Creating Covid-19 Friendly Recreation Opportunities for the city of Spokane
Desired project outcomes:
As an administrator working for the City of Spokane Parks and Recreation the biggest challenge faced this year was facing Covid-19. All of our soccer, softball, volleyball and flag football leagues were continuously cancelled and pushed back due to the pandemic. Recreation is important to all ages, it feeds our physical, mental and emotional health. As a servant leader I know It is something our community is in need of as we wade through this pandemic. My main focuses with this project are:
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What sports can we add to our upcoming Spring and Summer seasons that are unique from your typical contact sport but still generate a profit?
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How can we make these Covid-19 friendly and still fun and competitive for all ages?
I will explore these questions thoroughly and create a viable solution with my team that generates profit for Parks and Recreation as well as fun for the people of Spokane!
Project goals and objectives
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Create two-three different sport alternatives to offer in the upcoming Spring/Summer League
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We did create a cornhole league that is Covid- friendly; We need to create an exit survey for players of this league to measure if people would play again, if they have any suggestions, and their overall enjoyment level during the league.
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Create a safe, Covid-friendly environment.
Indicators/Measures of Success
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How many new player registrations we generate?
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Outreach to community (number of likes/shares on social media posts, online registrations vs. mail in)
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Collection of surveys to gain feedback from players.
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Use knowledge from ORGL classes to lead a team to accomplish these goals and execute them (reflect and repeat with any needed alterations).
Project Outcomes (thus far)
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In addition to our Flag Football and Softball leagues we started a corn hole league. It was so popular we added a competitive division to compliment the already present recreation league. The league is now played three nights a week and went from 50 teams last session to 123 teams for the late spring session.
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We conducted exit survey for first session of corn hole with questions focusing on if players had fun, felt safe, and if they would play again. The surveys had a 91% success rate with many teams eager to join the next session.
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We created a Covid-19 response team for players with concerns and feedback. Players could send feedback through and email that is sent to all five members of the group. We meet weekly to make sure we are aligned with the WA State Covid-19 regulations as well as to answer questions and concerns from players, refs and umpires.
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We have created a kickball league that will be available at the end of summer and early fall that is also Covid-19 friendly. This league will have adult divisions as well as a middle/high school division as an activity for Spokane students/adults in the summer. With this league we have applied for grants to provide 10 scholarships to local families facing hardship due to Covid-19. We will continue to conduct exit surveys even beyond the Covid-19 pandemic.
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The final league we have in development is geared towards our seniors. We have created a team to brainstorm and market the idea for an outdoor pickle ball league. This will not be in our activity guides yet as we are still surveying to see the engagement level. Due to the spacing on the court and maximum of four players, it is a Covid-19 friendly activity according to WA State guidelines!
Visit our sit to stay updated on new programs: https://my.spokanecity.org/recreation/sports/
