January 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 24

EQUITY
Park and recreation professionals should
center equity-based best practices in their
youth sports programs, facilities and policies
to ensure all children have access to a safe
and welcoming youth sports experience.
Creating Awareness About
Youth Sports Equity
By Teresa Morrissey and Rachel Banner
A
24 Parks & Recreation |
t NRPA, we've spent the past year researching the youth sports
landscape to learn ways we can support park and recreation
professionals as they ensure that all kids have a fun, safe place
to play sports - a place where they feel like they belong.
The research was clear that when children play sports, they increase their
chances to grow up healthy; feel good about themselves; build friendships;
develop skills like teamwork, kindness and respect; and are more likely to
succeed in school and in their future careers.
At the culmination of our research,
NRPA developed goals and principles
that guide how we collaborate with
park and recreation professionals to
ensure all youth have the opportunity,
motivation and access to play sports
(tinyurl.com/475vzyvp). Because
park and recreation professionals
are community leaders experienced
in working with youth, parents and
partners to deliver youth sports,
NRPA looks forward to working
together to increase youth sports
equity at park and recreation agencies,
ultimately creating conditions that
welcome all youth into sports and
provide community-wide access to
youth sports opportunities that are
safe, fun and affordable.
Centering Equity in
Local Youth Sports
This fall, NRPA transitioned into
its first year of action. We started by
J ANUAR Y 2 0 22 | PARK S ANDRECRE AT ION . OR G
selecting 16 communities to serve
as leaders in NRPA's Youth Sports
Strategy - providing grant funding
to these park and recreation agencies
to test approaches that increase
youth sports equity. As we read
grant applications, we found the
following excerpt from a letter written
by a little leaguer to Mayor Jane
Castor in Tampa, Florida:
I've been playing softball for four
years and recently noticed a problem.
My home little league...only has ONE
softball field and at least FOUR baseball
fields. I understand baseball was
invented first, but softball needs a little
more attention. I am aware boys
usually play more sports, but it's not
the [1800s] anymore. Girls are starting
to play sports now, in particular
softball. At softball, some of my practices
have been getting cancelled because
there's a [baseball] game taking
place on the field and there's nowhere
else for the game to go. I'm writing to
you to get more softball fields EVERYWHERE...
http://www.tinyurl.com/475vzyvp

January 2022 - Parks & Recreation

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of January 2022 - Parks & Recreation

January 2022 - Parks & Recreation - Intro
January 2022 - Parks & Recreation - Cover1
January 2022 - Parks & Recreation - Cover2
January 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 1
January 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 2
January 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 3
January 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 4
January 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 5
January 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 6
January 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 7
January 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 8
January 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 9
January 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 10
January 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 11
January 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 12
January 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 13
January 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 14
January 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 15
January 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 16
January 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 17
January 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 18
January 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 19
January 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 20
January 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 21
January 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 22
January 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 23
January 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 24
January 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 25
January 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 26
January 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 27
January 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 28
January 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 29
January 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 30
January 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 31
January 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 32
January 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 33
January 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 34
January 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 35
January 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 36
January 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 37
January 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 38
January 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 39
January 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 40
January 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 41
January 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 42
January 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 43
January 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 44
January 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 45
January 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 46
January 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 47
January 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 48
January 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 49
January 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 50
January 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 51
January 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 52
January 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 53
January 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 54
January 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 55
January 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 56
January 2022 - Parks & Recreation - Cover3
January 2022 - Parks & Recreation - Cover4
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/september-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/august-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/july-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/june-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/may-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/april-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/march-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/february-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/january-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/december-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/november-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/october-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/september-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/august-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/july-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/june-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/may-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/april-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/march-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/february-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/january-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/december-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/november-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/october-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/september-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/august-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/july-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/june-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/may-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/april-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/march-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/february-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/january-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/december-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/november-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/october-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/september-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/august-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/july-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/june-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/may-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/april-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/march-2021
https://www.nxtbookmedia.com