RECREATING WELL
Get outside and play! By Lisa VonBargen, EVRPD Community Engagement Manager For the Trail-Gazette
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EVRPD / Courtesy photo
The Water Wars series lets kids run through sprinklers, launch water balloons and play on a Slip-N-Slide.
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here are endless research studies that describe the physical, cognitive and emotional benefits of exercising outdoors. With everything going on in our world today, these scientific reasons are more valid than ever before. One of the most important aspects of this is simply the sense of joy that you experience when you’re doing something fun outside. Remember when you were a kid; the feeling of heading out the door on a warm sunny summer morning? Maybe you were going to ride your bike or play ball with some friends. Maybe you were a lucky kid whose family took a trip to Estes Park and you were going on a mountain hike or got to go on a paddleboat on Lake Estes. That’s the feeling we want you to have again, and that’s the reason we are passionate about offering recreational opportunities to our youth and adult populations, both residents and visitors, in Estes Park. Pickle ball is a sport that can be enjoyed by players of all ages. Lauren Pavlish, our Adult Recreation Coordinator, organized a series of pickle ball challenges at the outdoor courts in Stanley Park. Pavlish remarked, “It was tricky to re-vamp our existing plans for a pickle ball tournament series. We put social distancing protocols in place and reduced the number of participants and spectators. Fortunately, we have a loyal
group of players who are making this work and having a great time in the process!” One member of that loyal group is Patty Bartlett, who, with her husband, divides residence between Estes Park and Green Valley, AZ. She described the pickle ball community as friendly competitors who are generous sharing their knowledge of the game with new players. “Once you play pickle ball with a group of people, they are your friends for life! Those of us who travel always bring our paddles and are able to find opportunities to play on websites that feature clinics and court locations around the country”. There’s one pickle ball challenge left this summer on Friday, July 24 from 8 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. at the Stanley Park Pickle Ball Courts. Registration deadline: July 22; sign up at evrpd.com. Putting a youth recreation program together for the summer of social distancing was even more daunting. All camps were cancelled. Things that under normal circumstances would be indoors, such as gymnastics, were moved outside to picnic shelters. Our recreation staff, Nolan Oberg, Lauren Pavlish and “O” Stadnichuck created some very successful programming despite the social distancing challenges. Oberg commented, ”As a dad of 3 young boys during a pandemic, I feel strongly that we especially need to do everything in our power to safely provide recreational opportunities for Estes Park youth. We have had to get creative, see outside, pg. 14
