January 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 25

While the letter's plea is a stark
reminder that not all youth have
equitable access to youth sports, it
also illuminates ways we can work
to level the playing field. But we
must first acknowledge that sports
were not always open to everyone.
For example, it wasn't until the 1964
Civil Rights Act that people of color
were allowed to use all recreational
facilities and that mixed race sports
teams were protected under law.
Park and recreation professionals
in Tampa took the letter as a call to
action. After assessing field distribution
and availability by demographic
and neighborhood characteristics,
they found that only five of the
city's 39 little league ballfields are
playable for softball. Over the next
year, the city of Tampa will begin
converting several baseball fields to
accommodate softball play as part
of its goals to reduce gender disparities
in sports citywide.
Attracting Families to Your
Youth Sports Programs
NRPA seeks to build awareness
around the role of park and recreation
professionals
in
building
youth sports equity. Over the past
year, we heard that park and recreation
agencies deliver affordable,
close-to-home sports options that
emphasize the long-term, healthy
development of children. Yet, we
found that in many communities,
one of the largest barriers to play
was quite simple: families aren't
always aware of the youth sports
options available at their park and
recreation agency.
Quality, community-based sports
have become critical during the recovery
from the pandemic. This
gives park and recreation agencies
an opportunity to market their offerings
since parents desire more
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25
local and affordable options. For
this reason, NRPA's first step to
supporting park and recreation professionals
as they build relationships
with families in their communities
is the Youth Sports Communications
Toolkit (nrpa.org/YouthSports
CommunicationsToolkit).
Extensive research surrounding
family values in youth sports serves
as the basis for toolkit messaging.
When testing the toolkit messaging
with parents and caregivers via focus
groups and surveys, nearly all
families reported they would be
more likely to register their child
for park and recreation sports after
exposure to the messages.
The free toolkit includes sample
outreach copy for email, newsletter
and social media promotion, along
with a series of customizable graphics.
Agencies can add their logo,
URL and specific sports offerings to
tailor the assets to their community.
Park and recreation professionals
across the country are working to
develop more equitable access to
youth sports and play opportunities
for all. As leaders in communities, it
is essential that park and recreation
professionals 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. We encourage you
to join us as we build a collective
movement toward youth
equity.
sports
Teresa Morrissey is NRPA's Program Manager, Park
Access (tmorrissey@nrpa.org). Rachel Banner is NRPA's
Director of Park Access (rbanner@nrpa.org).
Contract # 081721-PRM
http://www.nrpa.org/YouthSportsCommunicationsToolkit http://www.nrpa.org/YouthSportsCommunicationsToolkit https://www.publicrestroomcompany.com
January 2022 - Parks & Recreation

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