Parks and Recreation Starts Summer Off With a Splash!

Looking for something to do this summer? The City’s Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities is sure to have an event or program to kickstart your summer along with great activities for everyone in your family!

Beginning on Saturday, June 14, all City pools will be open for City residents. Week day hours are 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. with free swim available from 1 to 4:30 p.m. and adult and family time from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Weekend hours for the outdoor pools are noon to 5 p.m. on Saturdays and 1 to 5 p.m. on Sundays.

On June 16, the USDA Summer Meals for Kids begins serving at more than 140 sites across the City of Richmond, City of Petersburg, Chesterfield, and Hanover counties. The Summer Meals for Kids Program provides children and teens (up to the age of 18) nutritious breakfasts, lunches, and dinners during the summer months.

On Friday June 20, City residents have an opportunity to participate in the World’s Largest Swim Lesson and be a part of history! A 30 minute lesson will teach participants the basics of how to swim will be held at Randolph Pool, 1401 Grayland Avenue, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. No pre-registration is required.

Also on June 20, residents are invited to join the department for the start of the 2014 Movies in the Park Series at Byrd Park beginning at 8 p.m. A full schedule of the movie series is available at http://richmondvirginiaparks.blogspot.com/2014/06/movies-in-park-2014.html.

Monday, June 23 marks the beginning of the department’s youth summer camps and the CarMax Summer League. Both the “Fantasy Island” summer camp for ages 6 to 11 and “Generation Z” teen camp for ages 12 to 14 are full day camps that operate from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. There are also specialty camps such as soccer, tennis, and Lego that are available as half day camps. The CarMax Summer Basketball league games will be held at Pine Camp Community Center, 4901 Old Brook Road, with games being played Monday through Thursday from 6 to 10 p.m.

For more information on all of the events, please call (804) 646-5733 or visit our website at www.richmondgov.com/parks

Children Encouraged to Join Guinness World Record Attempt

City children between the ages of one and 14 are invited to join the Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities and other children at sites around the world to help set a Guinness World Record for the World’s Largest Swimming Lesson™.
All children need to do for a chance at becoming a world record holder is come to the department’s Swansboro Pool at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, June 14, and participate in the swimming lesson which will take place at 11 a.m. (3 p.m. Greenwich Mean Time) simultaneously around the world. The Swansboro Pool is an indoor pool located at 3160 Midlothian Turnpike.
Richmond’s Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities is participating in the global event to help spread the message that swimming lessons can save lives. Drowning is the second largest cause of accidental death among children ages 1 to 14. In addition, research shows that if children don’t learn to swim before the third grade, it is likely that they never will.
“The importance of learning to swim is a message that is critical to us,” said Richmond’s Director of Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities Dr. Norman C. Merrifield. “With the James River serving as a major attraction in Richmond and the department operating 10 swimming pools, it’s extremely important to us that we teach children how to swim as well as provide lessons in water safety.”
Richmond’s fire chief concurs. “Our water rescue teams are involved in numerous rescues every year,” said Chief Robert A. Creecy. “I would encourage every parent to make sure that their children learn to swim and know about water safety.”
The World's Largest Swimming Lesson™ is an event designed by a coalition of the nation’s leading water safety and training organizations to build awareness for and draw attention to the vital importance of teaching children to swim to help prevent drowning. The inaugural event held in 2010 established the Guinness World Record for the largest simultaneous swimming lesson ever and included almost 4,000 participants in 34 states, five countries and three continents. Tragically, the threat of childhood drowning is even greater around the globe.
Thousands worldwide will be participating simultaneously this year in the same 45-minute swimming lesson in the attempt to set a new Guinness World Record. The lesson, developed by a team of leading water safety and swim instruction professionals, will be an easy-to-follow beginner lesson to allow for the broadest participation possible.
Richmond’s Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities will follow up by offering two “Learn to Swim” camps for children this summer. In addition, the department provides swimming lessons year-round on Tuesday and Thursday nights at its indoor Swansboro Pool. For more information or to register for the summer camps, call 646-1126 or 646-1441. To register for lessons at the Swansboro Pool, call 646-8088.
To learn more about the World’s Largest Swimming Lesson™, visit www.wlsl.org. To learn more about the Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities aquatics programs, visit www.RichmondGov.com/parks.