-a frustrating situation for those of us who have worked hard to keep the association afloat. Let me be clear, the service we have provided over the last couple of years has been lamentable, the reasons for this are complicated and again we are utterly constrained in what we can say in the public domain, but we are working hard to rectify the situation.

I am not going to make any vague promises, but our intention is to create a 'member facing' organisation with tangible benefits and opportunities. We know that the jury is out as far as many people are concerned, but we will continue to try and improve things to the best of our ability. The current board is putting in a phenomenal amount of hours at the moment and we are seeing early results.

I will respond to comments to the best of my ability as they arise.

Loupie-send me a private email if you wish.

 

[Fire 23]

Hi Paul,
thanks for your introduction, and welcome to Healthypages.

These forums offer us the chance to exchange ideas, and yes, sometimes get into heated debates.

I have noticed that there does seem to be lots of negative comments aimed at the SMA, and if I look back, I see this has been happening for many years, with the same kind of theme. I have been in this industry for the best part of 10 years, and I have to say, that the negative 'press' has been the SMA's own doing. There has been a constant and regular occurance of members not being able to get hold of anyone at the SMA, and this is obviously not only frustrating, but worrying not only for those that have paid membership fees, but also people like me, in the wider industry, because when the 'governing body' of sports massage is in such a mess, how does this look to everyone else? Not good! Obviously when the SMA all but disappeared last year, there would have been repercussions for you, and Im very very surprised that not one of you got on forums such as this, to re-assure not only your members, but every other sports massage therapist.....being 'governing body in sport massage' is a huge responsibility.

I for one am very pleased that you have dropped the 'governing body' title, as this again is very confusing for us massage therapists that are not members.

Just a couple of points on regulation, 'state regulation', which is mentioned on your website, no longer exists, its a very old term which is obsolete. Considering that Sports Therapy has applied for HPC regulation, and been told that if it happens at all it could be 10 years away, and the fact that GCMT is supporting the new government backed regulatory organisation, the CNHC, and massage has been regulated already through this route, are you not in conflict here? Are you still working towards 'HPC regulation'? Do you think HPC regulation of sports massage will happen?

I hope you dont think that I have jumped on this, but this is the great thing about forums, we can ask lots of questions, very quickly.

Thanks for your time.

Chris

 

[Taylorann]

Thanks for your comments Chris. Concerning negative comments about the SMA, I can't really add anything to what I have already said. As for bringing negative press on ourselves-well partially yes, I would agree. There are things we must do better. However, as an independent non-commercial PA the SMA will not satisfy everybody with its actions.

I take your point on communication to members and the wider industry. Unfortunately for reasons I can't go into we were temporarily unable to access not only our website, but also member records.

As for posting on the forum----I'm actually a great advocate of forums, but as with emails there is no tone of voice and what can start as a reasoned debate often deteriorates into an online slanging match (even with the best moderation). That's the last thing we want. Also we have to be careful to differentiate between personal views and views which represent the position of the Board or/and the membership. Having opened up this line of communication I hope we can have some constructive debate.

Regulation via the HPC route has always been a stated aim of the SMA, but we recognise the difficulties facing us, and the unacceptably long timescales involved. Ultimately we will do what is best for the membership in consultation with the membership and the various bodies involved.

Regards

Paul

 

[Froggy McFrogfeet]

Hi Paul,

Could you please clarify your membership levels and what they represent, are they aligned to education levels? I have discussed this previously on this forum and have spoken to both Rodger Davies and Joan Watt regarding this confusing issue. As I see it you are encouraging membership levels at 1 and 2 however SMA accredit courses at level 3 and 4, therefore you are encouraging members at the lower levels for what reason?
Surely if your claim to become involved with the GCMT is genuine you would see yourselves as equals to the other PAs involved yet your recently changed website statement clearly reads "lead professional body". I see this as an elitist statement which seeks to protray yourselves as in some way superior to the other PAs. As a member of an alternative PA within the GCMT I find this unacceptable.
I was one of the people who for "reasons you cant go into" was disadvantaged by your administration processes when applying for industry information and membership information despite my contact details being passed directly to your then chair David Edge by another board member Bob Brammah.

I would like nothing more than a united approach from the industry to raising education standards as your wbesite aims state, but presently feel there is such a lack of constructive talking from within and as you describe "heated debate" that is bourne from frustration and procrastination, some of which was at the hands of your previous administration and board. I am happy to hear you are making improvements and wish your new board continued progress within the industry as a whole, it does I fear from my perspective depend on your webiste statement being revised again to reflect your inclusive approach to other PAs and some clarification of your membership levels. THe GCMT are looking to raise and standardise training criteria and I personally feel your membership levels are not transparent enough to prevent a "diluted" skill set of therapists or as you point out potential sports masseurs which I see as a direct marketing strategy of the SMA

There are also others like myself who give countless hours of their time unpaid to progress this industry and work within PAs to offer opportunities to our members for the benefit of the sports participants at all levels from recreational thru to elite athletes
best regards
Gary BGFL

 

[who da man?]

Hello Gary,

Thanks for your posting.

I’m quoting directly from the public area of the SMA website.

“Level 3 is open to professionals who have achieved a recognised sports massage qualification equivalent to NVQ Level 3……. Level 4 is open to professionals with a sports massage qualification from an accredited school, or those who have passed the Sports Massage Professional Entry Examination. “
Levels 1 and 2 are not allied to NOS, they were chosen for convenience (1,2,3,4 seemed logical at the time). We are aware this is causing some confusion and will be discussing this at our next board meeting.


We’ll continue to review things when the new NOS level 4 is released and with an eye to the level 5 qualifications being promoted by the private schools.


I think I touched on the level 1 and 2 membership on my first post. Members are the lifeblood of PAs, those studying now or showing an interest are the future level 3, 4 (and 5) practitioners . We want to engage and encourage them now. Students and affiliates are not on our national register and are not eligible for advertised jobs and events. Having said that my personal opinion is that we should provide occasional supervised event work for those who are interested in hands on sports massage experience (this has happened through the private schools in the past).


Gary, I can’t change your perception of the SMA that’s up to you. The SMA does not regard itself as superior to other PAs, however you should remember that we answer to and are responsible to the membership not to other PAs.

I’m sorry you had trouble contacting the SMA last year-I’m afraid I am running out of ways to say the same thing, but I can’t add anymore to the reasons behind this failure of service without risking litigation. This is a public forum and I’m not hiding behind a ‘nom de plume’.


Finally-and I’m afraid I can’t let this go-you’ve also made some pretty damaging comments in a previous posting about SMA membership renewals and our relationship with elite sporting bodies. These forums are widely read and your inferences could have had a damaging effect on the perception of existing and potential members. I know these are personal views but you are also a member of another PA---we would take a dim view of one of our members making similarly damaging comments about yours or any other PA.

 

[MlzoZird]

Hi Paul,
certainly a lot of food for thought, and its good that you are on here, because this is what many many people in the industry have wanted for a long time.

Im not going to go into too much, as we need to move forward and work together for the good of the profession, however, I do feel I need to defend Gary here.

It was your very own members that approached our PA in their droves, when they had nowhere else to turn, they constantly asked us to find out what was going on with THEIR association, with THEIR membership fees etc etc, a large number of them asked us to put this in the public arena, and im sorry if it may have caused you some embarassment, however, at the time, the SMA where nowhere to be seen, in most peoples eyes you were gone, your website was down for months, there was no way of contacting your board or admin. The reasons may have been genuine, and not the fault of the board, but neither was it the fault of your own paid up members, who did suffer at that time, or the fault of the rest of us, that were constantly answering questions via email and telephone from your members, not our own, then I think we had a right to question what was going on.

I really do think its time to move on with this, there is so much work needs to be done in this industry, and if we dont all work together on it, then theres no real point in any of us being here.

Best regards

Richard

 

[KelseyS]

Hello Richard, agreed! I look forward to meeting you again in the future and, I hope, Gary and other contributors to this forum. I can pretty much guarantee we won't always agree, but I am sure we can work together in a constructive and cordial manner.

Regards

Paul

 

[Jourdan]

Hello Paul,
Thankyou for your message of support, I have always commented on my personal experiences and expressed my own opinion on these forums and it was never an intention to damage your membership numbers, simply to communicate information to those who had a vested interest in this industry. I also look forward to meeting with you in the future, I have already met Rodger Davies and Joan Watt, I have also communicated with Bob Brammah all of whom have been helpful in providing information on SMA views and progression of our joint cause.
I do not hide behind my username as I have previously stated who I am and where I live/work etc, the username is simply a reflection of who I am known as within the circles I move in and was given to me by a colleague some years ago.

I agree we will have differences of opinion from time to time but the way forward is if we are all in the same room at the same time to put our respective points across and decide democratically on a way forward, I do believe from my previous conversations on this and similar forums that we all want what is best for the industry. There are some very astute and knowledgeable minds on these sites and we would do well to harness the enthusiasm within to drive forward our aspiration. I do believe there has been an acceptance to procrastinate and my recent work/ intention has been to stimulate response from those who have not been sitting round the proverbial table.

We accept there are things that need to change and I am big enough to admit that I am sometimes a little hasty with my judgements and can appear quite stubborn. ( call my wife as witness your honour)These are, I am relaibly informed true Taurean traits and therefore I think based on gut instinct rather than out of malice.

I think that if / when we do meet we should harness the passion that we all display to move towards a greater recognition of ours skills, to drive this industry forwards and gain increased public awareness of the benefits we provide.
best regards
BGFL (BENSON)

 

[Abby Campbell]

Gary, that's a great response and much appreciated.

Regards

Paul