Expert choice for recreational sport

There are more opportunities than ever for employment in recreational sport, which means the need to prepare students with a solid foundation of the design, delivery, and management of recreational sport has never been more critical.

Recreational Sport is designed precisely with that need in mind. This text provides a contemporary perspective of recreational sport management, offering a comprehensive picture of recreational sport management for people in or entering all sectors of recreation and leisure, including public, nonprofit, private, and commercial.

We saw a need for broad-based recreational sport programming that reflects the myriad of recreational sport activities and opportunities that are out there, says lead author Robert Barcelona. To meet those increased needs and interests, people need to have an array of programming and management skills in recreational sport.

Barcelona and his coauthors help readers gain those skills in part by simplifying the complicated process of designing and delivering programs in various settings in recreation and leisure services. They present a macrocosm view of recreational sport in communitiesa view that reflects the most current, application-based research in the field.

Their text places recreational sport squarely in the middle of the recreation and leisure curriculum and is supported by the recreational sport core competencies as developed by Barcelona himself. Those competencies are based on what recreational sport managers need to know and be able to do to grow and succeed in the profession, and they connect with the NIRSA recreational sport competencies developed in 2013.

In addition, Recreational Sport offers the following:

Coverage for all age groups and sectors in a range of settings and contexts for recreational sport

International perspectives to offer students great insights into career opportunities

The latest theory, research, and real-world approaches to help both students and professionals who program sports

Case studies of real-world issues in recreational sport and examples of theory-to-practice applications

The text comes with an array of online ancillaries that will prove invaluable to both instructors and students. The instructor guide supports and extends the chapter content and offers numerous ideas for learning activities, projects, and topics for papers. It also supplies chapter summaries, glossary terms, and links to websites that contain information for both instructors and students. The test package has multiple-choice, trueor-false, matching, and shortanswer questions that can interface with learning management systems, and the presentation package offers a visual overview of the material to help students retain the concepts.

In teaching recreational sport for many years, I know that students first need to grasp the big picture of recreational sports, Barcelona says. We deliver that big picture in addition to information on design, delivery, and management that every student needs to know to succeed, regardless of what recreational sport organization he or she is a part of.

That big-picture element, along with the cutting-edge information on program design, delivery, and management,, sets this book apart. In the three parts of the book, students will be able to do the following:

Be grounded in the philosophical concepts that define the field

Learn about the core competencies they need to know to deliver successful programs and events

Gain insights about the settings and contexts where recreational sport happens and learn about key ideas, issues, and career opportunities in the field

Recreational Sport is a textbook critical to students future success in recreational sport management, offering the big-picture view of the field while offering practical guidance in and real-world examples of successful design, delivery, and management of recreational sport programming.

Whether you need to make a case for new, improved, or expanded facilities or just want to see how you stack up against other schools, you'll find the information you need in Space Planning Guidelines for Campus Recreational Sport Facilities.

The book offers the latest research on campus recreational sport facilities. The National Intramural-Recreational Sports Association (NIRSA) contracted the National Research Institute for College Recreational Sports & Wellness to survey experienced campus recreational sport administrators from nearly 200 U.S. and Canadian colleges and universities, asking not only for an inventory of existing facilities but also for opinions on whether those facilities were adequate in meeting the needs of their campuses. Those data were used in developing these space-per-student facility planning guidelines.

Space Planning Guidelines for Campus Recreational Sport Facilities presents the guidelines in a simple chart format so you can quickly and easily find the information that applies to your campus. All of the data are cross-referenced by facility type and total enrollment or school size. Guidelines are given for five facility types:
1. Total indoor space, including court and racket space and locker room space
2. Fitness facilities, including cardio equipment space, free-weight and strength equipment space, group exercise rooms, and multiuse spaces
3. Climbing and outdoor adventure facilities, including climbing walls and trip equipment storage space
4. Aquatic facilities
5. Outdoor sport facilities, including fields and courts

The book also provides a wealth of information that will help you make the most of the guidelines. You'll be given detailed instructions for applying the guidelines and a list of factors to consider when applying the guidelines so that you can be sure that the specific needs of your institution are being met. A companion Web page offers links to current field and court specifications and diagrams from numerous national associations so that you can plan for both indoor and outdoor sport spaces. You'll also find photos from some of the 2008 NIRSA Outstanding Sports Facilities Award winners. These facilities represent some of the best found on campuses today and can provide a starting point for your own facility projects.

Space Planning Guidelines for Campus Recreational Sport Facilities is the perfect resource for anyone beginning the process of planning for new or expanded facilities. Its comprehensive, research-based guidelines will help you ensure that you're adequately planning for the needs of your campus community.

Management of campus recreational sport facilities has expanded in both scope and complexity in the 21st century. Todays state-of-the-art recreation and sport facilities offer high-end amenities for students, faculty, staff, and the surrounding community. Managing these diverse and complicated programs and facilities requires knowledge of operations, client services, and industry standards. Campus Recreational Sports: Managing Employees, Programs, Facilities, and Services addresses the unique skill set and knowledge base required of todays campus recreation and sport facility manager.

This reference offers current and aspiring professionals a comprehensive and practical discussion of campus recreation management. Chapters covering foundational topics of budgeting, marketing, assessment, risk management, and management of personnel, facilities, and services are complemented by current topics in technology, programming, and community building.

Developed by the NIRSA, Campus Recreational Sports offers the latest industry guidelines and best practices based on the knowledge, expertise, and experience of leading campus recreation professionals across the nation. Both current and future professionals can rely on Campus Recreational Sports for guidance in the management of indoor and outdoor recreation and sport facilities.