MAY/JUNE 2005

Our competition winners have been chosen

With the hopes of highlighting the best and most inspiring projects the recreation industry has to offer, our 2005 innovative facility picks are unveiled. We are proud to showcase these facilities—new or recently renovated, from community centers and universities to health clubs and aquatic complexes, and everything in between—that are helping to set standards of excellence in the recreation community.

Winner Profiles

Paul Derda Recreation Center
Grandview Community Center
Georgia Institute of Technology's Campus Recreation Center
Kern Center at the Milwaukee School of Engineering
Westfield State College's Woodward Athletic Center
Morgan Hill Aquatics Center
Laramie Community Recreation Center
The Keller Pointe Recreation Center
Starpointe Residents Club at Estrella Mountain Ranch
Fort Lupton Community Recreation Center
The Trails Recreation Center
West River Community Center
Sea Lion Aquatic Park
South Montgomery County YMCA at Branch Crossing

Highlight Profiles

South Summit Aquatic and Fitness Center
Rock River Rapids Aquatic Park
Dolphins Cove at Prairie Athletic Club
Milford High School
The University of Alabama Student Recreation Center

Although first impressions count, it is spaces like restrooms and locker rooms that make first impressions last. In today's culture, where concerns like privacy and aesthetics are more important than ever, these intimate areas are expected to do more than just provide a place to change. Find out how the essentials of good design still can be achieved even on a tight budget.

We give you the tools and information to determine if a facility is friendly to all users—and offer tips to make it better, including the latest ADA updates, new design ideas and service examples to improve universal accessibility, indoors and out.

Are you finding your programming stale, static, dull and unable to meet needs of your participants? Have you considered broadening your recreational programs except that your business lacks the necessary facilities? These questions can be answered by expanding your programming outdoors.

To stay vital, recreation and community centers, like any business, always must be on the lookout for fresh ways to serve new groups and specialized populations. Targeting and tailoring programming to an underserved population not only extends a facility's reach into the community but can bolster its bottom line as well.

The birth of a newfound market is always a good thing, and a prime example is new moms.

If you're part of an athletics, physical education, fitness or recreation department, there's a good chance you are affiliated with a facility being constructed or renovated during the course of this year. According to the 2005 Outlook for U.S. Construction Activity, presented by McGraw-Hill Construction, there will be an increase in educational building and continued building of other institutional facilities in 2005.