July 2017 - Parks & Recreation - 44

By Roxanne Sutton

S

tuart Brown, founder and president of the National Institute for Play, said
in a 2009 New York Times opinion piece (tinyurl.com/2009NYTPlay) that
" play-deprived adults are often rigid, humorless, inflexible and closed to trying
out new options. " We agree. And, this is just one opinion within scores of
research that validates the importance of play for people of all ages.
That's why, this July, NRPA decided
to focus Park and Recreation Month on
the importance of play. Parks, recreation
and play go hand in hand, and we would
argue that there is no better place to play
than your local park or recreation facility. Parks and recreation is on the front
lines of addressing play inequities by
identifying and finding solutions to problems like play deserts, lack of recreation
opportunities and more.
To highlight the importance of play
during Park and Recreation Month and
to encourage the general public to seek
out more play at their local parks and
recreation, NRPA released an infographic demonstrating the power of play. You
can find the infographic on page 45 as
well as online at www.nrpa.org/july.

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Parks & Recreation

So, no matter how you get your play on,
we encourage you to invite others to join
in. By inviting others to climb, groove,
throw, bike or swim, you're inviting them
to lead a healthier, more fulfilling life.
Extreme Play
For the past three years, NRPA has hosted a
cover photo contest, soliciting the best photos from around the field, narrowing them
down to about a dozen finalists and putting
them to a public vote. This year, we were
thrilled with the winner as it's a perfect representation of the importance of play.
Submitted by the City of Rock Hill Parks,
Recreation and Tourism Department in
South Carolina, the cover photo features a
national BMX race from April 2016 at its
facility. The City of Rockhill Parks, Rec-

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reation and Tourism Department owns,
operates and maintains the Novant Health
BMX Supercross Track, which opened its
doors in 2014. The facility is the first Olympic-caliber BMX training facility that's open
to the general public on the East Coast.
Rock Hill was inspired to open such
a facility in order to grow its amateur
sports venues, which it has been developing since the mid-1980s.
" Constructing outdoor recreation facilities to include a world-class BMX Supercross Track and other cycling venues was
part of a larger vision set forth by our mayor, city council and city management in an
effort to expand the city's already successful amateur sports tourism niche beyond
traditional sports like soccer, softball, baseball, tennis, etc., " says Laurie Helms, marketing coordinator for the City of Rock
Hill Parks, Recreation and Tourism.
By hosting state, regional and national
sports competitions, Rock Hill's amateur
sports venues bring in millions of dollars
to the local economy annually.
July 2017 - Parks & Recreation

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