When most people think about chiropractic care, they probably don’t picture 150+ mph hydroplanes, rescue boats, medical teams, and athletes competing on the water.
But sports medicine doesn’t always happen inside a treatment room.
In September, Dr. Karson Mui of Mui Chiropractic & Sports Medicine traveled from West Newton, Massachusetts, to San Diego, California, to serve as a Senior Medical Manager with WMI Global at Bayfair 2026.
Bayfair brings high-speed boat racing to Mission Bay, including the incredible H1 Unlimited hydroplanes. With athletes competing at extreme speeds on the water, providing medical coverage requires much more than simply having medical personnel standing by.
It requires planning, communication, rescue coordination, emergency medicine, and a multidisciplinary team prepared for situations that can change in seconds.
Providing Medical Coverage at Bayfair 2026
Dr. Mui worked alongside WMI Global’s medical and rescue personnel, physicians, nurses, water rescue teams, and local EMS resources throughout the event.
Before racing began, the medical team met to establish procedures for athlete extraction, medical evaluation, emergency transportation, equipment management, communication, and coordination between water rescue and land-based medical resources.
When you’re providing medical coverage for motorsports, preparation matters.
A routine race can become a medical emergency almost instantly.
When Hydroplanes Become Airplanes
One of the more dramatic moments of the weekend occurred during an H1 Grand Prix heat.
An H1 Grand Prix boat lifted off the water and became airborne before landing hard back on the surface.
The driver remained with the boat, finished the race, and returned to the pits.
The athlete was subsequently evaluated by the medical team and medically cleared.
It was an impressive example of why medical personnel are positioned close to the action. Even when an athlete appears to be okay, the forces involved in a high-speed impact can be significant.
The job isn’t simply responding to obvious injuries. It’s making sure athletes are appropriately evaluated before determining what comes next.
Water Rescue and Medical Response
Boat racing creates challenges that don’t exist in most traditional sports.
When an incident occurs on the course, medical personnel can’t simply run onto the field.
The athlete may first need to be reached by water rescue, stabilized, removed from the boat or water, packaged for transport, and transferred to the medical team waiting on shore.
During another racing incident at Bayfair, a driver was ejected from a boat.
Water rescue personnel responded, packaged the patient, and transported the athlete to the medical dock, where the medical team could perform a more complete evaluation.
This type of response demonstrates how important coordination is between rescue personnel, physicians, EMS, event management, and the other members of the medical team.
Everyone has a role.
And everyone needs to understand the plan before something goes wrong.
Caring for More Than Just the Athletes
Event medicine isn’t limited to competitors.
Thousands of spectators, staff members, officials, volunteers, and crew members may be present throughout a major sporting event.
During Bayfair, the medical operation also responded to spectator incidents.
In one case, a spectator sustained an injury while in the water and was transported by a course boat to the medical dock for evaluation.
After assessment and initial treatment by the medical team, EMS transported the patient for additional evaluation and definitive care.
Situations like this are an important reminder that event medicine has to be prepared for far more than injuries occurring during competition.
Sports Medicine Goes Far Beyond the Treatment Table
For Dr. Mui, Bayfair 2026 was another opportunity to combine sports medicine with field-of-play and event medical experience.
Over the years, Dr. Mui has worked medical coverage at sporting events ranging from professional rugby and hockey to cycling, running events, action sports, BMX, snow sports, and motorsports.
That experience also influences how athletes are evaluated and treated back home at Mui Chiropractic & Sports Medicine in West Newton.
Whether someone is a professional athlete or a weekend runner, the basic questions remain remarkably similar:
What happened?
What structures may be involved?
Are there any red flags?
Can this athlete safely continue?
What does this person need to return to activity?
Those questions are just as important in a chiropractic and sports medicine office as they are standing beside a racecourse.
Bringing Sports Medicine Experience Back to Newton, MA
At Mui Chiropractic & Sports Medicine, we work with athletes and active individuals from Newton and surrounding Massachusetts communities.
Our approach extends beyond simply “getting adjusted.”
Depending on the individual and injury, treatment may incorporate chiropractic manipulation, soft-tissue therapy, rehabilitation and mobility exercises, dry needling, instrument-assisted soft-tissue mobilization, kinesiology taping, and shockwave therapy.
The goal is to determine what is preventing someone from performing normally and develop an appropriate plan to get them moving again.
Dr. Mui’s experience working alongside physicians, athletic trainers, therapists, rescue personnel, and other healthcare professionals at sporting events around the country helps reinforce that team-based approach.
From Mission Bay Back to West Newton
Bayfair 2026 was an incredible weekend of racing, teamwork, medical planning, and a few situations that certainly kept the rescue and medical teams busy.
There is also something unforgettable about standing near Mission Bay while an H1 Unlimited hydroplane flies past at full speed.
But once the engines stopped and the medical equipment was packed, it was time to head back to Massachusetts and return to a slightly quieter version of sports medicine.
Slightly.
At Mui Chiropractic & Sports Medicine, we’re proud to bring experience from professional sports and major sporting events back to the athletes and active patients we treat every day in West Newton.
If an injury is keeping you from training, competing, working, or simply doing what you enjoy, schedule an appointment with Mui Chiropractic & Sports Medicine in West Newton, Massachusetts.
Because fortunately, most of our patients aren’t traveling 150+ mph when they get hurt.
And we’d like to keep it that way.