From tight control over water quality to staff and visitor education, there are many ways to improve the safety of your aquatic facility.

Ensuring members at your fitness facility are engaged in every aspect of wellness also means ensuring they can exercise safely. Here are some steps to build safety in from the ground up.

From safety surfaces to properly designed equipment, there are myriad ways to decrease the likelihood that children will be injured on the playground.

How can you reduce injuries and manage risk at your facility? We talked to experts working at some of the riskiest facilities out there to get their take on best practices.

Facilities looking to make the most of their group fitness offerings can provide a hybrid approach, with some staff-led classes and some classes delivered via a unique offering that can be accessed anytime, anywhere.

A well-designed sport facility is made up of many elements, and ensuring they fit together as a seamless whole requires effective coordination between architects, engineers and the rest of the project's design team.

Whether you're located in a unique climate or your facility is landlocked and suffers from a lack of space, working with the right team will ensure you get the sports field that meets your needs.

Synthetic turf and natural turf have their advantages and disadvantages when used in sports applications. To make the best decision for your facility means carefully considering the options with an eye to your specific needs.

From designing the best programming to attracting and retaining members, the experts have a good handle on how to manage your fitness facility most effectively.

If you manage your concessions and events well, you can create a win-win situation—providing food and fun for your fans, as well as boosting your revenue potential.

Maintenance is one of the cornerstones of playground safety. Learn the basics from some of the industry's leading playground experts.

When it came time to renovate this popular attraction, bright pops of color and creative programming were crucial.

Locker rooms provide myriad functions, from a simple place to lock up belongings to a cozy respite after a hard workout. Where do you begin when making decisions about locker room design and materials?

Going green has gone beyond a simple environmentally friendly maneuver as facilities realize the many financial benefits of conserving energy, water and other resources.

Locker rooms have evolved from bare-bones changing areas into aesthetically pleasing spaces with an almost spa-like atmosphere that provides an air of relaxation and all the amenities members want after a tough workout.

To create an effective dog park, you have to think about the wants and needs of the end user—and that means going beyond the dogs to consider what their owners want, from shade and comfort to safety and more.

If you have water, you have a potential attraction. From low-key campground projects to impressive riverwalks and more, those who have access to water are learning to make the most of it.

A growing number of recreation facilities and organizations have discovered how to tap into the mindset of a new generation of teenagers, who are answering the call to outdoor activity and environmental service with enthusiasm.

College students want many things from their fitness facilities. Balancing their needs and creating spaces for everyone to use and enjoy requires careful attention.

Managing spa water is much simpler when UV treatment is part of your mix. Learn more about how UV works, and how it is a much more effective weapon in the battle against RWIs.

Spraygrounds are obviously here to stay. This feature takes a look at how the market has matured, and how the industry has addressed challenges and raised the bar even higher for these creative play spaces.

The number of climbing gyms in America increased by 10 percent in 2013. At the same time, canopy tours, zip lines and challenge courses are popping up all over. Programming and operations practices have helped spur these exciting facilities to success.

While human intervention is still critical, as swimming pool maintenance becomes more automated, pools also have become safer and more likely to stay in working order regularly.

Whether you are planning to build a new gymnasium or upgrade an older one, the decisions you'll have to make are numerous, but none are more important than choosing the right sports surface.

How do you boost sales at concessions and kiosks while providing patrons an easier way to pay? New payment solutions at this park in Allentown, Pa., makes it simple.

While there are myriad innovations on the market to boost your fitness facility's membership and engagement, sometimes it's smart to go back to basics.

Children just don't play the way they used to. But the good news is that playground designers and park professionals are on the ball, developing new ways to get children outside having fun.

By definition, multipurpose facilities must provide many opportunities for a diverse audience. The most successful begin with smart design strategies that take these myriad needs into account.

Whether it's boosting eco-friendliness or streamlining operations, it is possible to create sports facilities that combine form and function, to ensure they both look beautiful and operate efficiently.

Just as water is essential to life, aquatic facilities provide essential services to the communities where they are built. The most effective designs combine this service with an attention to cost control.

Playgrounds have come so far since the days of slides and swings installed over an asphalt surface. These days, playground design is adapting to more modern needs—getting kids into nature, and getting them moving.

Fitness facilities can encompass a wide range of designs, from bare-bones spaces to resort-like extravagances. Essential to any approach, though, is knowing the facility's audience.

When faced with concerns about indoor air quality, this aquatic facility found some innovative and effective fixes.

Attending college, you learn a lot, but not many students learn all the crucial elements that can turn a lackluster career into a life of accomplishment. Here are some steps to help make a successful career.

When we're talking about recreation centers and sports facilities, we're usually talking about facility design on a grand scale. It can be tricky to find the balance between the imposing nature of such grand facilities and the need to make all feel welcome.

More than 2,200 professionals responded to our call for information about their facility operations. Here, we summarize their responses, including current trends in operations, staffing, programming, construction and much more.

This section breaks survey results down according to region, taking a look at trends in facilities across the country. Learn how facilities in different regions differ.

From waterparks and municipal pools to indoor pools and more, aquatic facilities represent a unique area within the recreation, sports and fitness industry. This section considers trends in facilities that include indoor and outdoor pools, splash play, waterparks and spas.

Parks and recreation organizations report on current trends in their facilities, from construction and amenities to programming and budgets.

Colleges and universities offer a wide range of recreation, sports and fitness options to students, staff and faculty. Learn more about the latest trends on campus.

Schools and school districts continue to fight their way back from the economic downturn. Learn more about the trends affecting school facilities.

This section summarizes the survey results from health, fitness and sports clubs, including new trends in programming and a positive outlook on budgets and memberships.

Nonprofit facilities such as YMCAs, JCCs and Boys & Girls Clubs continue to offer a wide range of amenities and programming. Learn which trends are taking hold at these facilities.

How does your career stack up against your peers? In our annual Salary Survey report, we consider the responses of more than 2,200 professionals to answer questions about salaries, career paths and more.

Keeping an aquatic facility up and running is a complex job. Few facilities manage to operate without subsidizing at least some of their costs. But there are ways to get a bigger bang for your aquatic bucks.

When you want to extend the sports, fun and fitness from three seasons to more, there are simple enclosure solutions that can provide a quick and easy solution.

Adapting an existing space to meet the needs of the basketball program at Dartmouth College creates greater equity among athletes, while requiring clever solutions from the design team.

Designing facilities for college campuses requires careful consideration of the buildings already there. Creating a successful facility means fitting the design to the campus context.

Weight limits for some waterpark rides require smart solutions to ensure staff is able to keep the line moving without creating unnecessary problems.

Many facilities are learning to live with a new normal—operating on tighter budgets. Here, we talk to industry experts on some of the best strategies for managing under the strain.

Welcome to our annual Problem-Solver Idea Book. Packed with scores of ideas, this reference tool was designed to help you tackle your most persistent and universal challenges, covering all the big basic questions. Consider it an industry guidebook of sorts, chock full of straightforward problem-solving tips.

Every year brings new developments in thrills and spills at the waterpark. Here, we explore what waterparks are doing to take their operations to the next level of success.

The right restroom structure can make a big difference in people's perception of your park. In this feature, we take a look at what you need to know to get your restroom up and running quickly and cost-effectively.

LED lights and more cost-effective video displays have transformed run-of-the-mill scoreboards into something patrons will love to watch.

Providing a way for spectators as well as player to get a break from the sun at the ballpark or other types of sports facilities is a smart way to protect everyone's health, and get more out of your facility.

Some municipalities, clubs and other owners don't have the funds for a brand-new natatorium, but with the right design team and the right structure in place, it's not out of reach.

When you outfit your park with a unique amphitheater, you create a beautiful community gathering place that will provide decades of entertainment and fun.

The right shelters or shade structures provide a wide range of benefits to the parks they inhabit, from creating an aesthetically pleasing gathering spot with protection from the sun's UV rays to revenue-generation potential.

Helping a community get fit means providing a range of amenities that enable people to get out and get active. A wide variety of trails—from fitness-inspired to greenways—are cropping up across the nation.

The most beautiful landscapes involve far more than fencing off an area and calling it a park. Careful landscape design leads to parks that successfully gather communities together.

Lighting swimming pools and sports fields has become a lot more economical with the introduction of LEDs. In this feature, we explore some of the newer ideas in sports and pool lighting.

Getting a project off the ground—whether it's a new park and playground or a recreation center—is an exciting time. It's easy to get lost in all the bells and whistles of something new. But it's equally important to plan for the long term, ensuring your team can handle ongoing maintenance requirements.

A 2013 renovation of its Sun Devil Fitness Complexes across four campuses introduced new fitness equipment and software to Arizona State University, driving up traffic by 15 to 20 percent.

How do you transform your 57-year-old recreational sports center? Turn it inside out. That's how the France A. Córdova Recreational Sports Center at Purdue University was transformed in 2013 from a dark box into a bright, modern center.

You can take precautions to guard against a drowning incident in your pool, but those efforts don't protect patrons once they leave. Enter RESPECT, a new drowning prevention program created by the Association of Aquatic Professionals.

You might have a brilliant idea for a custom play space, with support and funding from a community that can't wait to try it out. But how do you ensure your conceived play area will be as safe as can be?

Waterless urinals can have a dramatic impact on the environment, and a facility's bottom line. Learn more about how to shop for the right fit for your restrooms and patrons.

To be truly accessible, playground owners must take a step beyond compliance with ADA to ensure inclusion for children and families of all abilities.

Aquatic therapy programs, special needs programs and others may not be the programming centerpiece that learn-to-swim is, but they can provide a way to get more patrons to the pool and boost revenues.

New innovations in fitness equipment are continually emerging onto the market. Here, we offer readers the latest updates in equipment and provide advice on equipment maintenance.

Taking proper care of grounds in parks, golf courses and similar facilities requires careful, daily attention to details. Here, we cover some of the best practices.

If you want to keep your sports fields in top playing shape, you need to take good care of turf, whether it's natural or synthetic.

The playground at Hope Park in Frisco, Texas, was built to ensure kids with special needs and disabilities had a place to play. But, more importantly, it was also designed so that kids of all abilities could play together.

If you're thinking about building a dog park, you need to take your patrons into consideration. And that means thinking about the needs of people and their pets.

When cloudy water strikes your pool, there are methods you can use—and chemicals you can add to the water—to make things right again.