Friday continued with a strong mix of research presentations and updates, technology sessions, psychosocial sessions and discussions and several interactive panel discussions on parenting and relationships. Session titles included everything from Preparing for High School and Beyond, Avoiding and Overcoming Burnout, Exercise and Type 1 Diabetes, What You Should Know about DIY Closed Looping, and Navigating Relationships. There were a lot of great sessions and speakers to choose from.

Teens were the first group on the agenda Friday morning with a 7:30 am meeting time for their off-site day at Epcot. As the teen day orange shirts (thank you Dexcom!) congregated in the Veracruz foyer, you could feel the excitement in the air. Held every single year, this special teen day encourages the participants to put into practice all of the things they’ve learned and talked about on Wednesday and Thursday at FFL, in the context of a day at the theme park. Teens are accompanied by their teen program staff, including medical staff, with strict check-in guidelines throughout the day. The teens were free to enjoy the park, to make their own choices about lunches and snacks, and to deal with the additional challenges of heat and excitement.

This year, we had an early morning presentation from JC Aragone and Peter Nerothin sponsored by Tandem Diabetes about Everyday Management Through the Lens of Sport and Adventure. JC is a professional tennis player and shared part of his diagnosis story; Peter is an outdoor adventure guide and spoke about how to prep for adventure and gave resources for incorporating adventure into your life and not letting your T1D stop you from anything.

The Moms' Discussion Group, led by CWD moms Lauren Lanning and Leigh Fickling, had a particularly fun time Friday. Every seat in the ballroom was filled as the moms painted gorgeous wine glasses and shared experiences and support during this afternoon session. Next year’s request: a much bigger room!

The Youth Programming was also in full swing for the day, from 9am-5pm. The Kiddie Kove participants (ages 0-5) had music and dancing, rock painting, exercise with Harold Sanco, and ended the afternoon with movies and rest … definitely needed after a couple of long days! The elementary kids (ages 6-8) enjoyed time in Sports Central, games and craft time. The tweens (9-12) met some of the FFL Special Guests, talked about Food for Life with CDE/Nutritionist Susan Weiner, and had exercise time with Harold Sanco. And, as mentioned above, our teens were off-site at Epcot all day.

This year’s closing keynote was a 4:00 pm presentation by Stacey Simms and Moira McCarthy entitled, “Putting It All Together with Two Dope D-Moms” and was about finding your “Diabetes Tribe” for support. Stacey and Moira drew one of the largest crowds ever for a closing keynote, taking up three of the large Coronado Ballrooms. Families left inspired.

Friday evening there was a social event for everyone! The Young Adults Dinner, sponsored by Omnipod, offered great conversation and a yummy meal to the 18-26 year old group. Family Movie Night, sponsored by Dexcom, drew a big crowd for popcorn and The LEGO Movie 2. Adults with Type 1 and their friends had a DASH-Off, Dance Off sponsored by Omnipod. The evening closed with Dessert and Posters with the Faculty, sponsored by Omnipod. This was an opportunity for participants to meet the faculty and researchers face to face and learn about their work and research. It was a great learning experience for all and offered the opportunity to ask about things presented earlier in the conference. Thanks to everyone who participated in each of these fun events!