West Sports Council enjoys “Classic” Sea Otter event — for 17th year in row!

For the 17^th year in a row, members of the Sports Council team at the Palmer College of Chiropractic West campus in San Jose, California, provided sports-chiropractic care at the Sea Otter Classic, April 11-14, 2019 at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey.

Established in 1991, the Sea Otter Classic is now regarded as the world’s largest bicycling festival, and draws nearly 10,000 athletes who compete in a variety of cycling events, including mountain-bike, cross-country, downhill, dual-slalom and short-track racing.

More than 50,000 fans venture to the Monterey Peninsula to watch the menagerie of cycling events, which also include circuit, criterium, and road racing. Participants range from professional racers to recreational cyclists of all ages and skill levels.

Services were provided by interns from the Palmer Chiropractic Clinics in San Jose, assisted by lower-quarter Palmer West students (who have completed specialized sports-chiropractic courses), under the supervision of Palmer West faculty-doctors and other Sports Council event-clinicians.

Sports Council clinicians at Sea Otter Classic 2019 included: Andrew Cohen, D.C., CCSP®  (West, ’04); Rhiannon Dickison, D.C., CCSP® (West, ’13): Michael Lord, D.C., CCSP® (West, ’10); Mehdi Moossavi, D.C., CCSP® (West, ’92); Brian Nook, D.C.; Karen Roitz, D.C., DACBSP® (West, ’96); Jonathan Slater, D.C., CCSP® (West, ’97); and Brandon Thomas, D.C., CCSP® (West,’14).

Dr. Moossavi has assisted Sports Council interns with patient-care at every Sea Otter Classic since Palmer began its partnership at the 2003 event.

Sea Otter organizers made a few adjustments of their own this year, by relocating the two Sports Council tents – which resulted in nearly 200 additional patients receiving care compared to last year’s event (pushing the four-day total to approximately 500).

“Our team did a phenomenal job; in particular, (Sports Council officers) Haley (McHugh) and Dennis (Matos), who ran a tight ship in organizing the Council’s participation in this year’s event,” said Sports Council President Iannick Remillard.

“I was impressed by how everyone kept busy, and maintained ongoing interaction with our patients from start to finish. We were also fortunate to have a great group of clinicians mentoring us in various ways to care for different injuries.”

“We had a phenomenal time at Sea Otter, often with a long waiting line, and many presenting interesting cases – including a patient visiting from Germany, who experienced his first chiropractic treatment at our event, and was excited when Dr. Nook was able to give him a referral to a chiropractor he knew in Germany,” said McHugh, who also is a member of the Palmer Campus Guides (assisting with campus tours for prospective students and various special events at the West campus).

“We also had prospective students who came to our tent to inquire more about the College, prerequisites to apply, and how they can get a tour. Hopefully we see them on campus, too, for a visit!”

“This was the first time that I got to participate as an event-clinician, and I was quite impressed by the cooperation and teamwork demonstrated by our students,” said Dr. Nook, associate dean of academic affairs at Palmer’s West campus, whose distinguished three-plus-decades of experience in the field of sports chiropractic includes four Olympic Games, three All-African Games, and four World Games.

“I’ve worked with a lot of Student Sports Councils and similar sports organizations around the world, and the Palmer West Sports Council is right up there with any that I’ve seen. Our students should all be proud of their work.”