Contributing towards the Development of Members of Facilities - Assignment Example

Facility Survey Report Introduction Sports and other social activities form an important aspect of every community’s wellbeing. These aspects of the society usually require proactive enhancement and development so that the community can ensure that all its members participate and benefit from them (BGCPPR 1). Towards improving the standards of the facilities within the Colorado area, the El Pomar foundation commissioned my services so that I could survey two of their facilities. The findings of the survey will help in the future administration and the maintenance of service standards. Through the survey, the foundation will also get baseline data, which will help with the audit of the sports and recreational facilities in the area (El Pomar 1). The aims of the audit include improving the capacity of the foundation in providing access to recreation/sports information. The most important information to be collected and communicated to the users of the facilities includes contact information and the condition of the facilities. The other information to be provided, following the information collected, will include the location of the centers, the current and the future usage of the facilities and levels of access – to residents and the visitors of the area. Through the survey, the foundation will identify areas that require development and that will help in the channeling of facility improvement in the future. The survey tour will cover two El Pomar facilities at the Colorado area, namely, the El Pomar youth sports park and the E.A.TuttClub (BGCPPR 1). Following the review of the two facilities, this paper will present a summary of the tour of the centers and discuss the good design. It will also expose poor design features, discuss main lessons learnt through the tour, and note the areas to be changed immediately (El Pomar 1). Summary of the tour El Pomar youth sports park The first facility covered by the survey tour was the El Pomar sports center, which has been in operation for about 13 years. The facility provides mind and body recreational services to the members of the colleges in the area, athletes, and members of the community. The facility is located at 2212 Executive circle, Colorado Springs (El Pomar 1). The website of the El Pomar youth Sports Park is given below: http://www.csyouthsports.org/ The website of the facility offers information on the people working at the facility, the facilities available at the center, the policies and the scheduling of the facility, the facility’s outreach as well as the news and the events of the facility. The website also offers information on the sponsors and the partners of the facility, as well as directions to visitors and contact information – for visitors and those making inquiries over the Internet (El Pomar 1). The manager (operations director) in charge of the facility is Vicki Martin. The operations director has served at the office since 2002, working as the contact person – responsible for games, tournaments, practice scheduling and scrimmage. She works directly with leagues, clubs, parents, coaches and the youths that use the park. She is also responsible for the handling of invoices, accounts receivables, and book keeping (El Pomar 1). The executive manager of the facility is Eric Parthen, who took office in July 2013. Mr. Parthen is a well-established leader and officer, holding more than 17 years of leadership at similar or higher executive posts (El Pomar 1). The E.A.TuttClub is a facility that offers recreation and learning facilities. The facility offers both boys and girls, a fun and relaxing environment for learning, at the huge library, where members can learn all that they want. At the recreation room, the facility offers fooseball, house pool, poly pong tables, carpet ball and air hockey facilities. Other facilities at the center include a computer lab, an art room, a gymnasium and an open play ground with baseball and basketball fields, among other recreational grounds (BGCPPR 1). The facility is located at 1455 South Chelton Rd. Colorado Springs, CO, 80910. The website of the facility is: http://www.bgcppr.org/ea-tutt-club. The names of the manager (director) is Johan Barrios, who has worked in the facility, fostering critical thinking, problem-solving and creativity – in learning and preparing children for the future. Johan Barrios is also working as the site director of the center (BGCPPR 1). Good designs at the two facilities El Pomar youth sports park The Softball/ Baseball fields at the facilities are Olympic standards, capable of handling the sporting activities of younger and older teams (fig. 1-5). The common fence perimeter of the facility starts at 210 feet up to 380 feet. Like other world-class fields, the fields at the facility offer a distance between 60 and 70 feet. This standard is highly acknowledgeable, mainly because the typical distance between the bases for a standard softball field is 60 feet. The pitchers mounds of the fields at the facility are of a standard size, because the distance between the Pitchers Mound and the Home plate accounted for the needs of different groups. The measure of the adult field ranges between the standard dimensions of 35 to 53 feet, and in other cases ranging from 54 to 60 feet. Further, the fields are designed to meet the needs of fast pitch playing, which ranges between 35 and 40 feet (El Pomar 1). The fields met the standards of the grass line, which measures a circumference of 60 feet, within the semi-circle from the rubber (pitchers mound). The dimensions of the catchers area measure the standard 9 feet radius, all around the Home plate area, to the area of the intersection with the foot marking that marks the baselines (El Pomar 1). The coaches’ boxes, like those of Olympic standard fields, were located along the 1st and 3rd baselines, which are in line with the different bases. The box measures 15 feet of length by 3 feet width, which is the standard measure. The infield fence, which protects the fans and the players was set behind the home plate, and the catchers’ box met the standard measure, at about 30 feet behind the home plate. Figure 1: Sketch of the layout of the softball fields at the facility (Drawn by writer using Google sketchup) Figure 2. Sketch of the layout of the baseball fields at the facility (Drawn by writer using Google sketchup) Figure 3. Photo of one of the base/soft ball fields at the facility, during an adult game session (Taken using a camera by writer) Figure 4. Photo of the fence around one of the fields at the facility (Taken using a camera by writer) Figure 5. Photo of a game session held at the facility during the time of the survey (Taken using a camera by writer) The natural grass soccer fields are of standard size, some measure 100 by 70 feet, and others 100 by 80. Fields A, F, G, and H measure 100 by 70 feet. Fields B, C (fig. 6), D, and E measure 100 by 80 feet. Figure 6. Ground capture of field C (Taken using a camera by writer) The Kent Olin field at the facility is of standard design, and is made of synthetic turf. The field measures the standard championship size of 120 by 80 feet. The facility allows players to use sneakers or turf shoes only; players are not allowed to use cleats (El Pomar 1). The good design points of the E.A.TuttClub The facility offers exceptional design features, including those designed for physical and mental activity, as well as those used for formal learning (fig. 7). At the recreation room, the children have access to grounds where they play pool, fooseball, poly pong and carpet ball (fig. 8) (BGCPPR 1). Figure 7. The learning, fun and wild art room (Taken using a camera by writer) Figure 8. Photo of a teacher and members at the recreation room. Some of the recreation facilities at the center are visible at the background (including a pool table) (Captured using a camera by writer) The second area, which is designed exceptionally, is the technology center, where the children access computers (fig. 9). At the center, the children access the facilities required for them to nurture their creative use of IT and computer facilities. At the center, they are taught the skills of sourcing the information from the Internet (BGCPPR 1). Figure 9. A member using one of the computers at the technology room (Captured using a camera by writer) The poor designs at the two facilities El Pomar youth sports park At the El Pomar youth sports park, some design features are poor; the poor features were discovered during the survey tour. One of the poorly designed features at the facility is Kent Olin field, which is made of synthetic turf (fig. 10). Synthetic turf has a limited life-time, requires regular cleaning, can intoxicate the facility and presents safety and health concerns for the users of the facility. Instead of using synthetic turf, the facility should have opted for other construction materials for the fields. Some alternative materials that would be more advantageous for use at the facility include sand infills and mixtures of sand and recycled rubber, which are more durable. Other advantages of using the proposed construction materials include that the restriction against the use of cleat shoes would not be necessary (El Pomar 1). Figure 10. Aerial view of the synthetic turf Kent Olin field (Captured using a camera by writer) The poor design areas at the E.A.TuttClub Following the tour at the E.A.TuttClub, I noticed that the facility did not have a designated and well managed homework club, where children should be monitored – on whether they spend at least 30 minutes working on their homework assignments. Taking into account, the importance of completing homework, which influences their academic and social development, the facility should incorporate a well-stocked and effectively managed homework club. To ensure that the children complete their homework in time, every student should secure a slip from the homework club, which should be verified at other activity areas within the facility (El Pomar 1). Summary of the key lessons from the tour Following the survey tour, major lessons included that, such facilities offer an inviting atmosphere, where community members of different ages can interact with one another, learn from each other, and participate in social development (BGCPPR 1). For example, from the two facilities, the talents of children and youths were developed, which are expected to improve the sociability of the members. Through the work of the different facilities, employment opportunities were made available to the members of the Colorado area, which aided in raising the living standards of the region (El Pomar 1). From the survey, the officials and other educational institutions’ officials reported that the members of the different facilities were more likely to perform better than their peers. That inference proved that the facilities were not an end on their own, but also worked as a means to an end, which improved the wellbeing and the success of the members. Through the activities of the two facilities, it was evident that information and knowledge transfer into and out of the Colorado area was enhanced (BGCPPR 1). That was the case, because the external groups that came to compete with the members of the facilities challenged the members to learn more and to perform better, in different areas. The one thing that need immediate change Following the tour, I identified different shortfalls in the activities of the two facilities. However, taking into account the importance of nurturing the responsibility of young learners, and the contribution it makes in their academic and social development – incorporating a homework club is a higher priority. Therefore, the first area to be changed at the facilities surveyed during the tour would be the designation of a homework club, because it will ensure the academic development of the members of the facility (El Pomar 1). Conclusion Following the tour of the two facilities, irrespective of the different functionalities between El Pomar youth sports park and E.A.TuttClub; the two facilities are contributing towards the development of the members. Taking into account the good design areas, the facilities should enforce their functionality, which will ensure the effectiveness of the facilities. In the areas where the design is bad, the facilities should correct, so that the members and the facilitators can realize the maximum utility of the facilities. Works Cited BGCPPR. E.A.TuttClub. Boys & Girls Club of the Pikes Peak Region, 2013. Web. 23 Sep. 2013. El Pomar. El Pomar Youth Sports Park: Colorado Springs Youth Sports, Inc. El Pomar Youth Sports Park, 2011. Web. 23 Sep. 2013. Read More