Canadian Sport Massage Therapists Association / Association canadienne des massothérapeutes du sport
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Association canadienne des massothérapeutes du sport

The only certifying body in Canada for sport massage

Our members are professionally trained to treat athletes from grassroots to Olympic and professional levels.

Join Team CSMTA today!The certification path: 400 hours to Sport Fellow
Sport massage therapist kneeling on the turf treating an injured soccer player’s knee at field level

  • Certify

  • Place

  • Support

Five decades

From one therapist to a full team

Seventy-nine Major Games since Montreal 1976, with this association’s Sport Fellows on the Canadian health care team at every one. The Canadian Olympic Committee’s Expert Group recognition is what puts them there — and what keeps them there.

See all 79 Major Games
Two CSMTA members beside the Pan Am Sports sign and Olympic rings
Members at the Pan Am Games

Membership

Two ways to join.

Start your application
The membership year
Jan 1 – Dec 31
Renewal deadline
Dec 1
Late fee after Dec 1
$60

  • Sport Candidate Member

    CAD per year · prorated by season

    Jan–May $180. Jun–Aug $108. September $72. Oct–Dec $180 covers the following year.

    $180

  • Student Member

    CAD per year · Jan 1 – Dec 31

    One flat rate for the calendar year.

    $25

Who we serve

Find your place in the team.

Certification

Requirements for Sport Fellow

Canadian Sport Massage Therapists Association

Four hundred hours. Two exams. One designation.

  1. Membership

    Sport Candidate dues paid at $180 ($25 for students), membership in good standing, and a current Standard First Aid certificate.

    $180

    dues

  2. The Advanced Sport Massage Course

    Required for certification. Members claiming its credit take the two-day course, offered periodically across the country.

    2 days

    course

  3. Documented hours

    400 hours of sport massage, of which 300 minimum are hands-on, every hour signed by a third party: 130 h team placement, 50 h event coverage, three sports including one contact and one non-contact, across two team placements.

    400

    hours

  4. Examinations

    The comprehensive Written Examination, 85 minutes online in one sitting, then the three-hour Oral/Practical once the hours above are documented. 70% is a pass.

    70%

    to pass

  5. Designation

    When both parts are completed and received by the National Office, the designation is granted: Sport Fellow CSMTA (SF).

    SF

    designation

Detailed requirements for each step are in the CSMTA Candidate Handbook, available in the members-only section of csmta.ca. Members in an unregulated province also complete the CSMTA Education Program and any extra requirements before challenging the exams. Contact the Membership Committee at membership@csmta.ca.

The full requirements

Textbooks

Required for every Sport eLearning exam

Each exam requires its corresponding textbook. Formats: ebook and print.

Resources for Learning and Exams
  • Cover of Sport Massage: Theory and Techniques for the Massage Therapist

    Sport Massage: Theory and Techniques for the Massage Therapist

    Kip Petch, BPE, RMT, CSMTA(SF) & Aurel Hamran, Dip, SIM, RMT, CSMTA(SF)

    $65 · ebook

  • Cover of Sport Psychology: Foundations and Practice for the Therapist, 2nd edition

    Sport Psychology: Foundations and Practice for the Therapist

    John M. Hogg, PhD

    $65 · ebook

  • Cover of Sport Physiology: Concepts and Applications for the Massage Therapist, 2nd edition

    Sport Physiology: Concepts & Applications for the Massage Therapist

    Gordon J. Bell, PhD

    $65 · ebook

  • Cover of Sport Injuries: Assessment and Treatment Protocol for the Massage Therapist

    Sport Injuries: Assessment and Treatment Protocol for the Massage Therapist

    Jean Shaw, BSc(Kin), CAT(C) and Anne Hartley, BPHE, D.O. (M.P.), CAT(C)

    $65 · ebook

The chapters

Four chapters, coast to coast

Write to the chapter nearest you.

Course instructors together at the Canadian College of Massage & Hydrotherapy
Three course instructors at the Canadian College of Massage & Hydrotherapy.

The community

There are many unsung heroes who put in time at smaller events and other training treatments that never go to the top events. In the chapters, membership fosters lifelong friendships among like-minded therapists.

For the public

Keeping athletes in trusted hands

A designation is trust made checkable: it states exactly how far a member’s training has gone.

  • Sport Candidate Member

    Working towards becoming a fully certified Sport Massage Therapist: the academic and the practical training both still in progress.

  • Sport Fellow Member

    A fully certified Sport Massage Therapist: all practical and academic training complete, and both the written and oral practical exams passed.

Find a therapist in the CSMTA directory

The CSMTA operates a zero tolerance policy for any form of maltreatment. All complaints are taken seriously and treated with respect and in confidence. No one will be victimized for making a complaint. Address a complaint to the Ethics Chair at vp@csmta.ca or the President at president@csmta.ca.

Join Team CSMTA today!

Be a part of the Sport RMT Community

Join the CSMTABenefits of Membership

$25 students · $180 sport candidates a year · renewal Dec 1