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Fifth and sixth graders participate in a cross-country skiing lesson at Rockford Park District. ROCKFORD'S WINTER ACTIVITIES When snow flies and temperatures plunge toward zero, many Rockford residents heed the call of outdoor sports softball, igloo construction, skiing, and relay races all a part of the unique winter programming of the Rockford Park District. By Robert F. Papich This is the time of the year when many park districts stress wellness and general physical conditioning as cold weather chases many activities inside. Volleyball leagues, basketball programs, slim and trim exercises, and many other excellent programs of this sort are typical indoor winter activities in the Midwest. Many other park districts, however, have come up with some unique ideas to keep activities outdoors. The purpose of this article is to explore some alternative wintertime activities which emphasize an outdoor setting. Snowshoeing, which is an extensive activity in some northern areas of the nation, has become a popular alternative to cross-country and downhill skiing. It is a sport that is easy to teach youngsters. Older persons like it, too, because the risk of a fall and injury is minimal compared to skiing, particularly downhill. Another advantage is that snowshoes are economical. They can be constructed of home-made materials or purchased in a sports store. An outdoor winter activity that has caught on in the Rockford Park District is a 32-team men's "snowball" slow-pitch tournament. Since most of the Park District's ball diamonds are lying under snow at this time of year, we use rubber mats for home plate and the bases. The teams play seven innings with a regular 12-inch softball which has been painted bright orange. The tournament can be single or double elimination, whatever one desires. We play during the daytime on a weekend. We have had no difficulty filling the quota of 32 teams for the tournament. It's great to get people outside to enjoy an activity which supposedly is reserved for summer. Still another activity held in Rockford is our Winter Sports-athon, which is a six-man/woman (or combination) relay race consisting of one ice skater, one runner, one swimmer, one cross-country skier and two tobogganers. The race is a timed event with a team's total elapsed time as the criteria for winning. The event is conducted as follows: The ice skater skates 10 laps on the main rink at the Ice House, hands off his vest to the runner who runs 3/4 of a mile to the YMCA where he/she taps the window at the YMCA to alert the swimmer who then swims 8 lengths (4 laps) of the pool. Following the swimming event, we radio to start the cross-country skier who skis a course laid out over about 1 1/2 miles. His vest is handed off to the tobogganers who push and pull their toboggan to the top of a hill, get on the toboggan and cross the finish line. The variety of skills in this event can be adapted to a park district's facilities and interests. This event gets people outside to both participate in and watch a fun activity. Being open to new ideas and suggestions often pays off for those of us in the recreation field. At the Atwood Outdoor Education Center, where we take children for a 2 1/2 or a 5-day resident program, we strive to create new and exciting activities during the winter months. Other than our educational fare at the Outdoor
Illinois Parks and Recreation 28 January/February 1983
Ed School, we also work in a myriad of recreational type activities. We are involved, recreationally, in developing a low ropes course as well as some teams courses. We also do crosscountry skiing, starting our fourth through sixth grade students at an early age to develop ideas of having fun out-of-doors. Two other activities are tubing and sledding. We are fortunate to have hills around Rockford for this program. Other than the tracking of animals and doing ice borings on the river and perhaps providing opportunities for such activities as ice fishing, winter survival units and outdoor cooking we find that being alert to new ideas often helps us develop new and alternative programs. One such idea came to us out of the blue from a gentleman named Phil Quandt of Snow Spheres Company, Rockford, Illinois. Mr. Quandt came to me and indicated that he would like to make a donation to the Park District of a Winter Imagination Machine. We had never heard of the device. After asking Mr. Quandt to describe the machine, we found out that it is basically used for construction of igloos. The machine uses a molding process to make igloos. Ordinarily, one may think igloos are made by cutting blocks of ice and piling them together. But Mr. Quandt's machine permits igloos to be made in a variety of areas and with ease. With teamwork an igloo can be put up rapidly. Igloos made with the Winter Imagination Machine are 5' high, 9' in diameter, and have 63 1/2 square feet of floor space. We can build igloos in almost all or any types of snow from wet, packing snow, which enables us to put up an igloo in about three hours, to the type of snow that is very fine and powdery, which we have to wet down with water to use. Igloo building is now a special winter mini-unit at the Atwood Outdoor Education Center. The igloos have myriad possibilities for utilization by park districts as well as other groups during wintertime. First of all, it's a good activity to bring people together and teach them to work as a coordinated unit. This is especially true for children learning to work in unison and share responsibilities. The igloo itself, once completed, can provide opportunities for a lot of fun activities for people. We have used our igloos to conduct classes and to allow children to camp out (even when the weather is very very cold outside). Building several igloos, we have connected them with tunnels and in some instances have made a very large room by overlapping the walls of two igloos. We find also that igloos are ideal in areas that have a pond or river which is well frozen and which people like to use for ice fishing. In building an igloo on a pond or lake, one is sheltered from the snow and wind and it's very comfortable inside. After the igloo is completed the fishermen can cut through the ice and fish without any worry or expense involved in bringing firewood or other materials with which to keep warm. Being open to suggestions for out-of-doors activities enables park districts to develop a wellness approach to people's physical as well as psychological fitness, and teach participants to work and live together in harmony. Being outdoors in the wintertime indeed can be a lot of fun and one need not be afraid of cold weather if adequate preparations are made for it. Above all, igloos provide park districts with an alternative recreational activity which can be constructed in many parks and areas all over a community. Igloo making contests could be held for the most beautiful, the largest, the most intricate design, as well as provide opportunities to use an igloo in conducting actual classes or other activities. (Continued on p. 32) ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Robert F. Papich is Recreation Supervisor for the Rockford Park District.
Illinois Parks and Recreation 29 January/February 1983 So, if we are looking for alternatives in winter programming all we have to do is step outside and be alert for new ideas. Cross-country skiing, downhill skiing, ice skating, sledding and tubing are great. But we have learned in our programming at Rockford that such activities as igloo building and utilization of the igloo for classes and camping; the combining of several sports in relay races, and conducting winter softball tournaments can add an exciting dimension to a Park District's overall program. An added bonus: the news media will take note. Illinois Parks and Recreation 32 January/February 1983 |
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