Long-time York University Lions Head Athletic Therapist Cindy Hughes was inducted into the Canadian Athletic Therapy Association (CATA) Hall of Fame earlier this month at the national conference in Niagara Falls, Ontario.
Hughes, who spent 22 years at York as the head athletic therapist and manager of the Gorman/Shore Sport Injury Clinic before retiring in May 2017, was inducted for her outstanding service to the association, her profession and her community.
Hughes graduated from Wilfrid Laurier University with a double major in biology and physical education, as well as from Sheridan College with a diploma in athletic therapy and management.
She started her career at the University of Guelph as the assistant athletic therapist. She continued her journey as an athletic therapist with the Centre for Sport and Recreation Medicine until she landed the head athletic therapist and fitness coordinator position with the Humber Hawks in 1990. She made an instant impact with the Hawks and grew the clinic each year with the addition of Sheridan’s athletic therapy students along with adding a sports medicine specialist, Dr. Ian Cohen.
In 1995, she made the move to York University, where she provided exceptional care to thousands of varsity student-athletes, helping them overcome serious injuries and return to the field of play. She also mentored hundreds of student athletic therapists completing the Athletic Therapy Certificate Program and saw many of them go on to enjoy long careers working at Olympic Games, in professional sports leagues like the NHL, CFL and MLS, with Canadian national teams and in private clinics.
Not only did Hughes grow the athletic therapy programs at both Humber College and York University, she also worked with a number of national teams and was a therapist at many major international games and world championships. Her most recent involvement was as the chief therapist for the Canadian Olympic team at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, and the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens.
Her passion within the field of athletic therapy is proven by her reputation as a sought after educator within one of the CATA’s accredited institutions and her continued work with CATA and Canadian Athletic Therapy Association (OATA) volunteer committees.