Articles
Quidditch And Ultimate
These are not your father’s sports. Or your mom’s, come to think of it, and they’d probably cause extreme confusion for plenty of other generations.
Youth-Sports Administration 101: Preventative Field Maintenance
Whether you own and operate sports facilities or have a user-group agreement, you still have the responsibility to ensure those facilities are safe and last the test of time. Maintaining them properly is the key.
A Legacy Reborn
Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation reopened the iconic American Legion Memorial Stadium (ALMS) with a small ceremony on July 7, 2021. The $40.5-million stadium—located in Charlotte, North Carolina’s center city, on a 9.80-acre site adjacent to the main campus of Central Piedmont Community College—was built during the presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt as part of the Works Progress Administration (WPA) program of the New Deal.
For The Love Of The Game
A tennis court (or a pickleball court, for that matter) is so flat. So rectangular. So symmetrical. It’s easy to think of it as a simple venue that doesn’t need much attention.
Slugging Through Maintenance
As parks administrators—and parents—know all too well, children are plugged into electronic devices and tuned out of “live” action for too many hours in the day. The quintessential childhood experience of running out the back door and spending the day outside has largely disappeared, as have other critical developmental processes: group socialization, physical fitness, competition, and just plain play.
A Refresher Course
In the last 20 years, I have been called countless times to lend advice to an athletic field manager, school custodian, or school board member who wanted a “better” field for the athletes. After a few conversations with similar answers, I realized many people were forgetting the basic steps needed to properly maintain athletic fields.
Field Of Study
The old axiom, “The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence,” might be appropriate for almost any sports field this time of year. With play returning and athletes absolutely determined to make up for lost time, it’s not surprising fields aren’t looking their best.
Painting With Robots
In January 2019, Manatee County (Fla.) moved into the 21st century of field painting with its first GPS, robotic field-painting robot. It was purchased for the Premier Sports Campus (PSC), a 75-acre, natural-turf facility that brings in high-level clients and tournaments, such as U.S. Soccer, the USL Showcase, and the Developmental Academy Showcase, to name a few.
Synthetic Turf
More than 8,000 multi-use, synthetic-turf fields are in play today at North American K-12 schools, colleges, parks, and professional sports stadiums, according to the Synthetic Turf Council. This trend reflects a growing desire to invest in surfaces that are safe for athletes, are durable over time, and require minimal maintenance.
A Wearing Subject
Recreational turf provides for healthy activities and important entertainment value to society. Unlike ornamental turfgrass on residential and commercial properties,
Welcoming Four-Legged Friends
As one of the fastest-growing amenities in municipal parks, dog parks need to feel welcoming and accessible to canines as well as their human counterparts. Here are some recommendations on how to safely offer these facilities:
Weathering Winter
Staff reduction, inclement weather and a decrease in visitor traffic make the winter season a challenging, but ideal, time for park maintenance. Across the country, parks and recreation departments
Major League Maintenance
The city of Goodyear, Ariz., hit a homerun in 2009 with the addition of the Goodyear Park and Recreation Complex. The new facility is the spring training home for two Major League Baseball teams, the
Stretching The Season
In Anchorage, Alaska, where snow and ice pile up for six months or longer, synthetic surfaces are gaining in popularity. These surfaces are expanding recreational
Selecting Sod
Whether you do or don’t believe in global warming, drought conditions are definitely evident after reviewing the U.S. Drought Monitor (www.drought.unl.edu). One way that municipalities and park agencies
Driven By Golf
Ever wonder how far you could hit a golf ball and have an accurate way to measure the distance? Originating in 1976 as part of the PGA Championship, the World Long Drive Association hosts the World Long Drive Championship, which brings together golf’s longest hitters from around the globe.
Bounce Back
Multi-use fields are becoming increasingly popular for parks and recreation departments, high schools and even colleges. Although natural-grass and crumb-rubber synthetic surfaces are often overused,
An Equitable Approach
Milwaukee Recreation—a department of Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS)—is modernizing its outdoor playfield system throughout the city. With the help of experts, such as planning and environmental consultants, award-winning design firms, engineers, qualified internal staff members, and community members, Milwaukee Recreation is transforming the city’s neighborhoods and creating recreational opportunities for all individuals.
For Best Results, Mix It Up
When it comes to spray equipment, mixing products well is critical. This is particularly true for landscape and golf applications that involve products that are not water-soluble, such as granular
Gearing Up
Keeping the growth of grass, weeds and resilient trees at bay or at least under control is a continual battle. Mowers, trimmers and brush cutters all can help in the seemingly daily fight against