THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, January 18, 1995 TAG: 9501170132
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 18 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY GARY EDWARDS, Correspondent
LENGTH: Medium: 71 lines
IT'S A NEW YEAR. The college bowl games are over, the Christmas tree has been discarded and the leftovers are all gone.
What to do? How about getting in shape? That's right, cable-TV couch potato. Put that clicker down and head to your nearest community recreation center and sign up. For the price of a facility card, you can enjoy unlimited recreational opportunities.
And the price is affordable (cheap, actually). Adults, 18-64, can plunk down 27 bucks for a one-year membership. Cheaper for kids and seniors. Who says there is no good news?
And we're not talking sacrifice. Have you seen these palaces of physical fitness? The newer ones - Great Neck, Bayside and Princess Anne - are state of the art. Kempsville opened in 1977, but it offers a comparable facility and the same programs, as does the Bow Creek center. The five are strategically located in the northeast, northwest, southeast and southwest quadrants of the city.
The Department of Parks and Recreation organizes and supervises programs for all ages and levels of ability, year-round. You can swim, play golf, tennis, basketball, softball, volleyball and racquetball. You can bowl, build muscles and cardiovascular fitness in the weight room and learn to box. You can participate in a number of special events and activities, such as arts and crafts, woodworking and ballroom dancing.
You can work out individually, play on a team or join group activities. For example, the city sponsors an adult summer softball league with more than 200 teams. Basketball teams take to the hardwood during the winter months.
Ken Froberg and David Garson use the Kempsville center facilities several times a week. They have become workout buddies since meeting in the weight room four years ago.
Garson started using the facility in 1981 or '82, he said.
``I think it was $1 back then. Then it went up to $3,'' Garson, 62, said. ``But it's still a great deal. Sometimes, I use the pool table. I use the tennis courts rarely, but the pool and the weight room a lot.''
The price is certainly right, said Froberg, 41, but there are other reasons that he prefers the rec center.
``I'm a happily married man. Some of the private clubs have distractions. They look like dating clubs. And I work with emotionally disturbed children, and that can be dangerous at times. This helps me stay in shape physically and mentally.
``There's a close-knit bunch of guys here.''
More than 200 full-time and twice that many part-time city employees run the recreation facilities and programs.
Susan Walston, director of the Department of Parks and Recreation, said the credit should go to the citizens of the Beach.
``We have the newer facilities because the citizens were willing to pass a bond referendum in 1987 to build them,'' Walston said. ``They decided they were willing to pay more taxes to have quality recreation.''
The bond issue allowed the city to build the centers at Great Neck, Bayside and Princess Anne.
Walston views the role of recreation as twofold:
``To respond to user demand and to expose people to new ideas, programs and activities they may not have heard about, for example, wallyball.
``Recreation is a matter of environment and encouragement.''
Now all you have to do is get up and sign up. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
Photo courtesy of Virginia Beach Department of Parks and Recreation
Mothers get their young children used to water in a rec center
``Water Babies'' class.
by CNB