Articles
Hand Sprayers And Backpacks
Many parks and recreation departments use some type of manual hand sprayers for weed control, pest control, degreasing or other maintenance activities. Are you doing everything possible to ensure
A Ballpark Marriage
Designing a city-owned ballpark is one thing; designing a minor-league ballpark is another. But what happens when a city owns the minor-league park? In this scenario, the architectХs responsibility as
Learning The Ropes
ТCongratulations on your new job of Challenge Course Manager! Your first group of 100 students will be here in seven days. Good luck!У While this may seem like a slight exaggeration, there are some c
The Ins And Outs Of Challenge Course Training
Learning a new skill can be a daunting task--remember learning to tie your shoelaces? I do, it was something I had to concentrate on for a long time. Now, multiply that by a factor of about 100 or
Benefits-Based Staffing
Recruiting and retaining quality seasonal and part-time staff can be a daunting task for any recreation provider. Because programmers are usually focused on providing services to the outside
Q & A - Age Restrictions at Fitness Centers
EditorХs Note: Occasionally, we run across questions posed by Parks & Recreation professionals regarding policies used by others. We suspect our readers may have some of the same questions, so we
The Right Stuff Part 2
In Part 1 last month, it was suggested that typical job-candidate selection methods may not adequately assess a prospective stafferХs internal and external job awareness--that is, the ability to recog
Superintendent Of Youth Sports
IХve been around youth sports for a long time, and to be perfectly honest, there are some things that I just donХt get.HereХs one of them: Why donХt we have superintendents of youth sports in every co
Light The Torch
It is often said that an investment in our children is an investment in the future; in many respects the same can be said for our senior population. With todayХs seniorsХ life expectancy growing every
SMART Pool Operations
Strategy denotes a carefully developed, long-term plan or method of action designed to achieve a winning goal. It makes problems easier to understand and then solve. In aquatic facilities, having a
UV And Ozone Systems
Across the United States, several water recreational facilities are facing class-action lawsuits because their patrons became infected with cryptosporidium. Cryptosporidium is a parasite that is
Staff Training
EditorХs Note: This column, LBWA (Leadership By Wandering Around), is based on the premise that, in order to find out whatХs going on in the field, a parks and rec leader has to leave his or her desk
The Boys Of Summer
I was born in 1960 and have played baseball since I can remember. There were no formalized leagues in the 1970s for kids younger than 9, but we played pickup games every day. Today those games seem