F m the Editor
Which \May Does the Wind Blow?
You may recall that last year at this time I planned
to practice singing Auld Lang Syne so I could sing
in tune at the dawn of this new year. Well the practice did not help. I still sounded as badly as my
fellow revelers. Yet I remember that Bob Dylan
made an entire career out of sounding badly when
he sang.
Actually, old Bob was never really a singer. He
was more of a poet trying to put his poems to music.
Like Leonard Cohen, Dylan became a household
name because of his wordsmanship rather than his
ability to carry a tune.
The Dylanism that seems most pertinent here
is, "The times they are a changin'." Yes, 1998 is going to be a year of significant change for Athletic
Therapy Today!
Beginning with this issue, Athletic Therapy Today
becomes the official professional journal of the Canadian Athletic Therapists Association. I would like
to extend a hearty welcome to our colleagues from
the North. I look forward to a mutually beneficial
relationship. We will be appointing several members
of the CATA to our Editorial Review Board and we
anticipate significant contributions from practicing
Canadian athletic therapists.
Soon Athletic Therapy Today will have a new look.
The new interior format will have a more open, magazine look. In addition, we are taking steps to increase
the visual elements in our articles and columns.
These changes are intended to make the articles
more engaging.
But making changes to become more reader
friendly is scary stuff when you have minimal input
from the people you are attempting to accommodate. While I and members of our Editorial Advisory
Board have had numerous verbal compliments on
the journal, this year we have had no letters of
criticism, praise, or suggestion. We can't be sure if
we are doing the right thing unless we hear from
you.
In the near future we will be doing a reader's
survey. Please let us know what you like and don't
like about Athletic Therapy Today. Offer suggestions
as to how we might better serve you. To start your
thinking, consider these questions:
Are the journal articles too academic?
What topics would you like to see articles
written about?
Do you like the concept of having a theme that
goes into depth in treating a given topic in
each issue? If so, what are the "hot" topics
you would like to see?
What columns do you like and which ones
don't you like?
Do you have suggestions for new columns
or changes to existing ones?
Do you want to see more book reviews?
Would you like to see a "news column" that
presents blurbs about recent and future
happenings in athletic therapy?
Change simply for its own sake is seldom wise.
But change that is carefully planned and based on
sound input is critical to any lasting endeavor. From
the outset I have tried to effect small constant
changes to keep us current. Will these new changes
and those made in the future assure our continued
success? Maybe the answer is "blowin' in the wind."
And while Dylan tells us, "you don't need a weather
man to knowwhich way the wind blows," you do need
input from readers if you want to be sure of meeting
their needs.
Essentially, we want to know what you want
Athletic Therapy Today to be. Remember, Letters to
the Editor are always encouraged. Your input is
critical to our efforts. Please free to share your
comments with me or Linda Bump at Human Kinetics. We look forward to better meeting your
needs in the coming months.