2026 Conference
The National Collegiate EMS Foundation would like to invite you to our 33rd Annual Conference, to be held on February 20-22, 2026 at the DoubleTree by Hilton Washington, DC-Crystal City in Arlington, VA. Join over 1,100 EMTs and Paramedics from more than 100 colleges and universities across the United States and Canada for three days of education, skills labs, and networking.
Registration | Schedule and Program | Activities | Submit Presentations | Finance | Hotel | Ground Transportation | Sponsors | Questions
Health and Safety
NCEMSF is committed to the safety of its attendees, Conference presenters, and hotel staff. We encourage all participants to take appropriate precautions in order to keep themselves as well as others safe and healthy. If you are not felling well at the time of the Conference, please reconsider your attendance. Hand sanitizer will be available as well as face masks for those wishing to wear.
Registration
Registration for the 2026 Conference will open on December 1st, 2025.
Conference Schedule and Program
The 2026 NCEMSF Conference will run from Friday, February 20, 2026 through Sunday, February 22, 2026. The Conference will include:
- Numerous Workshop Sessions (Friday early evening, all day Saturday, and Sunday morning through early Sunday afternoon)
- Multiple Plenary Sessions
- Academic Poster Session
- Hands-On Skills Labs
To get the most out of the Conference experience, we recommend arriving in the morning or afternoon on Friday, and staying through early evening on Sunday.
During each Workshop Sessions, multiple lecture options will be available. Plenary sessions are a single session held in a large ballroom. Lightning talks will be offered at various times throughout the weekend, overlapping with scheduled workshop sessions.
NCEMSF EMS Skills Classic
The NCEMSF EMS Skills Classic is an annual event allowing Collegiate EMS providers to showcase their patient care, teamwork, and problem-solving abilities. Teams of up to twelve individuals from the same school complete in a variety of scenarios at either the ALS or BLS level. The Skills Classic requires an additional fee per team.
Registration and payment will be available when Conference registration opens in December. Fees increase after January 30th, and on-site registration will only be available if space exists. Learn more at our Skills Classic page.
Activities
Pre-Conference Workshops and Tours
NCEMSF plans to continue its tradition of offering pre-Conference workshops as well as tours. Please check back later in the year for more details. Separate registration and an additional fee may be required.
Alumni Mixer and Social
Each year, NCEMSF hosts an Alumni Mixer and Social, which takes place on the evening of Saturday, February 21, after the conclusion of the Awards Ceremony. Alumni Conference Attendees, along with Conference Presenters, are invited to attend this free event. Refreshments and light hors-d'oeuvres will be provided. Tickets to this event are distributed at Conference check-in to eligible attendees.
Other Conference Activities
NCEMSF Conferences are about more than just learning. They are also an opportunity for networking and socialization with other Collegiate EMS Providers and Leaders. Activities will include a Welcome Social on Friday evening, Group Introductions and Meet-and-Greet on Saturday morning event (which will also include recognition for squad anniversaries and CPR saves), and a Saturday evening social event. All of these activities are included in your Conference registration fee! Check back for more details as the Conference approaches.
Continuing from last year's inaugural offering, the NCEMSF Best Practice session will provide your group with an opportunity to showcase your squad's unique and innovative activities. Selected presenters will have ten minutes to describe their program and answer questions from a panel of experts, who will evaluate the programs and select 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place best practice winners. Learn more and submit your squad's best practice today!
There are also multiple opportunities to celebrate the achievements of your squad and its members. NCEMSF's Awards Program has recognition opportunities for individuals, groups, and activities. MERIT Recognition is a self-evaluative program designed to recognize groups that meet best practices in EMS administration and management. HEARTSafe Campus is a recognition program for groups and schools that have improved the safety of their campuses through CPR education and outreach. EMS Ready Campus is a self-evaluative program designed to promote integration between Collegiate EMS and Emergency Management. NCEMSF also issues recognition certificates for collegiate EMS providers who participated in CPR Saves. More details about each can be found by following the appropriate links. The deadline for receipt of all recognition program nominations and supporting materials will be January 30, 2026.
While at the Conference, take some time to experience Arlington and our nation's capital! More information on local activities will be posted at a later date.
Submit Presentations and Academic Posters
Workshop Session Presentations
Presenter submissions are now available.
A free NCEMSF website account is required to access the portal. Presenters who have submitted abstracts in the past should use their existing NCEMSF account; contact our IT team if you need assistance locating your username or resetting your password.
Presenters will receive further details on logistics and timing of their lectures in February.
Vomacka Student Speaker Competition
Current students are also welcome to enter the Vomacka Student Speaker Competition. This symposium is a chance for student lecturers to showcase their presentation skills and earn bragging rights for their collegiate EMS organization. The competition is judged on a speaker's ability to deliver a relevant high-quality seminar to their peers. Points are awarded based on strength of the submitted abstract, quality of the delivered presentation, and audiovisual materials. More information and submission directions are on our Vomacka page.
All Vomacka submissions will be due Friday, January 2, 2026. NCEMSF will contact those who submitted with additional information.
Academic Poster Session
NCEMSF is pleased to partner with the Journal of Collegiate EMS on our annual Academic Poster Session, featuring original research and case studies in program development/evaluation. Poster authors need not be present at the Conference to be selected, but those who are will have the chance to show their poster in person.
Posters should be submitted through the online abstract system. Please be sure to select Poster Session on the Submission Type to ensure the correct fields are displayed.
All poster submissions will be due Friday, January 16, 2026. JCEMS will contact those who submitted with additional information.
Conference Finance
The NCEMSF Conference remains one of the most affordable EMS conferences in the United States. The registration prices for this year are as follows:
- Early Registration: $115 per person
- Regular Registration: $135 per person
- Late Registration: $150 per person
Prices are the same regardless of whether attendees register individually or use Tokens.
For more information, please see our Fees and Policies page.
Conference registrations can be paid individually or you can use Token codes to pay as a group. NCEMSF accepts credit card/purchasing card payment via PayPal, as well as checks (personal or institutional) and institutional purchase orders. You can find financial documents commonly needed by schools when paying via Purchase Order at our Tax Forms Page. Group payment options are described in more detail on our Fees and Policies page. Please note that NCEMSF will not honor requests that we register ourselves in any institution's vendor systems without charging a separate administrative fee.
For groups who have never attended an NCEMSF Conference, groups that were regular attendees in the past but have not attended in the last several years, or groups experiencing financial hardship, NCEMSF offers a Conference Scholarship Program/New Group Initiative. The deadline for this program is January 2, 2026. Applicants will be notified by NCEMSF of the decision on their application after the program closes.
Conference Logistics
Hotel
The 2026 Conference will be held at the DoubleTree by Hilton Washington, DC-Crystal City, 300 Army Navy Dr, Arlington, VA 22202. Located just minutes from Washington National Airport (DCA), it is ideally situated near tourist attractions, restaurants, and shopping opportunities.
Rooms are available at the NCEMSF special Conference rate of $169 per night plus applicable taxes and fees. Booking instructions will be available soon.
NCEMSF strongly recommends booking at one of the Conference hotels to get the most from the Conference experience. If you encounter any issues with your booking process, please contact confinfo@ncemsf.org prior to booking anywhere else.
Note that hotels may set maximum occupancies per room, and that couches and roll-away beds may not be offered due to availability and/or fire code issues.
Ground Transportation
Airport Shuttle
The DoubleTree offers a free airport shuttle that operates daily from 5am to midnight ET. Contact the hotel for additional details.
Public Transit
The hotel is located less than a mile from three WMATA stops: Pentagon City, Pentagon, and Crystal City. Those flying in from Dulles (IAD) can take the Silver Line to Rosslyn and transfer to the Blue or Yellow lines to get to the hotel.
Taxis and Rideshares
Various private airport shuttle services and shared-ride vans are also available, as are taxis, as described on the DCA and IAD websites.
Parking
Additional information on parking options will be provided at a later date.
Sponsors
NCEMSF offers multiple avenues for companies, organizations, and educational institutions to support the NCEMSF Conference and the Foundation's work as a whole.
On Saturday, February 21, 2026, a vendor and career fair will be held in a prominent area of the hotel. Booths are available to companies marketing products to EMTs and EMS agencies, as well as to medical schools and others looking to recruit. Most of our attendees are current undergraduate students who also serve as EMTs and Paramedics on their college campuses. Many of them hold leadership positions with the groups they represent and are responsible for agency purchases. After graduation, many attendees either continue in EMS, go on to medical school, or complete post-graduate education.
We also offer the ability for sponsorship of specific Conference activities, assisting with one of our ongoing programs, or a named lecture track. For details on becoming a Foundation sponsor and examples of pricing at past events, visit the sponsors section of the website. For more information email sponsor@ncemsf.org.
Questions
Email confinfo@ncemsf.org and a member of our staff will get back with you promptly. You can also check out our Conference Frequently Asked Questions page.
