Top COVID-19 Strategies for Recreation Centers
U By Greg Intermaggio Upcivic
26
pcivic interviewed park and recreation agencies nationwide to learn how top recreation centers are thriving despite the pandemic. In the following pages we share what we learned. During this period of extraordinary uncertainty, it has become incredibly difficult to orchestrate successful recreation programs. Health orders are constantly changing and are often in conflict at the city, county, and state level. Parents send mixed messages about what their families need. City budgets, meanwhile, are shrinking dramatically as governments reallocate funds to pandemic relief efforts. In summer 2020, many cities permitted recreation centers to hold summer camps, but only with extensive measures in place to protect participants. Some of these measures were relatively easy to implement, such as daily symptom checks and frequent hand washing. Others, such as maintaining a stable group of campers for 3+ weeks, made it impossible to move forward with camp schedules that had already been marketed. Top-performing recreation centers rapidly collaborated with their contract instructors, adjusting their programs to match local health orders. Slower-moving recreation centers were forced to cancel their summers completely. So what can you do to maximize your impact despite the challenges of the day? Here are our top tips: WINTER 2021 • CALIFORNIA PARKS & RECREATION
