Boreal massage students head to Canadian Open

Massage therapy students from College Boréal, as well as graduate students from the program, will be attending the Canadian Open next month, where they will be providing massages to golf caddies.

Yves Charette, College Boréal professor, said they were invited by a clothing company called Levelwear, which has a caddie lounge at the open.

“Most caddies don’t get treated well at different tournaments, so one of the guys decided to create a caddie lounge experience where they get treatment," Charette said.

"So, massage therapy, physiotherapy, chiropractics.”

Students attending the Open said they are looking forward to the experience, especially now that COVID-19 restrictions have eased.

“It’s a huge experience," said grad student Mélanie Trottier.

"A little nervous -- I’m not going to lie -- because it’s something that’s totally out of my box going there. The sports therapy aspect is something new to me. During COVID, we were in school, we didn’t really get to experience much of the sports clinic because of all the restrictions we had. So, I’m really looking forward to it.”

Charette said a proper massage can have a significant impact in sports and on athletes.

“Therefore if we can push that more and more … to be more sports oriented and to do it with a professional athlete is even better, especially at a student level or at a recent graduate level," he said.

"If you can put your hands on professional athletes or caddies, it’s awesome for them.”

The Open runs June 6-12. Members of the massage therapy program are also hoping to attend the LPGA in Ottawa in August.