The following definitions apply in this Article:
(1) Athletes.- Members of sports teams, including professional, amateur, and school teams; or participants in sports or recreational activities, including training and practice activities, that require strength, agility, flexibility, range of motion, speed, or stamina.
(2) Athletic trainer. - A person who, under a written protocol with a physician licensed under Article 1 of Chapter 90 of the General Statutes and filed with the North Carolina Medical Board, carries out the practice of care, prevention, and rehabilitation of injuries incurred by athletes, and who, in carrying out these functions, may use physical modalities, including heat, light, sound, cold, electricity, or mechanical devices related to rehabilitation and treatment. A committee composed of two members of the North Carolina Medical Board and two members of the North Carolina Board of Athletic Trainer Examiners shall jointly define by rule the content, format, and minimum requirements for the written protocol required by this subdivision. The members shall be selected by their respective boards. The decision of this committee shall be binding on both Boards unless changed by mutual agreement of both Boards.
(3) Board. - The North Carolina Board of Athletic Trainer Examiners as created by G.S. 90-524.
(4) License. - A certificate that evidences approval by the Board that a person has successfully completed the requirements set forth in G.S. 90-528 entitling the person to perform the functions and duties of an athletic trainer. (1997-387, s. 1.)