Recreation Services
The Recreation Services Division provides direct leadership and coordination of services to numerous youth and adult sports leagues such as tennis, baseball, basketball, soccer, football, indoor and beach volleyball, kickball and softball, as well as conducts programs in music, swimming, youth sports, summer day camps and special interest activities. Recreation Services manages Lifeguards at City Beaches, the Heroy and Westhill High School pools, and schedules all City Park athletic fields for community based youth/adult sports leagues and tournaments issuing 25,242 field permits annually. The Recreation Services Superintendent leads the City team that organizes the annual Fireworks display which occurred in the summer of 17 at Cummings Park.
In FY 17-18 Stamford Recreation was approved for a lease agreement with Our Lady Star of the Sea School for use of the school as a Recreation Program Center. The school was renamed the Star Center and it has been successfully hosting a variety of youth after school programs, special events, youth and adult evening programs and summer camp since January of 18.
Aquatics
The Learn to Swim program continued in popularity with 445 participants. In the summer we continued to offer a third session of swim lessons due to popular demand. Parent & Child and Adult Swim Lessons offered as well. Lifeguard Certification Classes are held in the winter and spring. The Aquatics team also supervised the four Stamford public beaches, Dorothy Heroy Pool, and the Westhill HS Pool for summer camp participants. In total 45 Aquatics personnel contribute to the safety and instruction of aquatics participants and public swimming. 17-18 Aquatics programs collected $55,782 in annual revenue down $9,189 from FY 16/17’s $64,914. We attribute this to weather cancellations and a yet to be determined downturn in the demand for summer swim lessons.
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Aquatics – At a Glance |
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Learn to Swim Program participants |
445 |
Adult Leagues
We also offer annual Adult Sports Leagues with 223 ASA registered softball teams. Stamford still remains the largest softball league in New England. We offer various Men’s Leagues, Coed Leagues, Industrial Leagues, and Women’s Leagues. Our fall softball league is one of the few fall softball leagues offered in the area. We also hosted twenty-three (23) Competitive National and Local Charity Tournaments throughout the spring/summer.
Our May Laber Fall and Winter Volleyball Leagues host sixty-five (65) teams annually. Our Men’s indoor basketball league had eight (8) teams participate.
Our Spring/Summer Coed Beach Volleyball Leagues were a success as well with eighty-five (85) teams participating and thirty-six (36) teams participate in our Kickball Leagues. Lastly there were thirty-seven (37) teams registered for Men’s Flag Football.
Recreation Administered Adult leagues collected $236,454 in FY 17/18 which was up slightly up from $224,156 in FY 16/17 annual revenue. Total revenue increase in Adult Leagues in 17/18 is $12,298.
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Rec Administered Adult Leagues – At a Glance |
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Registered softball teams |
233 |
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Registered Volleyball teams |
65 |
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Registered Coed Beach Volleyball teams |
85 |
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Registered Kickball teams |
36 |
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Registered Flag Football teams |
37 |
| Men’s Basketball Teams |
8 |
| Tournaments |
23 |
Youth Programming
The summer camp program held one (1) playground program site at Barrett Park , two (2) Activity camps at Stillmeadow and Newfield Schools, and three (3) Day Camps at Davenport, Westover Schools, Heroy Park, and a Pre-School Camp at Roxbury School. Continued activities at all sites varied and included sports, games, crafts, swimming, color wars, camp Olympics, themes, fishing, health programs, reading, camp shows weekly in town and out of town field trips, inter camp play days, and family picnics and an end of camp show at each site. Also scheduled were music programs, health programs, and various entertainment events such as musicians, comedians and even a traveling zoo. Summer camps employ 175 local youth and adults and supervise 1232 children. Summer camps collected $546,233 in FY 16/17 and $ in FY 17/18 $697,621 with the addition of the new Star Center Camp.
We also had sixty six (66) special needs children up from forty eight (48) in FY 16/17 in our summer programs with one on one Para Educators allowing them the ability to participate in all of the camp activities on a daily basis. In all, 3,949 children, up from FY 15/16’s 3,839 participated in our wide variety of summer camps offered this summer.
Special programs included the very popular Birthday Parties, the 18th??Annual Hay Ride with Santa at Cove Island Park and Breakfast with the Easter Bunny.
Pre-school and after school programs for children ages 6 months to 16 years old as well many contracted vendor enrichment programs remain very popular. We also held bus trips for adults, ski trips for teens (16thyear) and our largest Junior Counselor Training class since the program began at eighteen 21 students.
Another popular program is our expanded after school lessons in piano, guitar, voice and violin with 6 violin classes, 4 keyboard classes, 4 piano classes and 2 guitar classes. We also expanded our dance, ballet and fitness programs for children ages 2 – 14; increased the number of children’s technology programs in the science and computer areas and expanded the various arts programs that we offer. We had an increase in special education children participating in our after school and vacation programs with one-on-one Para Educators.
We continue to work with contacted vendors to offer as many programs as possible that are indemand from families and residents. We also offered more bus trips for families to places such as Boston, Philadelphia’s Flower Show, New York as well as Casino trips for residents ages 21 and older.
Youth programs collected $212,551 in FY 17/18 up from FY 16/17’s $201,141 in annual revenue.
| Youth Programming – At a Glance | |
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Summer Playground Camp |
1 |
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Activity Camps |
2 |
| Day Camps |
4 |
| Special Needs Children participating |
66 |
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Recreation – Trends |
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2013-14 |
2014-15 | 2015-16 | 2016-17 | 2017-18 | |
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Learn to Swim program participants |
342 |
177* | 364 | 475 |
445 |
| Children participating in summer camps | 3,475 | 3,545 | 3,794 | 3,839 |
3,949 |
*Number reflects reduced programming due to pool construction at WHS.
