ADVANCE YOUR OUTDOOR CAREER
November 16-19, 2026 | Orlando, FL
About the Conference
The Outdoor Professional Conference (OPC) is the gathering for professionals from across the industry who facilitate participant-facing outdoor recreation. This event is designed for attendees to be empowered, get connected, and stay relevant.
Through workshops, education sessions, networking opportunities, and the exhibit hall, the OPC focuses on addressing the trends, issues and challenges within facilitated recreation and also allows for shared learning for those who lead others.
We are working to intentionally connect employers with potential employees, brands with decision makers, and attendees with fellow trailblazers. We invite seasoned professionals to share their insight and experience with emerging professionals as we all come together to advance the outdoor profession and professional.
The Outdoor Professional Conference strives to empower participant facing outdoor recreation and education providers and facilitators by:
expanding collaboration between the outdoor industry and outdoor recreation and education
offering high quality educational opportunities
building and strengthening professional skills and knowledge
broadening networking opportunities
educating on advocacy and public policy efforts within the industry
amplifying the value and impact of outdoor recreation
Our OPC is co-located with our conference partner, Athletic Business. Attendees have access to not only OPC education, but all of Athletic Business sessions as well! This partnership gives you access to the same great networking opportunities and education you know and love - but also expands opportunities with leadership and management. This provides the opportunity to learn how to grow yourself - and the business of getting outside!
Remove Financial Constraints to Grow the Industry
We can’t offer the conference for free, as that would be perpetuating the cycle of low cost, low value. We offer this conference as an opportunity for outdoor recreation professionals to grow their skill sets and know their worth in the industry. We know how important it is for outdoor professionals to have experiences like attending the OPC where they can use their voice to create change, inspire others, and continue to grow in the industry.
OPC is a valuable experience for all attendees who make the most out of their experience. We need your help to ensure that we can bring every facilitator who wants to be a part of the industry's growth and future. You can help by donating to our scholarship fund — this helps sponsor professionals trip to San Diego to learn from industry experts and connect with fellow trailblazers. Attendees will find plenty of networking opportunities, job opportunities, workshops, and a robust exhibit hall.
Quick Information
Registration
2026 Registration Opening April 1st!
Schedule
Coming Soon!
Hotels
Book your hotel through AB's room block. Click here to to secure your hotel!
"My involvement with the OPC, especially when I was preparing for my presentations, helped me grow professionally and personally in more ways than I thought I'd be able to while still in my undergrad. The mentorship opportunities it gave me and the feedback from the process made me grow and develop into a much stronger professional, even at the beginning of my career."
Em Dahlgren
Team Development Facilitator
Frequently Asked Questions
For attendees, your registration will include:
- AORE Education Sessions
- Networking Sessions & Events
- Athletic Business Keynote
- Exhibit Hall Access & 1:1 Meeting Opportunities
Our pre and post conference workshops will be announced in early Summer!
Yes! We hope to bring back the symposium!
Please check back for updates!
We are excited to offer a wide range of professional development opportunities at our Outdoor Professional Conference! We typically open our call for proposals in February for anyone (members, non-members) to submit and close it at the end of March (6-8 weeks).
Those who submit proposals agree to the following:
- In order to increase access to AORE, the association has always operated with a strong reliance on volunteers and with a lean budget. This means, all presenters and volunteers pay to attend the conference. If accepted, all presenters must register and pay for the attendance at the AORE Outdoor Professional Conference (daily rates are available).
- All presenters understand that they must be willing to present any day of the Conference, during any time slotted under the direction of the Conference Planning Action Team. Efforts will be made to avoid conflicts listed by the presenters at the time of submission.
- All presenters will demonstrate high standards of professional conduct and will not discriminate against participants on the basis of gender, age, socioeconomic or ethnic background, sexual orientation, or disability. As the Lead Presenter, I verify that I have communicated with all other presenters. By Signing below, we acknowledge that, if accepted, our presentation will adhere to the requirements listed above.
Once the proposal window closes, we work with our volunteer review team. Volunteers review multiple proposals and grade each proposal on the follow criteria:
Any identifying information, such as presenter name, was removed during the review process.
- The content is current and of interest to the target audience.
- The topic will and should affect the industry.
- The topic aligns with one or more of the goals and objectives for the conference.
- Organization and Structure
- Easily identifiable goals/outcomes appropriate for the audience.
- Argument/evidence clearly grounded in research and/or experience.
- Acknowledges a range of perspectives, learning preferences, and abilities.
- Clear and logical progression of topics.
- Ability to Inspire Action
- Transferability to a range of settings.
- Clearly articulates practical application strategies in a significant and thorough manner.
- Encourages and motivates audience to achieve more.
- Overall Quality
- Relevance: Original and engaging content.
- Organization: Creative and innovative presentation.
- Inspiration: Promoting growth and excellence.
If you are interested in presenting with AORE with our virtual programming or at our future Outdoor Professional Conferences, please email us at NationalOffice@aore.org.
Yes, absolutely! You can attend AB, MFA and NAYS sessions are free for all AORE attendees.
We are here to serve our members. As we have watched our membership change and grow over the years, we have taken note of how we can best support you. This partnership will give our members access to the same great networking opportunities and education you all know and love — but also expand opportunities with leadership and management. This will give you the opportunity to learn how to grow yourself - and the business of getting outside! Talking about ourselves, to ourselves is not going to advance our work — it is time to spread our wings and fly!
We are joining a 40 year conference with over 2,300 facility and program managers from around the world. These decision-makers come to the AB Show every year to learn new solutions from industry leaders, find new products and services and build community.
Schedule at a Glance
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"Co-hosting with AB provided support that AORE was able to benefit from. The sessions I attended were good and I met new folks and made good connections."
Athletic Business Show 2026
Conference: November 17-19, 2026 | Expo: November 18-19, 2026
Athletic Business, founded in 1977, hosts an annual Conference that averages over 2,000 attendees from all 50 states. The AB Show is the largest comprehensive trade show for athletics, fitness, recreation and military professionals. AORE is proud to their exclusive outdoor recreation partner.
"The sessions were really great! The content the presenters were speaking to was well thought out and current with trends many of us are facing. In addition, the conference rate this year made the conference more obtainable with university budget cuts!"
