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M E M O / N O T E D E S E R V I C E |
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M E M O / N O T E D E S E R V I C E |
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To / Destinataire |
Mayor and Members of Council / Maire et
membres du Conseil |
File/N° de
fichier: ACS2004-PEO-COM-0003 |
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From /
Expéditeur |
Jocelyne St Jean,
General Manager / Directrice générale People services
Department Services au
citoyens |
Contact /
Personne-ressource : Aaron Burry Director of Community
Services Branch / Directeur des services communautaires 580-2424 ext. 23666,
Aaron.Burry@ottawa.ca |
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Subject / Objet |
Seasonal
Programs Post-Season Report on Summer Camps, Wading Pools & Beaches 2003
/ Rapport d’après-saison sur les programmes saisonniers de 2003 des camps
d’été, des pataugeoires et des plages |
Date: January 2, 2004 2 janvier, 2004 |
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This memo profiles the delivery of People Services 2003 summer programs including Summer Camps, Beaches, Wading Pools and Outdoor Pools.
BACKGROUND
Every summer the City of Ottawa offers a wide array of summer programs for children and youth designed to develop leadership and social skills, and encourage physical activity. In addition, the City provides a safe and fun environment for families at our 3 beaches, 59 wading pools and 9 outdoor pools.
information previously distributed
to be listed on health, recreation and social services committee
agenda 3 |
information distribuée antérieurement
à inscrire à l’ordre du jour 3 du comité de la santé, des loisirs et
des services sociaux – le 19 fÉvrier
2004
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The City offers over 1,400 different summer camp programs that cater to all ages, from preschool, to children, to youth. Many City camps were designed to be participatory and to provide basic skill development in a variety of areas. The City of Ottawa also offered a wide variety of specialty camps focusing on skills such as martial arts, drama, dance, science, horseback riding, computers and robotics, skateboarding and movie making. The City’s sports camps, which continue to be our most popular camps, offer introductory skill development in most sports, and advanced skill development in selected sports such as hockey, basketball, baseball, and tennis. Rural summer camp programs saw continued growth in the summer of 2003, especially in areas such as Osgoode/Manotick, Carp, Kinburn, and Fitzroy Harbour.
During the summer of 2003, the City of Ottawa once again operated programs at Mooney’s Bay, Westboro and Britannia beaches. Operations at the three sites focused on providing an enjoyable venue for supervised swimming. There were also organized beach activities such as beach volleyball, public education on water safety, and special events.
The Wading Pool program offered activities, special events, and supervised swimming at 59 sites across the City. This program benefited thousands of young children and dozens of communities across the city through introduction to water play, social interaction, arts and crafts, low organized sports and games, and community special events.
The City of Ottawa operated 9 outdoor pools in 2003. These pools provided a mix of public swimming (adult, senior and children/families), structured swimming lessons (group and private), aqua fitness classes, lifesaving and leadership courses, and special events.
Between January and June, the City conducts its Summer Student Employment campaign. Students can apply online to a variety of summer jobs in recreation with the City of Ottawa including positions as lifeguards, swimming instructors, day camp counsellors, and park programmers. Applicants go through a rigorous interview and screening process where they must demonstrate maturity, commitment and enthusiasm. Once hired, staff are trained in a variety of areas including First Aid and CPR, High-Five (child development), Health and Safety, child abuse awareness, sun sense, public relations, and emergency response. In 2003, Community Services received approximately 17,000 applications for summer employment, and hired 1,495 students to work in a variety of recreation positions, including:
· Summer Camps - 532 students as counsellors, coordinators and instructors.
· Beaches - 25 lifeguards, 3 beach volleyball staff, and 7 beach operational support staff.
· Wading Pools - 400 students in full-time and part-time positions as park programmers and park supervisors.
· Outdoor Pools - 106 students as lifeguards and instructors.
Summer Camps – Operated from the end of June until August 29th. Program start dates were unique to each program.
Beaches - Open 7 days per week for a total of 72 days over the summer, from Saturday June 14 to Sunday, August 24. Supervision was provided from Monday to Friday from noon until 7:00 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday from 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Few disruptions to beach operations occurred as a result of water quality issues in the summer of 2003. Mooney’s Bay was not closed at all, while Britannia was closed for 9 days and Westboro for 11 days as a precaution after a rainfall or because of elevated bacteria counts.
Wading Pools – Consisted of 61 days beginning with
preseason openings on June 21st and continuing until August 28th.
Outdoor Pools - Open between June 22nd and
August 30th. Hours of
operation were unique to each site.
Summer Camps - Over 22,300 children and youth participated in more than 1,400 summer camp programs at 85 different facilities in the summer of 2003.
Beaches – A total of 445,635 visits were made to the three Ottawa public beaches in the summer of 2003. (Mooney’s = 308,045 visits, Britannia = 85,045 visits, Westboro = 51,871 visits). These attendance numbers represent a 1% decrease from the previous year. In addition, the popular co-ed beach volleyball league was offered at Mooney’s Bay and Britannia. The league consisted of 44 competitive teams, and 90 recreational teams. In addition, 143 teams participated in the Women’s league at Mooney’s Bay.
Wading Pools – A total of 512,274 visits were made to
City wading pools in the summer of 2003.
This total represented a 2.5% increase over the previous year. In addition, more than 10,000 people
attended the 60 special events held at wading pool sites throughout the summer.
Outdoor Pools – A total of 131,517 visits were made for public swim programming at the City’s outdoor pools in the summer of 2003. In addition, a total of 3,311 registrations were made for various aquatic programs.
Summer staff are trained to provide a wide range of assistance to the public, from public relations, to minor first-aid, to boat rescues.
Beaches -
Lifeguards at the City’s three beaches responded to a total of 221 situations
where members of the public required assistance.
Wading Pools - Staff at the City’s 59 wading pools responded to a total of 432 situations where members of the public required assistance.
Outdoor Pools – Staff at the City’s 9 outdoor pools responded to a total of 147 situations where members of the public required assistance.
Weather
Wading pools and outdoor pools were closed for 5 days due to inclement weather in the summer of 2003, rather than the average of 8 days from previous years.
Sponsorship is vital to the success of the City’s summer recreation programming. Major sponsors for the summer of 2003 included Surgenor Truck Rental, Bell Mobility, Tim Horton’s, Cognos, Humpty Dumpty, Koolaid, and Sirius Consulting Group. In addition, numerous community based businesses donated prizes and supplies for special events. Highlights included six major events offered in partnership with the Arts & Culture Division, and a new Play Day grant partnership with Sunlight and The Canadian Parks and Recreation Association.
Power Outage
The City’s beaches, wading pools, and outdoor pools played an important role in our emergency strategy during the power outage in August. While indoor swimming pools had to be closed to conserve energy, beaches, wading pools, and outdoor pools remained open in order to provide the public with relief from the hot weather.
During the August blackout, day camp staff pulled together to minimize the impact on summer camp programs. Through creativity and resourcefulness, staff was able to provide many services despite power blackouts and a week of energy conservation. Of the 92 camps offered that week, 62 ran as scheduled, 16 were relocated to alternate facilities, and only 14 had to be cancelled. Refunds and credits for parents were arranged and finalized within 3 weeks of the blackout.
In August 2003, a team of 9 City of Ottawa beach lifeguards competed in the Provincial and National Waterfront Competitions held at Wasaga Beach near Barry, Ontario. They took home medals in eight events at the provincial level, and two events at the national level.