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©2008. Nautilus, Inc. All rights reserved. Nautilus, the Nautilus logo, StairMaster, the StairMaster logo, and StepMill are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Nautilus, Inc. 

Nautilus, Inc., World Headquarters, 16400 SE Nautilus Drive, Vancouver, WA 98683 1-800-NAUTILUS www.nautilus.com

The workout 

your members 

love to hate 

just got better. 

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For 25 years, the StairMaster ® StepMill ® has 

been called the toughest workout in the gym. 

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for members (and our own employees) who 

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StairMaster ® StepMill ® and StairClimber, and 

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©2008. Nautilus, Inc. All rights reserved. Nautilus, the Nautilus logo, StairMaster, the StairMaster logo, and StepMill are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Nautilus, Inc. 

Nautilus, Inc., World Headquarters, 16400 SE Nautilus Drive, Vancouver, WA 98683 1-800-NAUTILUS www.nautilus.com

APR2008 

VOLUME 32 • NUMBER 4 

COVERSTORY 

FACILITY DESIGN 

52 Roof 

Positive 

BY ANDREW COHEN 

Common sense drives the details 

when sports fields, courts and tracks 

are placed on top of buildings and 

parking structures. 

38 

60 

84 

▲ 

Athletic Business 

FEATURES 

COLLEGE RECREATION 

38 Environmental Education 

BY PAUL STEINBACH 

Campus recreation departments are playing a lead role in promoting 

green facility operations. 

FACILITY PLANNING & OPERATIONS 

60 Objection! 


Industry standards can improve the delivery of service and protect the 

health of consumers. Now, if only industry professionals and the courts 

could agree on what constitutes a standard. 

EQUIPMENT & COMPONENTS 

84 Hot Topic 

BY MICHAEL POPKE 

As facility operators prep for another sun-drenched summer, some light may 

need to be shed on the subject of shade. 

PURCHASINGGUIDE 

68 A Step Further 


Manufacturers have gone beyond codes in attempts to enhance 

bleacher safety. 

Plus: Gym and Arena Components 

ATHLETICBUSINESS.COM APRIL 2008 ATHLETIC BUSINESS 7

GAMEON 

94 

102 

14 

Is This Seat Taken? 

BY THE EDITORS 

Plus: The Score, Reaction, Media 

Room, One on One, Management, 

Extra Points 

28 

30 

New & Improved 

The latest in product innovation 

Sports Law 

BY JOHN T. WOLOHAN 

An injured athlete is unable to prove 

that her coaches’ mistreatment 

transcends negligence. 

DEPARTMENTS 

50 The Short List: Climbing Walls 

106 Product Index 

107 Advertisers Index 

119 Forward Progress 

120 Professional Directory 

122 Design Details 

8 ATHLETIC BUSINESS APRIL 2008 ATHLETICBUSINESS.COM 

14 

THEFIELD 

122 

94 

College Sports 


The nuanced culture of athletics 

brings both leeway and landmines to 

the discussion of sexual harassment. 

102 

High School Sports 


Massachusetts lawmakers hope a 

proposed bill will help student-athletes 

behave better on and off the field. 

108 Recreation 

BY NICHOLAS BROWN 

Two California communities look to 

their pasts as they try to meet current 

recreation needs. 

112 Military 


Keeping the extended military family 

fit includes serving those who no 

longer serve. 

COVER PHOTO COURTESY OF 

THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, 

BERKELEY 

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Editorial 

Advisory Board 

BERNIE ASBELL 

President, Asbell Sport Management 

Surrey, B.C. 

KEN BALLARD 

Principal, Ballard*King & Associates 

Highlands Ranch, Colo. 

CRAIG BOGAR 

Assistant Dean for Student Services 

United States Sports Academy 

Daphne, Ala. 

GORD BULLOCK 

Athletic Centre Coordinator, Havergal College 

Toronto, Ont. 

WILLIAM F. CANNING 

Director, Recreational Sports 

University of Michigan 

RICK CARO 

President, Management Vision 

New York, N.Y. 

SCOTT A. CHOVANEC 

Chairman, Department of Physical Education 

Maine East High School 

Park Ridge, Ill. 

DIANE GUSE DAHLMANN 

Director of Recreation, Services & Facilities 

University of Missouri 

JANIS K. DOLESCHAL 

Legal Consultant, Pierski & Gray LLP 

Milwaukee, Wis. 

FRED ENGH 

President and CEO 

National Alliance for Youth Sports 

KATHLEEN HATCH 

Executive Director 

University Recreation & Student Union 

Washington State University 

KEVIN HATCHER 

Director of Athletics 

California State University, San Bernardino 

DAVID HOCH 

Athletic Director, Loch Raven High School 

Baltimore, Md. 

ROBERT KANABY 

Executive Director, National Federation of 

State High School Associations 

Indianapolis, Ind. 

JOHN LAWRENCE 

Assistant General Manager 

Livermore (Calif.) Area Recreation & Park District 

LEE MCELROY 

Athletic Director, University at Albany 

CHRIS MOLER 

Owner, STAAR Solutions 

Oklahoma City, Okla. 

JOHN PAINE 

Director of Recreational Facilities 

University of Wisconsin-Madison 

KELLY POWELL 

Branch Head, Mission Essential Activities 

U.S. Navy 

GARY RISTOW 

Recreation Services Manager, Parks and Recreation 

Columbia, Mo. 

JOHN ROBERTS 

Executive Director, Michigan High School 

Athletic Association 

DAN SCHOFIELD 

Deputy Director of Services, Peterson Air Force Base 

SUSAN TRAUTMAN 

Director of Parks and Recreation 

City of Des Peres, Mo. 

JAN VAN DER SANDEN 

Recreation Program and Facility Supervisor 

Margaret W. Carpenter Recreation Center 

City of Thornton, Colo. 

JOHN WOLOHAN 

Associate Professor of Sports Law, Ithaca College 

DEBORAH YOW 

Athletic Director, University of Maryland

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THE 

INDUSTRY 

ILLUSTRATION BY JAMES HUNGASKI/HUNGASKIILLUSTRATION.COM 

Is This Seat Taken? 

Imagine your stadium 

bleachers in a faraway 

land. It usually starts something 

like this: 

Residents in Thurston 

County, Wash., awoke one 

morning last April to news 

that bleachers that could 

accommodate 100 people were 

missing from a municipal 

playground complex. In 

October, state police arrested 

a man who’d reportedly 

stolen 40 sections of new 

aluminum bleachers from 

the Oregon State University 

softball field. Anne Arundel 

County, Md., police reported 

bleacher thefts at five parks 

in four days leading up to last 

Christmas. Fourteen thousand 

dollars’ worth of bleachers 

that represented a community 

park revitalization were gutted 

one night in Washington, 

D.C. Fifteen-by-27-foot 

bleacher sections were lifted 

from an Akron, Ohio, high 


school football stadium. 

The list goes on. 

The widespread theft of 

aluminum bleachers among 

other aluminum, steel and 

copper objects nationwide 

is being attributed to 

dramatic spikes in prices 

for raw metals over the 

past few years — a partial 

result, at least, of building 

booms in countries such as 

China and India. (As of 

March 1, raw aluminum was 

fetching about $1.28 per 

pound stateside.) 

“We are seeing a lot of 

bleacher thefts,” says Bruce 

Savage, vice president of the 

Institute of Scrap Recycling 

Industries, a nonprofit 

organization that represents 

more than 1,000 scrap-metal 

processing companies 

nationwide. “The prices for 

the actual commodities have 

just skyrocketed and it’s 

making thieves target all

kinds of things that you 

wouldn’t think of as targets.” 

The bleacher heist is fairly 

routine — you need some 

tools and some wheels. 

“They had to have loaded 

up a truck with it,” Akron 

police lieutenant Rick 

Edwards concluded in an 

October interview with the 

Cleveland Plain-Dealer after 

$10,000 worth of bleachers 

were pilfered from a high 

school football stadium. 

“They weren’t carrying that 

stuff away.” 

From there, says Savage, 

the bleachers are often cut 

into smaller pieces, and 

mixed with other metals 

and recycleable material to 

create what looks to be 

legitimate construction 

debris. “If bleachers were 

brought into a scrap yard, 

they’d be pretty identifiable,” 

says Savage. “But once they 

mix it up with other materials, 

it becomes something that’s 

not going to raise a lot of 

suspicions.” 

In an effort to curb metal 

theft, ISRI has partnered 

with the National Crime 

Prevention Council to create 

a nationwide network (found 

at isri.org/theftalert), so that 

when bleacher owners report 

a theft, scrap dealers are 

alerted with descriptions of 

the stolen goods and other 

pertinent details. For what 

it’s worth, most state governments 

have recognized the 

severity of the problem of 

illegal scrap dealing, and 

have either enacted or are 

considering legislation that 

requires metal buyers to 

}CHURCHANDSKATE 

For one arena this winter, “See a need and fill it,” that 

old axiom of business, translated to “See an empty 

rink and try to fill it.” Stung by the 2006 loss of its anchor 

tenant, the minor league Roanoke Valley Vipers, the 

Roanoke (Va.) Civic Center attracted a certain class of 

recreational skater to its ice sheet during four normally 

sleepy Sunday afternoons with “Blessed Blades,” a 

program inviting churchgoing families to enjoy skating 

to religious-themed music provided by a local Christian 

radio station. The idea seemed to be gaining disciples 

as the program went on — fewer than 50 the first 

week, to as many as 75 the second and 130 the third. 

As Curtis Bayer, a youth leader who had shepherded a 

flock of 24 skaters from Sandy Ridge Baptist Church 

in Rocky Mount, told The Roanoke Times, “We like to 

come out for things that support Jesus.” 

— Andrew Cohen 

THESCORE 

ATHLETICBUSINESS.COM APRIL 2008 ATHLETIC BUSINESS 15 

PHOTOS BY ERIC BRADY, COURTESY OF THE ROANOKE TIMES 

37 

Average percentage drop in local 

television viewership of NHL 

hockey games featuring Atlanta, 

Dallas, Tampa Bay and Phoenix 

76 

Average percentage rise in local 

television viewership of NHL 

hockey games featuring Detroit, 

St. Louis and Minnesota 

6,700 

Hotel room nights attributed to 

the NHL All-Star Game, held in 

Atlanta on Jan. 27 

25,000 

Hotel room nights attributed to 

the International Poultry Expo, 

held in Atlanta the previous week 

230 

Price, in dollars, of one pair of 

Michael Jordan’s 23rd edition 

Nike Air Jordan basketball shoes, 

with only 23 pairs available for 

sale in each of 23 locations 

nationwide Jan. 25 

7.99 

Clearance price, in dollars, 

of one pair of Stephon Marbury’s 

Starbury basketball shoes in 

most Steve & Barry’s stores that 

same week 

70 

Amount, in millions of dollars, of 

the public subsidy for a 660-car 

valet parking garage at the new 

Yankee Stadium, where virtually 

all spaces will be reserved for 

the free, year-round use of the 

New York Yankees and VIPs 

108 

Percentage increase in the price 

of game-day parking spaces for 

the general public between 2007 

and 2009, the year the stadium 

opens 

SOURCES: 

1-2. THE NEW YORK TIMES 

3-4. ATLANTA CONVENTION & VISITORS 

BUREAU (ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION) 

5. WSB-TV ATLANTA 

6. THE NEW YORK POST 

7-8. NY DAILY NEWS

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Aggravating 

Assaults 

More than one-quarter of adults have witnessed 

a physical confrontation involving coaches, 

officials or parents at a youth sports practice or game. 

That’s among the more startling findings of a recent 

survey by the National Alliance for Youth Sports, 

which asked moms, dads, volunteer coaches, officials 

and program administrators to answer 20 questions 

} 

NOFREEROAMING 

Attorney Mark Van Wagoner called 

it “the strangest, least considered 

and most nefarious proposal for 

high school sports I have seen in 

more than 30 years.” Here’s why: 

Utah’s controversial “Play Where 

You Want” bill, which recently died 

on the Senate floor, would have 

allowed high school student-athletes 

to freely transfer from school to 

school without fear of losing their 

athletic eligibility. 

“A more hands-off approach that 

increases options and freedoms for 

students and parents is a better 

policy than the arbitrary policy of 

keeping a student-athlete at a 

school just because of the 

luckiness or unluckiness of the 

draw,” Sen. Mark Madsen (R-Lehi) 

argued when defending the bill 

he authored. 

Van Wagoner, a lawyer for the Utah 

High School Activities Association, 

told The Salt Lake Tribune that 

the bill would have impacted the 

organization’s goal of creating a 

level playing field. According to 

current UHSAA bylaws, any student 

transferring from one school to 

another will lose athletic eligibility, 

regardless of varsity or junior varsity 

status, for 12 months if the transfer 

is sports-related or disciplinary. 


I’M NOT LISTENING 

A new survey reveals 

that 13 percent of 

all adult respondents 

say they know youth 

sports coaches who 

have told their 

players to cheat. 

about the youth sports 

experience. 

From reasons why parents 

want their kids to play 

sports (enjoyment was the 

top answer) to why they 

eventually quit (disliking 

their coach was the most 

common reply), the survey 

captures the personal observations of 

2,130 respondents. The results are 

both reassuring and troubling, 

according to John Engh, chief operating 

officer of NAYS. 

“It is inexcusable to allow altercations 

— whether they’re physical or 

verbal — to occur during youth sports 

events,” he says, referring to the 

question about witnessing confrontations, 

to which 16 percent of respondents 

replied “once,” 12 percent answered 

“occasionally” and 1 percent claimed 

to have seen “often.” “All children 

Madsen homeschools his 

children and has introduced 

several bills that favor homeschooling 

families. His most 

recent proposal to standardize 

how homeschooled students 

become academically eligible for 

athletics was shot down by the 

House of Representatives. But 

his bill that would require public 

school districts to allow charter 

or online students the opportunity 

to participate in extracurriculars 

in their home-boundary school 

landed on Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr.’s 

desk in March. 

— M.P.

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GAMEON 

ONEONONE 

MARV LUBINSKY 

The leather that you’ll see strapped to George Clooney’s head in “Leatherheads,” 

the Clooney-directed football movie that opens in theaters this month, can be 

traced not to the mid-1920s, but to modern-day manufacturer of vintage sporting 

goods Marv Lubinsky. Founded in 1996, Lubinsky’s Past Time Sports specializes 

in recreating leather football helmets, but also fills orders for throwback baseball 

gloves, hockey headgear, and basketballs and soccer balls complete with 

proprietarily “aged” laces. The company, which has appeared at coaches’ 

association trade shows and provided props to several film and stage productions, 

supplied the “Leatherheads” set with 30 helmets and 60 watermelon-shaped 

footballs. Paul Steinbach asked the 59-year-old Lubinsky, a longtime dealer of 

actual antiques, about his busting-at-the-seams business. 

Q: What led to your transition from collector to manufacturer? 

A: One of my interests has always been sports. I would travel around the country to the big 

outdoor antique markets, and after buying some helmets for the first time, I was excited to 

see that they sold quickly and for really good prices. People began to realize that I was the 

guy who could find leather football helmets, so I had more demand from athletic directors 

and other sports enthusiasts than I could supply. That’s how we got the idea to do a really 

nice replication job. It took us about two years to research and develop, because we wanted 

the leather and the padding to look authentic. 

Q: How do you respond to recent calls by the advocacy group People for the 

Ethical Treatment of Animals that leather not be used in athletics? 

A: I think animals were placed here to feed us and to clothe us. Leather is an incredible 

substance, and it has been used in many ways since the caveman days. The NBA switched 

back to the leather basketball for a reason. 

Q: Do you think it took greater skill to play sports with the type of equipment 

athletes used 80 years ago? 

A: I believe the Ty Cobbs and the Honus Wagners had to be better athletes to stop a baseball 

with those early split-fingered gloves. Those guys had to be more focused, or a 90-mile-anhour 

line drive could hit them in the face. The early football, meanwhile, was a lot heavier, 

and the girth was much larger. Players really had to have a great grip on it to be accurate. 

You have to take your hat off to guys like Sammy Baugh. 

Q: Will there always be a market for your handiwork? 

A: It’s a niche, but it’s important. I have been surprised in 

meeting with a lot of university representatives and people in 

the sports business who have lost some of the tradition and 

the knowledge of who our early athletes were. A lot of 

universities use our products in fundraising, and I 

was shocked to go to the University of Illinois 

and the young man I talked to didn’t know 

who Red Grange was. It was disheartening. 

I’m the kind of guy who still hears the Notre 

Dame glee club singing in the background. 

Q: People seem to either love the 

vintage helmet pattern still used by 

the University of Michigan, or they 

hate it. Where do you stand? 

A: I give Michigan all the credit in the 

world. I think it’s terrific. Ω 


Assaults continued from page 18 

deserve the opportunity to 

participate in programs 

that are free from any type 

of senseless violence and 

unruly behavior that not 

only sabotages their fun 

but also can potentially 

jeopardize their safety and 

well-being.” 

Another statistic Engh 

finds “disturbing” is that 

16 percent of respondents 

do not even know if their 

organization conducts background 

checks on coaches 

— even though 72 percent 

indicated background checks 

are part of their organizations’ 

standard operating 

procedures. “Parents must 

be continually reminded of 

the importance of knowing 

who is coaching their 

children, and leagues must 

take aggressive approaches 

to ensure that child 

predators aren’t allowed 

into their programs,” Engh 

says. “Background checks 

are an important step in an 

overall screening process of 

volunteers and must be at 

the forefront of everyone’s 

thinking, because we know 

that child predators strike 

in those areas that offer the 

easiest targets.” 

But not all the news is 

bad. Almost 90 percent of 

the respondents rated their 

child’s coach as either 

“excellent” or “good” — 

which Engh says indicates 

that most coaches recognize 

youth sports is about 

kids having safe and 

rewarding athletic and 

social experiences. 

Other findings: 

• 74 percent say they’ve 

observed a coach yell at a 

child for making a mistake 

in a game. 

• 69 percent of respondents 

claim they have seen 

coaches, parents or officials

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Assaults continued from page 20 

using tobacco products in 

front of children at youth 

sports events. 

• 14 percent say they’ve 

seen coaches, parents or 

officials consuming alcohol 

in front of players. 

• 13 percent can recall a 

situation in which a coach 

knowingly told a child to 

cheat. 

(Complete survey results 

can be found at nays.org.) 

“Clearly, there are many 

aspects of youth sports that 

ISTOCKPHOTO.COM 

MANAGEMENT 


DEFENSE ‘R’-SENAL 

Sometimes, ignorance is not bliss — especially when it relates to 

employee misconduct. So says Carla Varriale, a partner in the 

New York-based firm Havkins Rosenfeld Ritzert & Varriale LLP, 

which specializes in sports, recreation and entertainment law. 

That’s why she suggests 

facility operators remember 

the “Three Rs.” No, not the 

three academic-related Rs of 

yore, but rather Record, 

React and Review. 

“The ‘Three Rs’ can be 

pretty universally applied,” 

Varriale says. “But in the 

athletic facility context, 

because you’re working with the public and the opportunity 

is ripe for serious injury, I think you need to be even more 

vigilant.” She adds that the three fundamental practices have 

either prevented sports, fitness and recreation professionals 

from going to court over employment and liability issues, or 

gotten them off the hook in front of a judge or jury. 

Here’s how they work: 

• Record — Maintain written reports of any employee’s 

We know that youth sports 

have some weaknesses, and 

hopefully, some of these 

numbers will serve as a strong 

reminder that programs 

must always meet the 

needs of every child 

who participates. 


are healthy and positive 

and giving children the 

opportunity to develop in 

so many key areas,” Engh 

says. “We also know that 

youth sports have some 

weaknesses, and hopefully, 

some of these numbers will 

serve as a strong reminder 

that programs must always 

meet the needs of every 

child who participates. If 

we can keep that mind-set, 

more children will reap the 

benefits of participating.” 

— M.P. 

misconduct or questionable behavior, and make sure the staff 

members involved sign off on all performance evaluations 

and disciplinary actions. Varriale recommends keeping such 

documents on file for seven years. 

• React — Follow up the first “R” by taking appropriate 

action against a staff member. This can include reassignment 

to a different department or section of the facility, the 

scheduling of training sessions, a demotion or even 

employment termination. 

• Review — Consider the effects of the second “R.” If 

you’ve addressed a performance issue, set a timetable for 

future performance evaluations. Consider, too, what other 

action (if any) is required. For example, is additional training 

needed? What else must be taken into account to ensure that 

the situation has been properly handled and rectified? 

Documentation of alleged improper instruction, injurious 

behavior or inappropriate actions of employees and independent 

contractors (such as personal trainers) shows due diligence on 

the part of an employer. Reports of undocumented conduct or, 

even worse, hearsay, look 

People still want to 

think that if they don’t 

report an incident, there’s 

nothing in writing and it’s like 

it never happened. 

“pretty darn bad” in court, 

Varriale says. “People tend 

to think the ‘Three Rs’ 

are just another layer of 

bureaucracy and drudgery 

added to their lives. But it 

could save them a lot of 

trouble.” 

And yet, the number 

of facility operators that refuse to follow them would surprise 

you, according to Varriale. “Some people say, ‘Oh, that’s so 

commonsense; we don’t need to do that,’ ” she says. “I 

experience a lot of resistance from people who still want to 

think that if they don’t report an incident, there’s nothing in 

writing and it’s like it never happened. Ostriches stick their 

heads in the sand and think no one can see them. That is a 

recipe for disaster.” Ω

CIRCLE 14 

ON REPLY CARD

GAMEON 

Forever 

Southpaws 

HOK Sport, the Kansas City-based sports architecture firm, 

has some prior experience, you might say, designing ballparks. 

So it was a bit of a surprise when the firm’s preliminary 

drawings for a new downtown stadium in Omaha, Neb., were 

reported in the Omaha World-Herald as showing the future home 

of the College World Series “facing in the wrong direction.” 

Although the World-Herald story focused largely on the difference 

between the new park and Omaha’s beloved Rosenblatt 

Stadium, “Ballpark Takes New Direction” went on to suggest 

that ballparks can face “almost any direction but west.” But 

Martin DiNitto, an associate principal with HOK Sport, notes 

that the three site plans presented to the NCAA by designers 

in February showed a relatively narrow range of southeast, 

east and northeast orientations. While the southeast orientation 

— the direction that the catcher faces — represents a 90-degree 

turn from the traditional northeast orientation (which Rosenblatt 

has), DiNitto says that left-handed pitchers will nearly always 

be accurately described as southpaws on baseball diamonds 

throughout the northern hemisphere. 

“A northeast orientation of home to center field points the 

third-base line due north, while a southeast orientation points 

the first-base line due south. You typically have the ability to 

rotate it within those parameters,” DiNitto says. “There’s a 

fourth position that has worked in several ballparks that have 

the catcher facing due north. If you think about it, at midseason 

— June 22, remember, is the summer solstice — you can stand 

at the right field foul pole and the sun will align with the left 

field foul pole. That’s not a very comfortable situation for 

} 

NAMINGRIGHT 

As park names go, Festival Park in 

Deltona, Fla., isn’t all that creative. 

Nor is it even appropriate, according 

to the organizers of the city’s 

biggest annual get-together. 

Overshadowed by a Wal-Mart 

entrance located between a state 

highway and an interstate, 15-acre 

Festival Park doesn’t exactly scream 

community center, but it has been 

the home of Deltona’s Spring Fest 

— which draws about 3,500 people 

— for the past decade. But limited 

parking, a lack of signage and the 

general difficulty newcomers have 

in finding the park have caused the 

organizers of this year’s festival 

to move to the less jocundsounding, 

though centrally 

located, Dewey O. Boster Park. 

“Last year we had vendors and 

entertainers that couldn’t even 

find Festival Park,” Deltona Parks 

and Recreation Advisory Committee 

chairman David McKnight told the 

Daytona Beach News-Journal. 

“The park and the name don’t fit.” 

It could be worse, Deltonans. 

Wisconsin state parks officials for 

years have been replacing stolen 

signs leading to the Bong Recreation 

Area, which offers an array of 

recreation opportunities, illicit drug 

use not among them. And, presum- 


RENDERINGS COURTESY OF HOK SPORT 

spectators sitting on the 

first-base side, because 

they’ll be looking into the 

sun pretty much the 

entire game.” 

Computer modeling 

the path of the sun in 

10-minute increments 

throughout the season is standard procedure for stadium 

architects; recent improvements to such programs allow the 

ability to throw shade across the field as the sun goes behind the 

stadium deck. But site orientation isn’t just about keeping batters, 

catchers and umpires from squinting. These days, views into and 

out of stadiums toward downtown skylines, rivers and bridges 

are a huge part of their appeal, and the comfort of spectators 

in the stadium or watching from their living room couch is 

considered nearly as important as the safety of ballplayers. 

DiNitto says it’s fortunate that the Omaha site is ample enough 

to allow for flexibility. “It still works for all three positions at 

this point,” he says. “One of them accommodates views of as 

much of the river, convention center and city skyline as possible 

within the constraints of orientation. We’ll want to sit down in 

the later design phases with the various stakeholders and 

discuss with them at length what their preference would be, 

taking into consideration the sun angles for ballplayers on the 

field and fans in the stands. When it’s all said and done, we 

won’t have changed the traditions in baseball.” 

— A.C. 

Bong 

Recreation Area 

EXIT 340 

ably, the name of Arkansas’ Toad 

Suck Park is merely a moniker, 

not a popular pastime. Some 

parks, however, do live up to their 

name. Take the Hungry Mother 

State Park, the site of the Marion 

(Va.) Downtown Revitalization 

Association’s annual Shuck n’ 

Cluck, a fund-raising Hawaiian 

feast featuring fresh oysters, grilled 

chicken and “all the fixings.” 

— N.B.

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GAMEON 

EXTRAPOINTS 

BY NICHOLAS BROWN 

About 20 colleges and universities are 

expected to take part in the April 18 

Gridiron Bash, a one-day entertainment 

event created by MSL Sports and 

Entertainment that will bring big-time 

music acts to campuses on the eve of spring 

football games. Artists such as Fergie, 

Maroon 5, Dwight Yoakam, the Goo Goo 

Dolls and the Black Crowes (pictured) are 

scheduled to perform at football stadiums 

at schools including Penn State, Texas 

A&M, the University of Colorado and 

Kansas State. Combined revenue from 

gate, parking, merchandise and concessions 

sales is expected to exceed $12 million. 

Each stadium will also be host to preconcert 

pep rallies, introductions of football 

players and speeches from coaches. As part of the USA Today 

Bash for Cash Series, participating schools that generate the 

highest attendance at the event can win cash contributions of 

up to $1 million to their general scholarship funds. 

ALSO: 

The Climbing Wall Association and the American 

Mountain Guides Association have signed a memorandum of 

understanding to establish a certification program for climbing 

wall instructors. The program will address basic technical skills 

necessary to manage instructional programs at climbing facilities… 

An innovator in breakaway goals and unbreakable glass 

blackboards, Basketball Products International has 

re-launched operations after the brand was phased out by Spalding 

in 2004… Consultancy DJS Design Inc. has created a new 

division, Winning Recruits, which will provide services to college 

athletics administrators to assist them in improving the effectiveness 

of their recruiting tools… The main basketball court at the 2008 

Summer Olympics in Beijing will feature the Rome 25 portable 

sports floor, which is made by U.S.-based surfaces manufacturer 

Haro Sports Floors… Irrigation systems and infrastructure 

provider Lindsay Corp. has completed its acquisition of 

Watertronics Inc., a manufacturer of water pumping stations 

and controls for the municipal, golf and landscaping markets… 

Surfaces manufacturer ECORE International has joined the 

Nike Grind program, in which used and donated athletic shoes 

are ground up to create crumb rubber materials. ECORE uses the 

grind to create underlayment that can be used beneath poured 

urethane sports floors… The LeBron James Family Foundation at 

the St. Bernard Center in New Orleans’ 7th Ward has chosen surfaces 

manufacturer No Fault to supply a poured-in-place 

surface for the center’s new playground, which is aimed at helping 

children and families recover from the effects of Hurricane 

Katrina… A $1 million grant from the National Swimming Pool 

Foundation is making possible the creation of the National 

Aquatics and Sports Medicine Institute at Washington 


PHOTO BY GENE J. PUSKAR/ASSOCIATED PRESS 

PHOTO BY ROBERT E. KLEIN/ASSOCIATED PRESS 

State University. The grant will 

pay for staff and equipment for 

research into the effects of aquatic 

exercise on general health and 

well-being, as well as specific 

medical conditions such as 

asthma, hypertension, osteoporosis 

and obesity… During the International 

Health, Racquet & Sportsclub 

Association’s International 

Convention and Trade Show in 

March, exercise equipment 

manufacturer Matrix Fitness 

Systems sponsored the raffle of 

a Harley-Davidson Fat Bob 

motorcycle, with all proceeds 

going to Augie’s Quest, a program 

led by fitness legend Augie Nieto and the Muscular Dystrophy 

Association to raise money for ALS research. The company also 

donated $50,000 in cash and equipment as the lead sponsor of 

Augie’s Bash, a fund-raising event for the program… Finally, 

players and coaches at more than 800 colleges and universities 

in mid-February donned pink uniforms or other pink apparel as 

part of Think Pink, a national breast-cancer awareness campaign 

spearheaded by the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association. 

Sports apparel manufacturer Russell Athletic provided new 

gear to the schools, including pink uniforms for such high-profile 

women’s basketball teams as LSU, Pitt, Purdue and Rutgers. The 

company donated a portion of its proceeds to the Kay Yow/WBCA 

Cancer Fund, named in part to honor the legendary North Carolina 

State women’s basketball coach, who is currently battling cancer 

for the third time since 1987. The campaign was launched last 

year, and participation increased by nearly 700 schools this year. 

Because of such support, Russell plans to keep the pink uniforms 

in stock year-round, and it plans to unveil a new line of breastcancer 

awareness apparel at the WBCA annual convention, 

which takes place April 4-8 in Tampa, Fla. Ω

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CIRCLE 1 6 

ON REPLY CARD 

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TRUE VALUE 

An exerciser’s upper body gets equal treatment on the CSX 

elliptical trainer, according to its manufacturer, True Fitness. 

Designed to provide a total-body workout on a single 

machine, the unit features proprietary side steps that allow 

users to step off the foot skates and drive the machine using 

only their upper body. This allows for three distinct 

workout experiences: isolated upper body, isolated 

lower body and combined upper and lower 

body. The CSX is driven by the patented 

Core Drive system, which sits directly 

below the user in the center 

of the exercise motion — 

making for natural, biomechanically 

correct 

movements. Additionally, 

the Mix3 program takes users 

through a random series of exercises, and 

the machine uses 30 percent less floor space 

than a traditional elliptical, the company says. 

truefitness.com 

800/426-6570 

Circle 140 

STRETCHING OUT 

Designed in collaboration with doctors and physiotherapists, FLEXability is Technogym’s first foray into equipment designed for 

stretching. The line boasts anterior and posterior machines and targets the main muscle groups of the core and lower body, making 

stretching an enjoyable and comfortable activity, the 

company says. Based on an innovative technological 

system called Selflex, FLEXability enables users to 

gently modulate the extent of muscle elongation by 

gradual and proportional intervention of the user’s 

own body weight. For example, the anterior machine 

maintains the correct position of the spine and core 

and provides a modulated lengthening of the anterior 

muscle chain, while the posterior machine enables a 

soft and progressive lengthening of muscles. 

technogymusa.com 

800/804-0952 

Circle 142 


ALL ABOARD 

The Functional Training Board from Power 

Systems is designed to develop core muscles 

and kinesthetic awareness. The multiplanar 

instability unit allows users of various skill 

levels to perform exercises while standing, 

sitting or lying down. To enhance sport-specific 

workouts, tubing, medicine balls, weighted 

bars and dumbbells also may be incorporated. 

power-systems.com 

800/321-6975 

Circle 141

FORM AND FUNCTION 

The new functional trainer from 

Matrix Fitness Systems Corp. blends 

effective design and ease of use with a 

variety of strength training activities 

for general exercise or sport-specific 

workouts. The versatile product features 

more than 200 exercise choices, 10 standard 

accessories (including golf and 

baseball bat handles), pulleys that can 

be adjusted using one hand, dual 

independent 300- and 400-pound 

weight stacks and an attached 

instructional placard. A swiveling 

panel holds all accessories within easy 

reach of the user and helps maintain a 

clutter-free workout area. 

matrixfitness.com 

866/693-4863 

Circle 143 

New & Improved GAMEON 

MASTERS OF SUSPENSE 

Fitness Anywhere, the company that 

pioneered Suspension Training®, has 

unveiled a new line of versatile anchoring 

solutions for its popular TRX® Suspension Trainer products. Users combine gravity 

and their own body weight to create resistance in any exercise. Anchoring options now 

available include Multimount, which extends 30 inches from the wall, supports three 

to six users simultaneously and is ideal for group training; X-Mount, the most efficient 

attachment for Suspension Training, designed to support both individuals and small 

groups; and the Suspension Frame, designed for elite training facilities and up to 

24 simultaneous users. Meanwhile, Crunch fitness centers recently began offering 

Fitness Anywhere’s group-training alternative, TRX BodyWeb. 

fitnessanywhere.com 

888/878-5348 

Circle 144 

ZIP IT 

Responding to health club members who need a place to stash their keys, cell phones 

and other small valuables while working out, ReadyCare recently introduced ZIP-PAC 

— a plush terry/velour towel designed 

with a patented water-resistant lined and 

zippered pocket. Towels come in several 

sizes for different applications, including 

a 13-by-40-inch athletic towel, a 35-by-64inch 

beach towel, a 15-by-20-inch golf 

towel and a 30-by-54-inch pool/spa towel. 

Each style can be customized with an 

embroidered logo. 

readycare.com 

800/477-4283 

Circle 145 

STATION TO STATION 

The Hoist® HMG-4000 can be configured 

to meet both space and activity requirements. 

Using the proven technology of the manufacturer’s 

HD and HS strength machines, 

the HMG-4000 creates a modular system 

with three stations that can be expanded to 

include as many as 12. The unit features 

independent weight stacks, single/dual 

exercise stations, military-spec cables with 

4,200 pounds of tension strength, ratcheting 

seat adjustments and easy-to-read instruction 

placards. 

hoistfitness.com 

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Circle 146 


GAMEON 

SPORTSLAW 

Shock Treatment 

AN INJURED ATHLETE IS UNABLE TO PROVE THAT HER COACHES’ MISTREATMENT 

TRANSCENDS NEGLIGENCE. BY JOHN T. WOLOHAN 

When high school and 

college athletes are 

injured as a result of 

improper medical care, their 

first reaction may be to sue 

the school for negligence. 

Negligence is not the only 

legal theory available, however. 

An example of an alternative 

is highlighted in Yatsko 

v. the Tamaqua Area School 

District [2007 U.S. Dist. 

LEXIS 88967]. 

Yatsko claimed that her 

coaches’ failure to obtain 

proper treatment for her 

injury violated her 

constitutional right 

to be free from 

state occasioned 

or created harm. 

In 2005, Tracey Yatsko was 

a high school student playing 

on the Tamaqua High School 

basketball team. During a 

game, she collided with 

another player and banged 

her head. As a result of the 

collision, Yatsko immediately 

began to experience visual 

problems and a painful 

headache. At the end of the 

game, Yatsko informed 


Andrea Edmonds, the assistant 

basketball coach, that she 

had hit her head and was in a 

great deal of pain. Instead of 

taking Yatsko to the school’s 

athletic trainer, Edmonds took 

Yatsko to her mother, who 

was watching the game, and 

told her that her daughter 

had been “bumped around in 

the game.” 

Two days later, even though 

Yatsko still had a painful 

headache and blurred vision, 

she traveled with her basketball 

team to its scheduled 

game. On the ride there, the 

pain was so severe that Yatsko 

cried on the bus, telling teammates 

and others that she had 

suffered a concussion and felt 

terrible. During warmups, 

head basketball coach Joseph 

Berezwick observed that 

Yatsko was struggling to participate, 

and when he asked 

her if there was anything 

wrong, she told him that she 

felt weak and that she had 

suffered a concussion in the 

previous game. Armed with 

this information, Berezwick 

established a signal with 

Yatsko and told her to use it 

to tell him or Edmonds if she 

needed to leave the game. 

During the contest, 

Berezwick asked Yatsko 

several times if she was okay; 

she said she was, and played 

the entire game. After the 

game, however, Yatsko began 

to shake and collapsed onto 

the locker room floor. But 

rather than ask for an ambu- 

lance to be dispatched to the 

school, Yatsko said she wanted 

to go home, and her coaches 

helped her board the bus back 

to school. On the bus ride 

home, Berezwick asked Yatsko 

if the bus should stop at the 

hospital. Yatsko replied that 

she wanted to see her mother. 

Once the team arrived back 

at Tamaqua High, Berezwick 

told Yatsko’s mother that her 

daughter had wanted to 

play, and that he had made 

the wrong call by letting her. 

Yatsko’s mother took her to 

the hospital, where she was 

diagnosed as having suffered 

serious brain injuries that 

could potentially cause permanent 

health problems, 

including blurred vision, loss 

of balance, headaches and 

depression. 

As a result of the medical 

treatment she received, 

Yatsko filed a lawsuit against 

Berezwick, Edmonds and 

the school district. However, 

instead of merely filing a 

state-law negligence claim, 

Yatsko also claimed that 

Berezwick and Edmonds’ 

failure to obtain proper treatment 

for her head injury 

violated her constitutional 

right to be free from “state 

occasioned or created harm to 

her bodily integrity and health,” 

pursuant to Section 1983 of 

the Civil Rights Act. In addition, 

Yatsko argued that the 

school district violated Section 

1983 when it affirmatively 

created a danger to students

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ON REPLY CARD 

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GAMEON Sports Law 

LEGALACTION 


by allowing students participating 

in potentially dangerous 

sporting activities to be in the 

care, custody and control of 

Berezwick and Edmonds. 

In order for Yatsko to show 

that Berezwick, Edmonds 

and the school district 

violated her rights under 

Section 1983, the Federal 

District Court for the Eastern 

District of Pennsylvania ruled 

that she would have to 

establish two points. First, 

she would have to show that 

the conduct complained of 

was committed by a person 

acting under color of state law. 

Second, the court held that 

she would have to show that 

the conduct deprived her of 

rights secured under the U.S. 

Constitution or federal law. 

The court determined, 

first, that since the individual 

coaches were employed by 

Representatives of the U.S. Department 

of Education’s Office for Civil 

Rights are racking up the frequent 

flier miles lately, with a number of 

Southern California schools being 

investigated for alleged gender 

discrimination. The William S. Hart 

Union High School District in Santa 

Clarita is under the microscope after 

a parental complaint alleged that 

the district has failed to provide 

“benefits, opportunities and services 

to female athletes that are equivalent 

to those provided to male athletes” 

at three high schools. At issue are 

girls’ softball fields that either are 

nonexistent, shared, inaccessible 

to persons with disabilities or don’t 

meet the standards of boys’ baseball 

facilities, as well as substandard 

girls’ locker facilities. 

Meanwhile, a continuing OCR 

investigation of the Benicia Unified 

School District has revealed a 

huge disparity in the amount of 

money spent on boys’ and girls’ 

high school sports programs. 

According to the Vallejo Times 

Herald, more than $87,000 was 

spent during the 2006-07 school 

year on boys’ programs as compared 

to $6,900 on girls’ programs, a 

figure that includes $20,325 spent 

on boys’ baseball and zero dollars 

allocated to girls’ softball. In 

another indication of an unfair 

playing field, financial statements 

compiled of the school’s booster 

club, which manages athletic funds 

for the district, indicate that while 

the Benicia girls’ and boys’ tennis 

teams each had 24 players last 

season, the boys’ team’s transportation 

expenses came to $5,300 

and the girls’ team’s to just $1,300. 

The full Nevada Supreme Court is 

considering the appeal of a Las 

Vegas 51s fan injured by a foul 

ball in 2002. A panel of three justices 

heard oral arguments in the 

case in October, but the seven- 


the school district, they were 

acting under color of state 

law. With regard to the second 

issue, Yatsko argued that 

she was deprived of her 

Fourteenth Amendment right 

to substantive due process 

when Berezwick and 

Edmonds, in their role as 

employees, failed to keep her 

free from state-created dangers. 

In addition, Yatsko argued that 

the school district failed to 

established proper policies, 

procedures and training for 

personnel responsible for 

supervising athletes. Such 

neglect, Yatsko argued, 

amounted to reckless indifference 

to student-athletes’ needs. 

However, the court, citing 

County of Sacramento v. Lewis 

[523 U.S. 833, 118 S. Ct. 1708, 

140 L. Ed. 2d 1043 (1998)], 

held that Yatsko must 

show that Berezwick and 

Edmonds’ actions reached an 

even higher — or lower, 

depending on your point of 

view — standard. Yatsko 

would have to demonstrate, 

the court stated, that the 

coaches’ actions were so illconceived 

or malicious that 

they “shock the conscience.” 

Yatsko, the court concluded, 

was unable to do so. In support 

of its decision, the court 

noted that while her coaches 

knew, or should have known, 

that she probably had suffered 

a concussion, their actions — 

failing to ensure that Yatsko 

received treatment, or allowing 

her to play in a subsequent 

game — only amounted to 

negligence. As the court noted, 

the coaches did not use 

their authority to force her to 

play in the game or refuse a 

request for medical treatment 

— they simply made an illadvised 

decision to allow 

her to participate, which by 

member court subsequently 

announced that it would consider 

the appeal en banc. Kathleen 

Turner, 54, was eating a sandwich 

in the Beer Garden at Cashman 

Field when a foul ball struck her 

between the eyes, leaving her 

with a broken nose and facial 

lacerations. Turner’s lawsuit against 

Mandalay Bay Entertainment, 

which operates the stadium, was 

dismissed by a judge in 2005. 

Mandalay Bay’s attorneys have 

asked the Supreme Court to adopt 

the limited-duty rule that has long 

protected stadium operators from 

litigation, describing Turner as an 

experienced baseball spectator 

and noting the language printed on 

all baseball tickets that warns fans 

to pay attention to the game at all 

times. However, Turner’s attorney, 

Beau Sterling, has argued that 

the Beer Garden’s “casual atmosphere” 

lulled his client “into a 

feeling of complacency.” Ω

CIRCLE 18 

ON REPLY CARD

GAMEON Sports Law 

itself does not “shock the conscience.” 

As for Yatsko’s Section 1983 claims 

against the school district, the court ruled 

that under Section 1983, respondeat 

superior liability — under which the 

“superior” is legally responsible for the 

acts of his or her subordinate — is 

unavailable, and torts committed by 

employees do not make a municipality 

liable. The only way the local governing 

body could be held liable, the court ruled, 

would be if the coaches were acting 

under an official policy or custom. 

While the U.S. Supreme Court 

ruled in Collins v. City of Harker 

Heights [503 U.S. 115 (1992)] that the 

due-process clause should not be 

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interpreted to impose federal duties 

that are analogous to those traditionally 

imposed by state tort law, Yatsko serves 

as a reminder to athletics administrators 

that federal law could conceivably also 

apply if coaches’ or trainers’ actions 

were found to be so ill-conceived or 

malicious that they go beyond mere 

negligence. 

The coaches did 

not use their 

authority to force 

her to play in the 

game or refuse a 

request for medical 

treatment — they 

simply made 

an ill-advised 

decision to 

allow her to 

participate. 

In addition, even though Yatsko lost 

her federal case against Berezwick, 

Edmonds and the Tamaqua Area 

School District, it should be noted that 

she is still free to refile a state-law 

negligence claim against the defendants 

based on their failure to respond 

properly to her medical condition. In 

order to successfully win such a claim, 

Yatsko would have to demonstrate 

that the defendants had a duty of care 

toward her; the defendants breached 

that duty; there was a causal connection 

between the conduct and the resulting 

injury; and she suffered actual loss or 

damages. Ω 

Attorney John T. Wolohan 

( jwolohan@ithaca.edu) is a professor 

of sports law and chair of the 

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A BUG WORTH 

BUGGING ABOUT 

By Nicholas Brown 

Clean your room. Do your laundry. Wash your hands. 

Nagging parents everywhere may be on to something — 

specifically, the formula for protecting athletics and fitness 

facilities from an antibiotics-resistant strain of staph. 

Methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, has 

been making headlines recently as reports of the potentially 

deadly infection have focused on schools and, in particular, 

their locker rooms and other often germ-heavy athletics environments. 

The MRSA-related death of a high school senior in Virginia in 

early October heightened awareness of the bug nationwide, and 

schools in several states with reported MRSA outbreaks went so 

far as to shut down in order to perform thorough cleanings. 

MRSA has even become the stuff of lawsuits aimed at education 

institutions. A former Iona College football player is suing the 

school, claiming a MRSA infection caused by what he calls 

“unsanitary” locker room conditions and an unresponsive medical 

staff nearly caused him to lose a leg. 

Often marked by boils and pus-producing skin lesions, MRSA 

infections very rarely require emergency hospitalizations and can 

typically be remedied with proper skin care, the draining of pus 

and/or antibiotic treatments. Still, an infection that enters the 

bloodstream and infiltrates internal organs can spread rapidly 

and become life-threatening — prospects that certainly warrant 

consideration from athletics and fitness facility operators looking 

to shield themselves from liability and protect their athletes’ and 

patrons’ health. The following are tips from health organizations 

for protecting the spread of MRSA in active environments: 

• Encourage athletes or club patrons to wash their hands 

thoroughly with soap and warm water or an alcohol-based hand 

sanitizer upon entering and leaving the premises or after skin-toskin 

contact with other people. Provide sanitary hand-drying 

solutions, such as air-dryers or disposable paper towels. 

• Clean and cover cuts and scrapes until they are fully 

healed. Discourage secondhand contact with bandages that have 

dressed skin wounds. 

• Discourage skin-to-skin contact. While this may be an 

impractical solution for, say, a football or wrestling coach, direct 

contact with infected wounds is the most frequent means of 

MRSA transmission. Still, it is also recommended to discourage 

the sharing of unclean items that typically have direct contact 

with skin, such as uniforms or equipment padding. 

• Avoid sharing personal items such as towels and razors. 

• Promote shower use immediately after workouts, games or 

practices. 

• Wash sheets, towels and clothing in water that is at least 

160 degrees. Use a hot-dry rather than an air-dry cycle, and 

make sure washed items are completely dry before distribution. 

• Educate users of shared exercise equipment about the 

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CIRCLE 23 

ON REPLY CARD

ENVIRON 

EDUCATI 

38 ATHLETIC BUSINESS APRIL 2008 ATHLETICBUSINESS.COM

MENTAL 

N CAMPUS 

PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY 

BUFFING UP 

At Cal, custodial 

staff works the 

fitness floor even 

as students 

work out. 

Atop the roof of 

San Diego State 

University’s 

Mission Bay 

Aquatic Center sits 5,000 square 

feet of solar panels used to heat 

water pulled from the facility’s 

50-meter pool. Representing 

$100,000 of an overall $10 million 

construction budget, the 

panels are already halfway to 

paying for themselves in energy 

savings — remarkable, considering 

the facility celebrates its first 

anniversary this month. 

Within the school’s 10-yearold 

recreation center, meanwhile, 

24-foot ceiling fans 

installed last year move conditioned 

air so subtly as to virtually 

go unnoticed, yet enough 

to substantially reduce airconditioning 

costs. 

“Rec centers are not the 

most energy-efficient places 

in the world. We use a lot of 

electricity, we use a lot of 

water in bathrooms and 

showers, and we use a lot of 

air conditioning,” says Eric 

Huth, SDSU’s recreation 

director. “Our building has a 

$300,000 annual energy bill, 

and if I can reduce that by just 

10 or 15 or 20 percent, I can 

RECREATION 

DEPARTMENTS ARE 

PLAYING A LEAD ROLE IN PROMOTING 

GREEN FACILITY OPERATIONS. 


make a substantial monetary 

savings for our budget. So 

that’s my interest.” 

But, Huth adds, the 

Associated Students of San 

Diego State, under whose 

auspices the rec department 

operates, are demanding that 

campus sustainability efforts 

transcend the physical plant. 

That’s why over winter break 

the recreation staff broke up 

into groups of five and formulated 

ways to mitigate the 

department’s environmental 

impact even more. Ideas 

ranged from encouraging 

users to turn off entertainment 

monitors on stationary bikes 

and elliptical machines when 

done working out to discouraging 

staff from using aerosol 

spray cans. It’s the kind of 

thinking that the student 

group has officially dubbed 

“Green Love.” 

“We really got on board 

with it and have been working 

since the fall semester to do as 

much as we can,” Huth says. 

“I think there’s been a tipping 

point in sustainability in the 

last couple of years, and it just 

seems like it’s on everyone’s 

agenda.” 

Just as student interest in 

personal health and fitness 

has driven the recreation center 

development boom of the past 

20 years, a growing concern 

among students about environmental 

well-being is now 

having a direct influence on 

how these facilities are run. 

“I met recently with some 

student leaders, and I left that 

meeting absolutely astounded 

at the interest in cultivating the 

‘go green’ spirit,” says Kathleen 

Hatch, director of Washington 

State University’s recreation 

department, which last fall 

launched the “Be Crimson, Go 

Green” campaign. “Because we 

are an institutional arm that’s 

reaching 85 to 95 percent of 

students, the recreation department 

is a great place to start to 

model different practices. I 

mean, we’ve actually been 

ordering organic T-shirts.” 

And the green movement 

in campus recreation is rapidly 

becoming more than a West 

Coast phenomenon. The 

University of Maine, for 

instance, has invested in green 

cleaning supplies to care for 

its 87,000-square-foot Student 

Recreation and Sports Center, 


ENVIRONMENTAL 

EDUCATION 

which opened in August and is well 

positioned for LEED® Silver certification 

through the U.S. Green Building Council 

(the paperwork is being finalized). One 

benefit of switching to green cleaning 

products was immediately apparent. 

“There isn’t the smell,” says director of 

campus recreation Jeff Hunt. “Some 

people think they need to smell the 

cleanliness, but that smell is exactly 

what you’re trying to get away from.” 

At sustainability-minded schools 

everywhere, the buildings — even those 

equipped with high-efficiency light 

fixtures, waterless urinals and recycled 

floors — are only the beginning. Says 

Hatch, “No longer is the issue just about 

a building design going green, but rather 

what we’re starting to look like in terms of 

our programs, our services, our awareness.” 

Awareness is on the rise at the University 

of California, Berkeley, where a “PlayGreen” 

initiative emphasizing environmentally 

sound operations was launched in January. 

“We wanted to use our relationship with 

SPORT UTILITY 

Poolside solar 

panels are only 

part of the 

San Diego State 

recreation 

department’s 

commitment to 

energy savings. 

students to educate and inspire them, 

but also connect them,” says Mike 

Weinberger, Cal’s director of recreational 

sports. “There are a lot of student 

sustainability groups on campus, and we 

weren’t sure they were all talking to each 

other. We thought we could facilitate 

that by building a community that’s 

focused on green initiatives.” 

Weinberger quickly realized that his 

own charges had to set an example, so he 

asked himself, “What are we doing as a 

department? What are the things that we 

can do to save energy or reduce pollution?” 

Several things, it turns out. Weinberger 

schedules custodial work to take place 

during the Golden Bear Recreation Center’s 

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regular operating hours, allowing the 

building to go completely dark between 

its closing at midnight and reopening at 

6 a.m. and producing energy savings 

approaching 25 percent. “Inevitably, 

there were complaints — ‘I’m working 

out and somebody’s mopping the floor 

next to me,’ ” Weinberger says. “We had 

to educate our users, explain what we 

were doing and kind of sell it.” 

The educational process extended to 

staff members, too. “There are ebbs and 

flows in the day around certain types of 

equipment, and you have to work with 

your staff to set their schedule so that 

they’re cleaning an area at low use times.” 

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CIRCLE 26 

ON REPLY CARD

ENVIRONMENTAL 

EDUCATION 

patron-relations challenge, as the area is 

cleaned one half at a time even as it is 

being used. Says Weinberger, “Custodians 

need to be sensitive. If somebody really is 

uncomfortable and complaining, we tell 

the custodian to temporarily stop, let that 

person finish up and continue later.” 

In December, Cal’s rec center began 

offering locker room-only memberships. 

For $15 a month, faculty and staff who 

walk or bike to campus can access day 

lockers, towels and showers. “People who 

commute to campus with alternative 

transportation now have a way to come 

and clean up before they go to work,” says 

Weinberger, adding that the measure has 

gained favor with a campus bicycle alliance 

and other green transportation advocates. 

The department also has reached out 

to the private sector, consulting with 

Clif® Bar & Company, the Berkeley-based 

producer of organic energy bars that 

sponsors Cal’s annual triathlon, about 

how to ensure that the hundreds of 

wrappers generated by the event are 

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recycled. Corporate partner 

Bank of America has agreed 

to finance tree plantings every 

time a new member joins the rec 

sports Facebook community. An agreement 

with mobile service provider 

Kadoink allows rec center scheduling 

changes to be sent to patrons via text 

message. “We’re trying to communicate 

with the students the way they live,” 

says Weinberger. “But it also saves us 

paper. Instead of throwing out the old 

weekly schedules and printing new ones, 

we’re trying to do more electronically.” 

Finally, Weinberger hoped to have 

installed by spring two water-bottle filling 

stations not unlike those seen in supermarkets. 

The goal is to get students in the 

habit of bringing reusable water bottles to 

the rec center instead of brand-name water 

in disposable bottles. “Our belief is if we 

provide good quality water that’s chilled 

and filtered, these stations will help students 

make the transition from buying 

bottles of water to just refilling,” says 

CIRCLE 27 ON REPLY CARD CIRCLE 28 ON REPLY CARD 


Weinberger, who also hoped 

a sponsorship would help 

make the reusable bottles 

readily affordable, if not free, to 

students. “It eliminates plastic waste 

and it encourages them to drink 

water instead of Coke and other 

bottled beverages.” 

Waste management is a green 

strategy common to most environmentally 

friendly recreation departments. 

Rick Grizer, maintenance manager of 

Recreation & Wellness Services for the 

University of Akron, reports that since 

answering a student request to place 

plastic bottle recycling bins throughout the 

school’s Student Recreation & Wellness 

Center, his department recycles ten 

60-gallon bags worth of plastic each week, 

a number that can easily double during special 

events. Meanwhile, paper bins within 

the facility’s administrative suite yield 

50 gallons of recyclable material weekly. 

A survey of University of Nebraska 

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CIRCLE 29 

ON REPLY CARD

ENVIRONMENTAL 

EDUCATION 

recreation patrons last summer produced 

more responses regarding a lack of newspaper 

and magazine recycling receptacles 

than any other topic, and Florida Atlantic 

University has upgraded its recycling 

program to target not only waste paper, 

but cans, plastic bottles and plastic food 

containers generated by FAU Rec Center’s 

pro shop and food service outlet. “In addi- 


tion, the university has directed that all 

photocopiers be converted to double-sided 

printing,” says recreation services director 

Rob Frye. “If I have to print more than 

one page of a non-official document 

from my printer, I use the two- or fourpages-to-a-page 

command, and I have 

recommended my staff do the same.” 

Other recreation departments are 


making similar efforts to reduce paper 

consumption. Operational guidelines at 

California State University, Fresno discourage 

excessive copying, while Maine’s 

Hunt encourages both “using recycled 

paper and recycling our own paper — if 

we print on one side we put it in the 

recycle tray to be used again.” (Hunt also 

employs a printer that uses a waxy block 

What are 

we doing 

as a department? 

What are the things 

that we can do 

to save energy 

or reduce 

pollution? 

of solid ink — “like a crayon, essentially” 

— to eliminate the recycling issues posed 

by plastic cartridges.) Western Illinois 

University used to print hundreds of 

copies of its intramural handbook for 

distribution among students, but now 

posts the information online. “I don’t 

know if we’ll ever get to everything going 

online and having zero paper, but we’ve 

set benchmarks in our department,” says 

Washington State’s Hatch. “We wanted 

to reduce our paper consumption by 

25 percent, and we’re ahead of that this 

year. We’ve even had a coordinator on 

campus who has at times gone into 

our dumpster to check what could be 

composted and what really 

needs to go to our landfill.” 

“My personal passion is 

composting, and I do what I 

can to promote it,” says Rodney 

Bloom, operations coordinator 

for the University of 

Oregon’s physical education and 

recreation department. “There are two 

possibilities. The first is handling whatever 

organic waste is generated by the rec center 

— food scraps coming out of juice bars

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ENVIRONMENTAL 

EDUCATION 

or administrative areas from snacks or 

meals during break time. We also run a 

laundry facility, and it produces 80 to 

120 gallons of lint a week that can also 

be composted.” 

The recreation department’s staff 

kitchen at Sonoma State University uses 

real cups and silverware in an effort to 

“diminish the amount of disposables that 

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we have in the 

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building,” says 

Excess Frisbees 

serve as plates at 

campus recreation 

Sonoma State. 

director Pam Su, 

adding that the department has even 

put a new spin on excess promotional 

Frisbees: spill-proof lunch plates. “It’s 

important to be conscious of the lifecycle 

of items coming into your possession,” 


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Su says. “Can items be turned into new 

items? And if they do have to be disposed 

of, will they break down easily or 

sit in a landfill for years?” Southern Illinois 

University Edwardsville’s recreation 

department has taken steps to minimize 

the amount of Styrofoam it contributes 

to landfills by selling beverages at its 

poolside concessions stand in reusable 

32-ounce bottles. The drinks sell for 

$2.50, but can be refilled on subsequent 

visits for 50 cents. Says SIUE assistant 

director of recreation Keith Becherer, “In 

the long run, it’s going to save everyone 

money and it’s going to save a lot in 

terms of the environment.” 

By accepting such measures, and in 

many cases demanding them, college 

students are helping set a national agenda 

of environmental stewardship — in recreation 

settings and beyond. “Because campuses 

are like little towns all their own, the 

passion that students have for this topic 

lends itself to the movement in a big way,” 

says Katherine Otten, assistant director of 

marketing for the National Intramural- 

Recreational Sports Association, a member 

of the Higher Education Associations 

Sustainability Consortium. “Campuses are 

in a unique position. Not only can they take 

steps to reduce their carbon footprint, they 

can also help spread the word and educate 

people. They can really be at the forefront 

to effect change beyond their borders.” 

“Depending on where they are in the 

country, some people are having a much 

easier time addressing sustainability on 

their campuses than others,” says Su, 

who presented “Greening Your Operations” 

at NIRSA’s 2007 Recreation Facilities 

Institute in October. “There are some 

people who are hitting their heads 

against a wall because they don’t even 

have a recycling program. Some campuses 

out there have larger challenges, and 

they have to start with baby steps.” 

Many schools just need a little push, 

PHOTO COURTESY OF SONOMA STATE UNIVERSITY

CIRCLE 35 

ON REPLY CARD

ENVIRONMENTAL 

EDUCATION 

according to Tony Cortese, cofounder of 

the 15-year-old sustainability advocacy 

group Second Nature, which helped establish 

the Association for the Advancement 

of Sustainability in Higher Education and 

the American College and University 

Presidents Climate Commitment. 

(Second Nature is also the current 

coordinator of HEASC.) “When a college 


TRASH WALK 

SSU students 

survey the 

school’s 

recycling 

plant 


There are some 

people who are 

hitting their heads 

against a wall 

because they 

don’t even have 

a recycling 

program. 

decides to do something, unless it puts 

out a press release, nobody’s going to 

find out about it. There’s no entity out 

there that has the resources to collect 

this information right now,” Cortese 

says. “AASHE hopes to do that on a 

pretty large scale in the future, because 

one of its primary purposes is to be able 

to help people share best practices.” 

At schools like Washington State, 

where a student fee increase is being 

proposed to fund the appointment of 

an on-campus sustainability coordinator 

(Oregon already has one), the recreation 

department is — to recycle a worn 

phrase — pushing the green envelope. 

“I would like to say we’re brilliant, but 

we aren’t,” says Hatch. “It’s really in 

response to our student audience. 

We’re working with our global citizens 

of tomorrow. The consciousness has 

been raised in this generation, and so 

these students are coming here expecting 

us not to practice in our old way. If 

we want to continue to have as strong 

a profile as we’ve had in the past, our 

leadership is needed in this new, 

green way.” Ω 

PHOTOS COURTESY OF SONOMA STATE UNIVERSITY

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COMMON SENSE DRIVES THE DETAILS WHEN SPORTS FIELDS, 

COURTS AND TRACKS ARE PLACED ON TOP OF BUILDINGS 

AND PARKING STRUCTURES. BY ANDREW COHEN 

Underhill Field, a 

carpet-style synthetic 

turf surface 

located on 

top of a two-story parking 

garage that was backed into a 

hill in the heart of campus, 

was a popular recreation 

facility at the University of 

California, Berkeley. Hemmed 

in by dorms on two sides, a 

dining hall on the third and 

busy College Avenue where 

the rooftop met the hilltop, 

the field was the site of 

intramurals and club-team 

practices, with soccer, lacrosse, 

field hockey and rugby balls 

whizzing into 25-foot-tall 

nets and clanking against a 

perimeter chain-link fence. 

The 1989 Bay Area earthquake 

changed all that. Found 

to be slightly damaged and 

seismically unsafe in the 

event of a future temblor, the 

structure was demolished in 

1993, and the lot stayed vacant 


until this past fall, when 

Underhill Field reopened on 

top of a new, seismically safe, 

four-story parking structure. 

The new field is, like the 

old one, not of regulation size. 

Measuring 106 by 81 yards, 

it’s lined for various sports 

and, unlike the old field, is 

an infill system that represents 

today’s state of the art in 

synthetic turf manufacture. 

There have been a number 

of other improvements — 

there’s an offset area for a 

small number of spectators, 

rest rooms, an athletic 

equipment storage room 

and a sidewalk plaza. But 

the surface is the aspect of 

the project that most sets it 

apart from the former field — 

it’s sumptuous where the 

other was utilitarian; it gives 

the field primacy where it 

once seemed more of an 

afterthought to solving the 

on-campus parking problem.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY 

HANDICAPPED SPACE 

Hemmed in by dorms and 

a dining hall, UC Berkeley’s 

slightly undersized 

Underhill Field rests 

atop a four-story 

parking garage. 

It also is designed to provide 

better drainage than fields 

of the past — a huge consideration 

when placing a playing 

surface up on the roof. 

Rooftop playing surfaces 

are most often born of 

necessity, dictated by a tight 

site that prevents the side-byside 

accommodation of both 

a field and a structure. A 

number of such projects pair 

sports surfaces with a parking 

structure; in some cases, 

the parking structure sits 

completely below ground, 

with the “rooftop” field located 

essentially on grade. In yet 

another permutation, the 

building site is sloped (as with 

Underhill Field), and the 

playing surface is placed 

partly on grade and partly on 

the structure’s top. 

North Central High School 

in Spokane, Wash., followed 

this latter blueprint during 

the rebuilding of its campus 

in 1980, although the school’s 

subsequent history shows the 

danger of poor engineering 

when stacking sports surfaces 

on top of other building 

components. According to 

athletic director Scott 

Harman, the then- 

75-year-old building was 

“falling apart,” and initial 

plans called for a new school 

to be built on a wide-open 

site several miles west of its 

original location. However, 

alumni and booster groups 

insisted that for reasons of 

tradition, the school be 

rebuilt within roughly the 

same footprint. Locked in by 

surrounding commercial and 

residential neighborhoods, a 

new gymnasium was backed 

into a slope, along with an 

“industrial arts” classroom 

wing, and 10 tennis courts 

were constructed that, 

because of the cramped site, 

partially spanned the gap 

between the grade on the 

high end of the hill and the 

roof of the industrial arts 

wing. The gym’s roof, meanwhile, 

was overlaid with a 

brick cobblestone patio. 

“District engineers tried 

putting in irrigation and drains, 

but we had drippage in the 

gym from the day the building 

opened,” Harman says. 

In 2001, an addition was 

built — the construction 

necessitated the removal of 

several of the on-grade tennis 

courts — that accommodated 

an auxiliary gym and, above 

that, a science wing. That 

roof leaked, too. A 2003 

capital improvements bond 

gave the district $4.8 million 

to solve its moisture and 

mechanical engineering 

problems; in 2006 the district 

replaced the building’s 

HVAC systems, and removed 

the remaining tennis courts 

from atop the building so the 

leaky roof over the industrial 

arts wing could be replaced. 

The gym’s leaky roof was 

also replaced. 

Harman reports that this 

most recent repair appears to 

have put a stop to the leaks. 

But the surviving tennis courts 

behind the addition, two of 

which slightly overlap the 

building footprint, remain 

problematic. 

“It’s much better inside,” 

Harman says, “but outside, 

the courts right at the border 

of the roof have cracks so 

massive that we can’t use 

them for varsity sports.” 

The engineering theory 

involved in such half-on/ 

half-off applications is not 

that complicated. On the 

other hand, projects of this 

kind — assuming they solve 

the problems of drainage 

and differential settlement — 

can be award-worthy. One 

such project, a parking 

structure topped with an 

NCAA-regulation field 

hockey/lacrosse field that 

debuted in 2005 at Providence 

College, earned a Gold Award 

of Engineering Excellence 

from the American Council of 

Engineering Companies of 

Rainwater is drained from 

parking structures toward the 

middle of the concrete slab, 

whereas those with fields 

on top must be crowned 

so water flows away 

from the center. 

Massachusetts for engineering 

firm Symmes, Maini & McKee 

Associates of Cambridge, 

Mass., in association with 

sports surfaces consultant 

JJA Sports of Westford, Mass. 

The sloped building site, 

located adjacent to the college’s 

Peterson Recreation Center, 

had included a surface parking 

lot at its lower end that college 

administrators were eager to 

keep. Therefore, the decision 


POSITIVE 

PHOTO BY DAMON DESSERT ROOF 

BI DESIGN 

This half-on-roof, 

half-on-grade 

NCAA-regulation 

lacrosse/field hockey field 

at Providence College 

won an award for its 

engineering. 

was made to grade the higher 

end of the site, construct a 

multilevel parking garage and 

span the field from grade to 

the garage rooftop. 

Adding a field alters the 

typical design of a parking 



structure, notes Geoff Adams, 

a principal with Stantec Inc.’s 

San Francisco office, designer 

of Berkeley’s Underhill parking 

structure. Specifically, rainwater 

is almost universally 

drained from field-less 

parking structures toward 

the middle of the concrete 

slab, whereas those with 

fields must be slightly crowned 

so water flows away from 

the center. What made the 

Providence project tricky, 

says Richard Croswell, a 

senior structural engineer 

and principal with SMMA, 

was that the different subbases 

used at each end of the 

parking structure (concrete 

and native soils) required 

different approaches to 

solve drainage and settlement 

issues, while at the same time 

care had to be taken to make 

field performance uniform. 

The design team’s solution 

was a perimeter trench drain 

system that was utilized in 

conjunction with a series of 

perforated panel drains that 

together allow water both to 

drain through and run off the 

surface. The focal point of 

the designers’ efforts, however, 

was the transition zone 

where the parking structure 

ends and the graded portion 

of the field begins. At the 

midpoint of the field, where 

the waterproofed basement 

wall signals the structure’s 

terminus, three feet of superporous 

drainage material was 

added to the base of the wall, 

and a heavily reinforced, 

hinged concrete slab was 

poured along the top of the 

wall that extended 15 feet 

over the compacted soil and

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engineered stone subbase. 

Croswell says that previous 

projects of this kind that he’s 

aware of have experienced 

drainage-related problems, 

but Robert Johnston, a 

principal with Cannon Design 

in Victoria, B.C., can point to 

a 20-year-old facility that 

used much of the same 

engineering treatment of 

the garage, grade level and 

transition zone, and today is 

functioning well with its 

second playing surface. The 

University of Alberta’s Lister 

Field is a synthetic turf field 

about 80 percent on the roof 

of a parking structure and 

20 percent on grade. Johnston 

says that what particularly 

accounts for the project’s 

long-term viability is that the 

field was laid according to 

modern standards, rather 

than those prevalent in 1988. 

“Carpet-style fields in those 

days were normally glued 

down, but we utilized a sandfilled, 

loose-laid turf over a 

premanufactured pad, which 

is more consistent with the 

types sold now,” Johnston says. 

“We didn’t go with a gluedown 

field because we didn’t 

want to get wrinkles and 

problems when the building 

moved. That’s the big challenge 

when you extend off the roof 

— buildings tend to move, 

and fields move too, and you 

have to allow for that movement 

in your system design.” 

Not all rooftop playing 

surfaces are synthetic, 

although placing a grass 

field atop a structure is 

inherently more difficult, 

largely because of the weight 

of the drainage base and soil 

profile. It’s also significantly 

more costly because of the 

added structure necessary to 

hold all that extra weight. 

John Boekelman, an 

associate principal at Cannon 

Design’s Grand Island, N.Y., 

headquarters, led the engineering 

team on the Agnes C. 

Underwood Athletic Center 

at the National Cathedral 

School for Girls in Washington, 

D.C. (a 2003 Athletic Business 

Facility of Merit winner). 

Located below grade and 

buried on three sides, the 

Underwood center features a 

full-size grass soccer field on 

“at least 10 inches of soil and 

another 10 inches of drainage 

gravel, insulation and waterproofing,” 

Boekelman says. 

“After all, if you’re going to 

go to that much trouble you 

want to make sure you have 


ATHLETIC SUPPORT 

Steel trusses endure 

the weight of the 

grass soccer field 

atop the Underwood 

Athletic Center at the 

National Cathedral 

School for Girls in 

Washington, D.C. 

That’s the big challenge 

when you go off the roof — 

buildings tend to move, 

and fields move too, 

and you have to allow 

for that movement 

in your system design. 

a good growth medium and a 

good field in the end.” 

Where a synthetic field 

may weigh in the single digits 

in pounds per square foot, a 

grass field of the quality of 

the National Cathedral School’s 

weighs between 250 to 300 

pounds per square foot. For 

that reason, the center was 

built using steel trusses that 

span 115 feet above the 

competition and auxiliary 

gyms (as well as its smaller

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ROOF 

POSITIVE 

GRADING SCALE 

Eighty percent of the 

University of Alberta’s 

20-year-old Lister Field 

sits on the roof 

of a parking structure 

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20 percent on grade. 

Matéflex 

spaces), the stiffness of the 

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ground rather than pooling 

on the roof — a guard against 

leakage but also against 

additional water weight. The 

down side of scrimping on 

drainage during construction 

should be obvious. “The last 

thing you want to do,” as 

Boekelman says, “is to have 

to dig up that thing.” 

That sort of common 

sense rules the design and 

construction of all these 

types of projects, Johnston 

says. It’s the reason a grass 

field contractor doesn’t drive 

heavy equipment or stockpile 

stones and soil on the roof 

when building the drainage 

system. It’s the reason parking 

structures are crowned so 

that drains don’t sit under 

synthetic turf. And it’s the 

reason fences, padding and 

nets protect players, passersby 

and nearby buildings. 

It’s also the reason why 

stacked fields dating back as 

far as 1981 — such as Warner 

Roof, the field hockey pitch 

atop Brown University’s 

Olney Margolies Athletic 

Center — continue to perform 

well to this day. Or why Lister 

Field’s first synthetic surface 

enjoyed a life span of 16 years. 

Says Johnston of that long-ago 

project, “What we did with 

our surface 20 years ago was 

more cutting edge than what 

the industry was doing at 

that time, but these projects 

are pretty straightforward. 

You have to do some really 

logical things in terms of 

water management underneath 

the field, then you put 

a system on that’s loose-laid, 

and then you detail it. In my 

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CIRCLE 43 

ON REPLY CARD

OBJECTION! 

INDUSTRY STANDARDS 

CAN IMPROVE THE DELIVERY 

OF SERVICE AND PROTECT 

THE HEALTH OF CONSUMERS. 

NOW, IF ONLY INDUSTRY 

PROFESSIONALS AND 

THE COURTS COULD AGREE 

ON WHAT CONSTITUTES 

A STANDARD. 


60 ATHLETIC BUSINESS APRIL 2008 ATHLETICBUSINESS.COM

ILLUSTRATION BY BRUNO BUDROVIC 

Put yourself in some uncomfortable 

shoes for a moment. You’re the owner of a 

recreation center, and you and your architect have been sued 

for negligence with regard to the design and supervision of 

your gymnasium. Under questioning by the attorney for the 

plaintiff (a 16-year-old girl who was left paralyzed after a 

collision with a gym wall), an expert witness recounts the 

dimensions of your gym and gym wall padding, and declares 

that neither meets the recognized standard for safety. 

Your jaw tightens and, eyes (and spirits) dropping, you 

scribble on your notepad and slide the message in front of 

your lawyer: “What standard?” 

This is perhaps a fanciful scene — after all, you’re aware of 

all the relevant standards, aren’t you? — and yet, it occurs 

more frequently than you might think. Because confusion 

surrounding standards is often present among newcomers to 

the field of sports architecture and program administration, 

the same confusion reigns, when a case is brought to trial, 

among every person connected with the proceedings. 

Well, almost every person. Expert witnesses brought in 

by both sides will voice with complete certainty the existence 

or general acceptance of a certain industry standard — 

something that frustrates a number of professionals specializing 

in sports law. 

“I remember a case involving a person who fell off a treadmill, 

and a witness for the plaintiff kept saying that such and 

such was the standard for fitness center design,” recalls Herb 

Appenzeller, editor of the newsletter From the Gym to the Jury 

and a recognized authority in the field of sports law. “When I 

got up there, I said to the judge, ‘If you turn to this book that 

he’s been citing, you’ll see this is in no way a standard.’ We 

won our case hands down. That witness is an attorney, and 

he’s a friend of mine, but he was way off base on that one.” 

Attorney Gil Fried, an associate professor at the University 

of New Haven and a frequent expert witness, says it’s the 

dearth of meaningful government regulations in the sports 

industry that leads to the practice of citing alleged standards 

from books or magazine articles that may be inaccurate or not 

actually adhered to by facility architects or owners. “I’ve 

worked on a number of cases where the other side has said, 

‘This is the standard,’ ” he says. “My response is, ‘Prove it.’ 

Just because one organization says something is a standard 

doesn’t make it a standard.” 

In one paraplegia case that hinged on the slipperiness of a 

gym floor allegedly caused by improper air circulation, Fried 

called the editor of the book cited by opposing counsel to ask 

him where the book’s figures for humidity and temperature 

came from. It turned out that they had been taken from a 

book about the design of office buildings, which Fried points 

out differ significantly from gymnasiums in their engineering, 

heat load and type of ventilation system used. 

“Upon examination, the opposing expert was not able to 

prove that the defendants had violated a specific industry 

standard for gymnasiums,” Fried says. “I suppose his 

assumption was that if something is published, it is a standard. 

I maintain that unless a government entity has adopted a 

standard or at least 70 percent of people in the industry 

follow it, it’s not a standard.” 

A lmost 

by definition, courts set standards. Lower courts, 

it is true, often rule similar cases in contradictory ways, 

because of subtle differences in argument and laws that vary 

from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. But once a higher court rules 

on a particular issue, a precedent has been set that other 

courts are hesitant to overturn. 

Since courts rule on — and sometimes reject — legislation, they 

can have a greater impact on the setting of standards than can 

lawmakers. However, legislatures also do their part. A good 

example would be in the area of automated external defibrillators. 

Over the past six years, a number of state legislatures 

have passed AED-related laws and, although more of these laws 

encourage broader availability rather than create new regulatory 

I’ve worked on 

a number of cases 

where the other side 

has said, ‘This is 

the standard.’ 

My response is, ‘Prove it.’ 

restrictions, they have become the basis for a new standard of 

care in some high school gyms and health clubs. 

There is a larger class of standards of care, legally speaking, 

that don’t quite meet the “must do” threshold — recommendations 

(or guidelines), and beneath those on the flow chart, 

best practices. Recommendations are suggested practices — 

not things you must do, but things that (it is believed) you 

should do because they will benefit you, the consumer or 

both. A court of law might not hold you liable for failing to do 

something you weren’t required to do. A best practice doesn’t 


OBJECTION! 

Recommended 

Reading 

T he 

National Federation of State High School 

Associations has a problem: The safety of 

its athletes is of paramount importance, but the 

majority of high schools feature facilities that 

don’t measure up to modern notions of safe 

play environments. Setting a standard for, say, 

the minimum allowable distance between a 

basketball court and cinderblock walls that surround 

it would either render 20,000-some gyms 

obsolete or, if older gyms were grandfathered, a 

meaningless standard that few schools meet. 

The organization’s recommendation for court 

boundaries, therefore, takes heed of this reality 

— to the detriment of safety, risk management 

experts say. The NFHS — and, it should be 

noted, the National Collegiate Athletic Association 

— recommend 10 feet of space around the 

court’s perimeter, but term a minimum 3 feet of 

space “acceptable.” 

The practical result of such a recommendation 

is that many facility architects, especially 

those less familiar with the specific requirements 

of sports activities, opt for the “acceptable” 

3-foot distance over the “recommended” 

10-foot distance, saving tens of thousands of 

dollars in construction costs but putting athletes 

at risk of injury and owners at risk of a catastrophic-injury 

lawsuit. Experts knowledgeable 

about out-of-court settlements (few such cases 

ever get to trial) say that gym-wall collision 

cases occurring in gyms with 10-foot buffer 

zones are routinely thrown out by judges, 

whereas those occurring in gyms with the minimum 

3 feet of space cost school districts an 

average of $1.5 million. 

Herb Appenzeller and Todd Seidler, two 

longtime authorities in sports law and risk management, 

have approached the NFHS in an 

effort to get its rules committee to remove the 

dual-distance recommendation or provide an 

explanation of safety and the importance of 

proper gym-wall padding. “As long as that’s in 

there, plaintiffs are going to use that as the basis 

of their claim,” says Appenzeller. 

The problem goes beyond this one particular 

example, Seidler adds. “ ‘Standard’ and ‘recommendation’ 

are used interchangeably in court, 

and we need to define the difference between 

them,” he says. “People say something is a standard 

just because it’s in a rule book, and I have 

to disagree. I have had to challenge that often as 

an expert witness.” 

— A.C. 


even meet that low threshold; it’s just an example of one way that people 

do things. If enough people follow a best practice, though, it can become 

recognized as a standard of care, and then it is up to an organization to 

codify it as a standard, or a judge or jury to find a facility owner negligent 

— and here we are, back in court. 

A judge, it should be noted, will often accept a determination of a 

“recognized standard” that falls somewhere between a government 

regulation and Fried’s 70 percent rule. Just as a dictionary includes 

recently coined words once enough people use them, standards become 

standards by joining the industry vernacular. Steve Tharrett, president of 

Club Industry Consulting and lead editor of the second and third editions 

of the American College of Sports Medicine’s Health/Fitness Facility 

Standards and Guidelines, notes that the very first of 21 standards (and 

36 guidelines) listed in the book’s third edition — the need to perform 

pre-activity cardiovascular risk screenings — came about in a somewhat 

organic fashion, helped along in no small part by the book’s early editions, 

in which it was included as a “standard” even though it was not yet a 

standard practice. 

“Everybody agrees that a pre-activity screening is the right thing,” 

Tharrett says. “Do 100 percent of fitness centers in the industry do it? 

No, probably more like 80 percent now. But when the first edition of the 

book came out, maybe 10 percent did it. So one of the by-products of setting 

standards is they actually improve the delivery of service in the industry.” 

This fluidity in the general adherence to standards means that a judge 

adjudicating a case must research actual industry practices, just as each 

side’s expert witnesses are claiming to be doing. Professor Paul Anderson, 

associate director of the National Sports Law Institute at Marquette 

University, says a “common practice standard” can indeed hold weight 

in court, since the judge will be looking to determine the level of duty 

that one could expect of a “reasonable” person or organization. It’s the 

judge’s call — and yet, Anderson says, “judicially imposed standard” is 

not really an accurate description. 

“I’ve been working on a lot of Title IX cases, and most lawyers know and 

could easily show that virtually every high school in the country violates 

Title IX,” Anderson says. “Does that mean we’ll have eight billion lawsuits? 

No. Because until you have someone who complains about it and can show 

there’s been some harm, it doesn’t matter whether people violate a standard 

— that’s not the point. Until someone makes a deal out of it, the standard is 

just there, and people have to decide whether to follow the standard or not.” 

S tandards 

One of the by-products 

of setting standards 

is they actually 

improve the delivery 

of service in the industry. 

— or recommendations, or best practices — are the work 

of a range of organizations, from independent bodies such as 

ASTM International and the Consumer Product Safety Commission 

(CPSC) to sports or fitness organizations such as ACSM and the National

CIRCLE 44 

ON REPLY CARD

OBJECTION! 

Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS). In 

addition, professional sports leagues may have standards that 

the various franchises are expected to follow — for example, 

rules delineating the height of the glass or the hanging of 

nets in hockey rinks to protect against flying pucks, or the 

specifications on backstop screens in ballparks. Although 

some organizations write standards as a way of boosting the 

credibility of their members, most write them in response 

to a present problem or in anticipation of a future one (the 

National Hockey League’s current netting standards were a 

direct response to the 2002 death of 13-year-old Brittanie 

Cecil, a spectator at a Columbus Blue Jackets game). 

Beyond the obvious concern — the possibility that one 

organization will set standards that contradict another’s — there 

exists more than a little distrust of other, less altruistic motivations 

that lead to the adoption of certain industry standards. 

It is no secret that suppliers of equipment and facility 

components have an influence over the writing of standards; 

indeed, ASTM International’s 30,000 technical experts (producers, 

consumers, government officials and academicians) tilt heavily 

toward those representing the manufacturing sector. Fried, a 

former ASTM member, is critical of that bias, noting as an 

example an ASTM standard that calls for chain-link fences a 

minimum of 6 feet high to completely surround baseball fields. 

“It would seem to make sense, right?” Fried asks. “But how 

many fields can you think of that actually have it? It wasn’t the 

sports safety division of ASTM that developed this, but the 

fencing industry. Who knows how they came up with it? Isn’t 

it potentially self-serving, so they can sell more fencing?” 

A glance at the leadership of ASTM’s Committee F14 on 

Fences shows eight committee officers, seven of whom 

represent fence producers and suppliers (the committee’s 

spring meeting is held in conjunction with the American 

Fence Association trade show). The eighth committee officer, 

Art Mittelstaedt of the Recreation Safety Institute, told the 

ASTM’s Standardization News in August 2003 that the standard 

“has its origins in the safety of the player as well as the spectator. 

The height of outfield fences at 6 feet avoids impact to the 

kidney and head areas of the body to outfielders. It provides a 

visual barrier and contains fly balls as well as denoting home 

runs. The sideline fencing protects the spectators from line 

drives and other hits to the bleachers.” 

Christine Sierk, ASTM’s staff manager for technical committee 

operations, calls the standard-writing process at ASTM 

“completely open and transparent,” noting a host of procedural 

safeguards that include many hallmarks of the United States’ 

bicameral system of government, replete with subcommittees 

(unanimous subcommittee approval is required to send a standard 

to the full committee for discussion and vote), vetoes and veto 

overrides requiring a two-thirds majority. Sierk rejects the notion 

that a process this “democratic” can be unduly influenced. 

“A company can have 12 people on the main committee 

and one voting member of each subcommittee, but each 

company only gets one vote on the main committee,” Sierk 

says. “There’s also a rule that we cannot have more producers 

than combined consumers and general interest members. It 

cannot be manufacturer driven — this is not a consortium.” 


Sierk notes that anyone can come to ASTM to propose a new 

standard or suggest changes to an existing one. That’s what the 

father of Kevin Dare, the Penn State pole-vaulter who died in a 

fall in February 2002, did, and today Committee F08 on Sports 

Equipment and Facilities has one approved standard for polevault 

landing systems and two proposed standards for pole vault 

base pads and box collars still under consideration. That sort of 

public involvement has been part of ASTM since its formation in 

1898 as the American Society for Testing and Materials, when 

passenger advocates came together with an admittedly larger 

contingent of steel manufacturers and railroad barons to bring 

about the standardization of steel rails across the country’s railroad 

system. “We have a guy whose only job is to review membership,” 

Sierk says. “There are very strict rules we have to abide by; 

our standards truly must be the result of industry consensus.” 

Professor Todd Seidler, coordinator of the graduate program 

in sport administration at the University of New Mexico and a 

consultant on sports and recreation facility planning and risk 

management, says one thing that troubles him about the 

process is the fact that committee members are often called 

upon to vote on subcommittee proposals that are completely 

outside their area of expertise (Sierk says that committee 

members are encouraged to abstain, with comment or without, 

in such circumstances). Yet, echoing Fried, Seidler concedes 

that his problem with standard-writing bodies such as ASTM 

might have more to do with perception than reality. 

“They came out recently with a standard for wall padding, 

which I think is a very good standard, but it was all the 

manufacturers who were voting on it. If they were to create a 

standard that called for double the amount of padding they 

suggest now — well, the thing is, I think most places do need 

to double the amount of padding that they have,” Seidler says, 

laughing. “But again, would such a standard be developed 

because there is a need, or just because of greed on the 

manufacturers’ part? I’m a little suspicious of it.” 

A n 

Until you have 

someone who can 

show there’s been 

some harm, it doesn’t 

matter whether people 

violate a standard 

— that’s not the point. 

industry has to be ready to accept a new standard. 

That doesn’t just mean that facility owners are 

amenable — it also means that the technology is there to 

support the standard. Going back to the example of AEDs,

CIRCLE 45 

ON REPLY CARD

OBJECTION! 

10 years ago there was no standard 

requiring or guideline suggesting that 

that particular piece of equipment be 

purchased. But times change — slowly — 

and now, like fire extinguishers, the AED 

is a standard piece of equipment in public 

spaces such as airports and hotels. 

If there has been widespread resistance 

to AED standards in fitness center settings 

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will of the people who might adopt it at 

this moment in time. Set the bar too high 

and club owners will resist compliance. 

And, counterintuitive though it may 

Architects and contractors 

hate when little glitches 

foul up big jobs. 

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seem, a judge will have a harder time 

finding a club where a member collapsed 

and died on the basketball court negligent, 

because the prevalence of AED use in 

the industry falls short of what could be 

considered an “accepted standard.” 

This is essentially the predicament 

that ACSM found itself in when, in 

1992, it published its first edition of 

Health/Fitness Facility Standards and 

Guidelines to fierce opposition. “There 

was evidence that, because clubs were 

getting more into the health-care arena, 

if we didn’t standardize, the government 

would do it for us,” Tharrett says. “At 

first, ACSM assigned people to lead this 

project who were not industry people 

but scientists, so it became kind of an 

unreal document. Not that it was bad, 

but it was too far-reaching in comparison 

to where the industry was or where it 

was prepared to go.” 

Although its committee members 

were practitioners rather than equipment 

manufacturers (as befits a set of standards 

devoted to program operation rather than 

facility design or equipment specification), 

ACSM by the book’s second edition 

(1997) had essentially adopted the ASTM 

model, with standards proposed by subcommittees, 

rough standards drafted and 

made available for public comment, endless 

revisions and, eventually, standards on 

which there was widespread consensus. 

The most important alteration to the 

process, however, was that where the first 

edition featured more than 300 standards, 

the second settled on six broad standards 

(example: management should provide 

proper supervision of the facility) and 

then delineated a host of guidelines that 

could help a facility owner meet the 

umbrella standard. By the third edition, 

released in October 2006, the number of 

standards had reached 21. 

“I don’t know that there’s ever 100 percent 

consensus, but as long as your target 

audience is involved and you give them 

the chance to provide feedback and input 

— and you don’t try to push the envelope 

too fast — then the process seems to 

work more effectively,” says Tharrett. 

“The third edition gets used a lot in 

club-related lawsuits, by defendants as 

well as plaintiffs, and in universities as a 

teaching tool. It has begun to represent 

a real consensus in the industry.” Ω

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PurchasingGuide 

PHOTO COURTESY OF SPORTSGRAPHICS INC. 

A Step Further 

MANUFACTURERS HAVE GONE BEYOND CODES IN ATTEMPTS 

TO ENHANCE BLEACHER SAFETY. BY PAUL STEINBACH 

The subject of bleacher safety last gained a 

national audience in 1999, when the death 

of a six-year-old boy sparked the rapid passage 

of groundbreaking legislation in Minnesota and 

hastened the replacement of hundreds of antiquated 

seating systems throughout the state (see “After 

the Fall,” May 2002). Other states have since 

tried and failed to enact such laws, and federal 

legislation has met a similar fate. Meanwhile, 

bleacher-related injuries continue to stack up. 

According to U.S. Consumer Product Safety 

Commission estimates, an average of 18,815 injuries 

have occurred in the United States each year since 

1999, which saw a record high of 22,063. 

Clearly, the shoring up of international building 

codes relating to bleacher design and installation 

has kept that figure from climbing higher. Standards 

now exist for such bleacher details as the height of 


side and back rails (42 inches from the adjacent 

seat board), aisle widths (48 inches), and the gaps 

between hard-to-climb rail “pickets” and between 

floor and seat boards (narrower than would allow 

passage of a 4-inch-diameter ball, roughly the size 

of an infant’s head). 

But suppliers of bleachers and other gymnasium 

components have taken safety a step further, going 

beyond the code language to help mitigate injury 

risk with specialized bleacher accessories and 

innovations. The bleacher enclosure, for one, has 

gained increasing popularity among athletic directors 

within the past five years. “I deal with ADs all the 

time, and that was one of their needs — to have a 

product that could close off bleachers to keep kids 

out from underneath for liability and vandalism 

reasons, yet not be a pain for the custodians to put 

up and take down after every game,” says Patrick 

IS IT SAFE? 

This bleacher 

system sports the 

latest in enclosure 

technology, but its 

side and back 

rails appear 

dangerously 

out of date.

Conlon, president of wall pad manufacturer 

SportsGraphics Inc., which markets customizable 

enclosures. “I’ve had numerous people tell me 

kids get under there and step on the brakes and 

bend them, and then the bleachers go in cockeyed 

and it’s a big mess.” 

Bleacher enclosures are available either as 

heavy-gauge nylon curtains or collapsible 

wood walls with lockable access doors. In 

either form, they attach to the bleacher system 

and move in and out with its telescoping motion. 

“Vinyl is a great deterrent, I’m all for it, and 

we sell it and install it for our customers where 

requested,” says Terry O’Hagan, vice president 

of operations for BR Bleachers. “The upside to 

it is it’s cost-effective. The solid panels are more 

costly, but they are going to provide greater 

safety insofar as there’s less possibility of somebody 

getting under there.” 

Not everyone is as open to the enclosure concept, 

however, according to H & H Enterprises vice 

president of sales Tim Philippart, who sees “serious 

interest” in enclosures among “only 3 to 5 percent” 

of his company’s clients. “They’re concerned about 

people going behind those curtains,” Philippart 

says. “People can slip behind them with a little bit 

of effort, and then they can’t be seen underneath 

when the bleachers are being closed. There’s a 

thought that it might actually be a greater hazard 

than not having them there at all.” 

Reg Tharp, national sales manager for Irwin 

Telescopic Seating, sees benefits to having a barrier 

(his company, like H & H, offers them), but only if 

due diligence is exercised during bleacher operation. 

“It’s a good feature, but it also brings in another 

element of surprise,” Tharp says. “If there is a 

chair, a ball, a child under there, you have a 

potential situation.” Checking underneath bleachers 

for obstructions prior to closing is critical, adds 

Tharp, who says the task can sometimes equate 

to “trying to find a black cat in a coal mine.” 

Other products now exist to keep telescopic 

bleachers safe once they are in the closed position. 

Bleacher aisles tend to form a ladder-like face 

when stacked vertically, which may tempt children 

to scale that part of the bleacher system to retrieve 

an errant ball lodged on the top row or simply for 

the challenge of it. Vinyl covers attached to stacked 

PurchasingGuide 

bleachers help mitigate that risk. In addition, 

top-row bleacher covers help remove climbing 

incentive by repelling balls back to court level. 

Aisles may also feature a handrail that folds with 

the system, yet protrudes from the stack to form a 

potential hazard. “Most schools push the bleachers in 

and practice side to side on two courts, in which case 

players are running right at the bleacher with those 

big iron handrails sticking out,” says SportsGraphics’ 

Conlon. “We make a pad that slips over those. It 

covers the width of the aisle, so it’s 4 feet wide 

and 6 feet high, and acts like a wall pad.” 

Aisle handrails have also seen great safety strides. 

Long required by code, handrails on many existing 

bleacher models must be removed and stored or 

laid on the bleacher decking before a bleacher system 

can be closed. The heavy, cumbersome rails often 

lend themselves to safety shortcuts. “Our own 

local high school had 16 rows of bleachers with 

the rails in the closet, and they would never bring 

them out,” says Kevin Hemler, national sales 

manager for bleacher manufacturer Interkal. “A 

lot of schools still do that.” 

Beginning five years ago, rail designs that fold 

with the bleachers and reemerge in their ready 

position have eliminated excess labor and 

ensured that the rails are in place during all 

events. “They’re always there, ready for the 

patron to use,” says Irwin’s Tharp. “That’s been 

one of the most significant safety features 

developed in some time.” 

I deal with ADs all the time, and that was one of 

their needs — to have a product that could close off 

bleachers to keep kids out from underneath. 

Sometimes bleacher safety awareness is 

heightened in unexpected ways. Six-year-old 

Jarod Bennett was killed in 2003 when a cafeteria 

table fell on him during an after-school program, 

resulting in legislation enacted last year that 

mandates annual K-12 school safety inspections 

throughout Ohio. “That has probably been the 

most significant safety-related issue in the past five 

years,” says Philippart, whose company conducts 

bleacher inspections. “And I really anticipate that 

other states are going to follow suit in having laws 

enacted that are similar to Jarod’s Law.” 

Bleacher design has come a long way in the 

past decade, but schools and states take safety for 

granted at their own peril. “We just expect bleachers 

to work, and don’t think much about them,” says 

O’Hagan. “But there are more problems out there 

than people realize.” Ω 


PurchasingGuide Gym and Arena Components 

AALCO MANUFACTURING CO. 

The patented Grand Slam Batting Cage 

from Aalco Manufacturing is designed for 

golf and baseball use and features motorized 

divider nets that allow for quadrant training 

or full boxed-in hitting and fielding areas to 

protect facility components and spectators. 

Single, Double, Triple and Home Run 

systems are available to help enhance 

coaching and training productivity. 

aalcomfg.com 

800/537-1259 

Circle 150 

AESON FLOORING SYSTEMS, 

DIV. OF STAGESTEP 

Aeson Flooring offers a portable or permanent 

hardwood sports flooring system 

with a state-of-the-art, prefabricated subfloor. 

Exceeding DIN, EN and FIBA standards 

for quality and performance, this 

professional-grade floor is ideal for basketball, 

aerobics or multipurpose use. The 

hardwood flooring system offers superior 

energy absorption and resilience, is custommade 

to client specifications and is available 

in many prefinished species, including 

maple, oak and beech. 

aesonflooring.com 

800/523-0960 

Circle 151 

ALL AMERICAN SCOREBOARDS 

The new 6-foot-long scorer’s table from 

All American Scoreboards features a 

brightly illuminated, slide-in front adver- 

tising panel constructed of shatterproof 

polycarbonate. Other features include a 

durable aluminum frame, pre-drilled 

holes for cable routing, a folding top for 

easy storage, and locking casters for easy 

moving and setup. The table stands 32 

inches high and folds to a width of 12 

inches. 

allamericanscoreboards.com 

800/707-3837 

Circle 152 

ARTISTIC COVERINGS INC. 

Certified fire-resistant wall padding 

from Athletic Coverings meets four 

separate industry standards. This 

Class A-rated product is constructed of 

7 ⁄16-inch OSB, with 2-inch-thick flameresistant 

polymerized open-cell foam 

covered with 16-ounce, FR-rated textured 

vinyl. Pads have 1-inch lip tops and 

bottoms and come with several mounting 

hardware options. A wide variety of 

colors and graphics are available 

at no additional cost. 

artisticcoverings.com 

877/599-9343 

Circle 153 

BASKETBALL PRODUCTS 

INTERNATIONAL 

BPI offers a complete line of portable 

basketball backstops. Main court 

portable backstops by Porter are available 

with either spring-loaded or 

hydraulic lifting mechanisms. The 

Center-Strut® system combines a clean 

design with shatterproof glass backboards. 

Porter backstops are available in 

8-foot and 10-foot, 8-inch extensions to 

provide additional clearance for optimum 

player safety while meeting 

domestic and international requirements. 

basketballproductsinternational.com 

866/621-3865 

Circle 154 


BISON INC. 

Bison’s UltraLite Aluminum System is for 

facilities that demand net tensioning suitable 

for elite competitions, as well as the versatility 

of tennis-to-volleyball net height adjustment. 

UltraLite’s 4-inch aluminum posts fit all 

manufacturers’ floor sleeves without the need 

for adapters, and the system can be set up in 

less than five minutes, the company says. 

The system’s posts and winch carry a lifetime 

warranty, and padding lettering is free with 

the purchase of a complete system package. 

bisoninc.com 

800/247-7668 

Circle 155 

BSN SPORTS 

BSN Sports allows clients to protect 

their investment with durable vinyl 

floor covering, pre-cut for easy installation 

and storage. The company’s mobile 

storage racks make installation easy 

while keeping the gym organized. Ideal 

for the staging of banquets, receptions 

or awards ceremonies, the material is 

available in 10-by-100-foot sections, 

with a choice of standard 16-ounce or 

heavy-duty 22-ounce vinyl, and carries 

a three-year limited warranty. 

bsnsports.com 

800/527-7510 

Circle 156 

CARRON NET CO. INC. 

Carron divider nets and curtains allow 

gyms, field houses and recreation centers 

to be divided into a variety of combinations 

to take full advantage of available 

space. Carron can design netting or 

mesh-and-vinyl divider systems to suit 

nearly any floor configuration. A full

When the game is on the line think...Jaypro! 

Manufacturing Quality Athletic Equipment 

Multi-Sport Facilities Count On Jaypro 

Sports To Provide Custom Solutions And 

A Full Line Of Quality Athletic Equipment! 

Jaypro provides a full line of products for competition or 

recreational play. From aluminum bleachers and soccer goals, 

to ceiling suspended backstops and divider curtains, we 

adhere to the highest standards of quality and service in the 

sports equipment industry. For all your athletic equipment 

needs, when the game is on the line think...Jaypro! 

For more information contact your local Jaypro dealer or 

to order a free catalog, contact Jaypro at 800-243-0533 

or visit us at www.jaypro.com 

CIRCLE 48 

ON REPLY CARD 

Includes a Plexiglas 

locking protective cover. 

The ETEC Easy Touch 

Equipment Controller 

Save time and money with “Game day” 

one-touch operation! A must have for large 

gymnasiums and field houses! The Ultimate 

Gymnasium Equipment Controller. Operate 

all of your equipment from this state-ofthe-art 

touch screen controller. Screens are 

customized showing actual gym layout and 

equipment. Completely configure your 

backstops, curtains, height adjusters and 

batting cages with the touch of a button. 

www.jaypro.com 

Gymnasium Athletic Equipment • Volleyball • Basketball • Soccer • Baseball • Football • Parks & Recreation 

Physical Education • Tennis • Field & Floor Hockey • Lacrosse • Ball Carriers • Wall Padding • Field Maintenance


line of high-quality sports nets and 

accessories also is available. 

carronnet.com 

800/558-7768 

Circle 157 

CLARIN, DIV. OF GREENWICH 

INDUSTRIES 

The Titan Series from Clarin is designed 

to deliver strength and durability in 

portable seating. New heavy-duty models 

feature additional support components at 

critical stress points to increase Titan’s 

capacity to hold weight, making the chairs 

perfectly suited for locker rooms and ADA 

seating areas. Buyers are invited to create 

their own chair designs. 

clarinseating.com 

800/323-9062 

Circle 158 

COLORADO TIME & COLORADO 

DISPLAY SYSTEMS 

Colorado Time Systems has more than 

30 years of experience in sports timing 

and scoring. Products include scoreboards, 

message displays and aquatic timing 

equipment. Colorado Display Systems is a 

division of CTS and specializes in a wide 

range of indoor and outdoor displays for 

sporting applications. 

coloradotime.com 

800/279-0111 

Circle 159 

COVERMASTER INC. 

Safety in gym floor cover handling is paramount 

at Covermaster, manufacturer of 

ADA-compliant Ultima Series gym floor 

covers and the Covermate II storage and 

handling system featuring many innovative 

safety features. This complete, certified 

safety package can be viewed via brochure 

and DVD. 

covermaster.com 

800/387-5808 

Circle 160 

COVERSPORTS USA 

CoverSports USA’s new 28-page catalog 

showcases the company’s entire range of 

products for gymnasiums, football fields, 

baseball diamonds and tennis courts. Featured 

items include gym mats, gym floor 

and stadium covers, indoor and outdoor 

padding, wind and privacy screens, digitally 

printed banners, temporary outdoor 

fencing and fence-top protection, sideline 

tarps, winter turf blankets, all-sports shelters 

and portable dugouts. The catalog also 

highlights the company’s new color and 

logo customization capabilities. 

coversports.com 

800/445-6680 

Circle 161 

DAKTRONICS INC. 

Daktronics engineers designed the 

ColorSmart® scoreboard with LED technology 

that changes digit color depending 

on game circumstances. ColorSmart’s interactive 

digits show the leading team’s score in 

green, the trailing team’s score in red and 

both scores in amber when tied. In addition, 

the durable scoreboards are built to withstand 

unintentional blows from indoor balls. 

daktronics.com 

888/325-7267 

Circle 162 

DRAPER INC. 

Draper’s gymnasium wall pads and gym 

dividers have received GREENGUARD 


for Children and Schools certification, 

ensuring that the toughest indoor air quality 

standards have been met. Draper’s 

mesh and opaque gym divider fabrics and 

EcoVision standard and Class A flameretardant 

wall pads are tested quarterly to 

maintain certification, the company says. 

draperinc.com/go/green 

765/987-7999 

Circle 163 

ELECTRO-NUMERICS INC. 

Portable, battery-powered Raceclock 

Sports timing clocks come with 4-, 6- or 

9-inch-tall digits that are legible from distances 

of up to 360 feet. Single- and 

double-sided models come with traditional 

“flip” digits or super-bright LED digits, 

and packages are available with carrying 

cases and tripod stands. 

raceclock.com 

800/854-8530 

Circle 164 

EVERSAN INC. 

Eversan’s high-definition, ultra-bright LED 

Digits Scoreboards feature some of the 

industry’s brightest wide-angle LEDs. Lightsensitive 

brightness controls help ensure 

greater clarity, day or night. The energyefficient 

system is built with fully integrated 

microprocessor-controlled components, and 

wireless data transfer eliminates cable clutter 

— drastically reducing installation costs and 

setup times, the company says. 

eversan.com 

800/383-6060 

Circle 165 

FAIR-PLAY SCOREBOARDS 

Fair-Play provides sports programs with 

complete scoring and timing solutions —

CIRCLE 49 

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from the locker room to the court. The 

complete inventory of indoor products 

from Fair-Play includes vibrant fullcolor 

CaptiVue® LED message centers, 

allowing schools to display school spirit 

like never before. 

fair-play.com 

800/247-0265 

Circle 166 

FIRST TEAM 

First Team’s Fury portable goal is just 

one of the products on display in the 

company’s full-color catalog. A variety 

of backboard options are available, 

including acrylic (pictured). First Team 

portable goals feature ease of height 

adjustment; a simple hand-crank 

mechanism allows users to lower the 

basket height from 10 to 6 1 ⁄2 feet when 

moving the goal into storage or executing 

drills for younger players. 

firstteaminc.com 

800/649-3688 

Circle 167 

FRONT ROW SPORTS 

TECHNOLOGIES 

Each Front Row scorer’s table features 

an all-aluminum frame, a six-outlet 

electrical receptacle, cup holders and 

an illuminated shatterproof face panel. 

The tables also have locking casters 

for easy mobility, along with fold-down, 

Formica®-brand tabletops for easy 

storage. 

frontrowscoring.com 

800/950-6040 

Circle 168 

FUTURE PRO INC. 

Programs strapped for space or hampered 

by budget can get the basic features 

of Bison’s larger T-Rex 96 portable 

basketball system on the compact 

T-Rex 54 SR. Designed to fit into gyms 

where other goals won’t, T-Rex 54 SR 

has an official 72-inch glass backboard 

with a lifetime warranty, breakaway 

goal and DuraSkin backboard 

padding. The 54-inch safe-play area 

allows the base to be 6 feet outside 

the end line of an official court, and 

the system’s base and front are 

fully padded. 

futureproinc.com 

800/328-4625 

Circle 169 


GARED SPORTS 

Gared, an NBA arena supplier since 

1985 and a world leader in arena-style 

portable basketball backstops, has 

introduced the Gared Pro S. The 

T-shape extension arm eliminates 

the need for unsightly bridge supports, 

giving spectators an unobstructed 

view of the court and goals. Springassisted 

operation allows quick setup 

and teardown. Boom extensions in 

8-, 10- and 10 1 ⁄2-foot lengths adapt 

to virtually any arena setting, 

providing optimum clearance 

for player safety. 

garedsports.com 

800/325-2682 

Circle 170 

Gym and Arena Components PurchasingGuide 

GOALSETTER SYSTEMS INC. 

Goalsetter Systems offers a complete 

line of outdoor height-adjustable 

goals, indoor wall-mount systems, 

portable units, competition glass 

backboards and rims for basketball, 

as well as complete volleyball systems. 

Goalsetter products are engineered 

to combine durability and aesthetic 

value to meet the needs of today’s 

toughest playing environments. 

goalsetter.com 

800/362-4625 

Circle 171 

H & H ENTERPRISES INC. 

With the enactment of Jarod’s Law, 

bleacher safety has never been more 

important in Ohio, where inspections 

are required every year. H & H 

Enterprises has a bleacher inspector 

in Ohio to help bleacher owners stay 

in compliance with current codes and 

keep users safe. H & H is also known 

for introducing bleacher safety innovations, 

including the new center-aisle 

“P” rails pictured here. 

bleacherpeople.com 

800/878-7777 

Circle 172 



INCORD 

When track, gymnastics, basketball, volleyball, 

soccer, tennis, badminton, dodgeball 

and other activities occupy one gym space, 

the result can be a hectic and even dangerous 

environment. One way to reduce distractions 

and injury risk while increasing court 

productivity is to install one or more gym 

divider nets. InCord can custom design 

divider net systems for virtually any 

application or building type. 

incord.com 

800/596-1066 

Circle 173 

INSTITUTIONAL PRODUCTS INC. 

Institutional Products’ Gym Administrator 

system can control multiple gym components 

including basketball backstops, electric height 

adjusters, gym curtains and batting cages. 

The Gym Administrator wireless digital 

transmitter is customizable to meet users’ 

specifications, and the handheld keypad is 

small enough to fit inside a pocket. 

instprod.com 

800/637-7968 

Circle 174 

JAYPRO SPORTS LLC 

The ETEC Easy Touch Equipment 

Controller transport from Jaypro saves 

users time and money with one-touch 

game-day operation. Ideal for large gymnasiums 

and field houses, the controller 

operates all equipment from one state-ofthe-art 

touch screen customized to show 

actual gym layout and equipment, allowing 

for reconfiguration of backstops, curtains, 

height adjusters and batting cages. 

A locking Plexiglas cover is included. 

jaypro.com 

800/243-0533 

Circle 175 

JV PRO INC. 

Since 1996, JV Pro has been a leading 

provider of gymnasium and arena courtside 

products. JV Pro offers an array of options 

in scoring tables and seating systems, as well 

as the newest addition to the company’s 

lineup, protective wall padding. All products 

can be customized with school colors and 

graphics to create a winning atmosphere. 

jvpro.com 

800/962-2440 

Circle 176 

KAY PARK-RECREATION CORP. 

Tip and Roll Bleachers by Kay Park provide 

extra seating where needed — indoors or 

out. The lightweight, all-aluminum bleachers 

come with three or four rows in standard 

lengths of 7 1 ⁄2, 15, 21 and 27 feet. Outdoor 

bleachers are available in five-, eight- and 

10-row models, including highway-towable, 

hydraulic-folding Speedy Bleachers. 

kaypark.com 

800/553-2476 

Circle 177 

M. PUTTERMAN & CO. INC. 

Using one of M. Putterman’s mobile storage 

racks, two people can install or retrieve a 

full-court cover in approximately 30 minutes, 

the company says. To install, users roll the 

rack to one corner of the surface to be protected 

and pull out the first cover section, 

then move the rack to the edge of that section 

and lay the second, overlapping 6 to 12 

inches. The process is repeated until the sur- 


face is covered and all exposed edges of overlaps 

are taped where foot traffic is expected. 

mputterman.com 

800/621-0146 

Circle 178 

NATIONAL SPORTS PRODUCTS 

Douglas, a division of National Sports Products, 

offers a wide variety of quality products for 

indoor applications, including custom netting, 

backdrop curtains, gym floor covers, gym 

dividers and protective padding. For more 

than 30 years, Douglas has manufactured 

quality sport nets and equipment for indoor 

and outdoor sports such as tennis, volleyball, 

basketball, baseball, soccer and hockey. 

douglas-sports.com 

800/553-8907 

Circle 179 

NEVCO SCOREBOARD 

COMPANY 

Nevco offers complete scoring and display 

solutions. Nevco Message Centers are 

designed to generate advertising revenue, 

excite the crowd during games and promote 

upcoming events. High-resolution and fullmatrix 

designs provide enhanced text and 

graphics capabilities for the display of text, 

logos, moving messages and corporate advertising. 

Both monochrome (red or amber) or 

full-color message centers are available. 

nevco.com 

800/851-4040 

Circle 180 

PERFORMANCE SPORTS 

SYSTEMS 

Performance Sports Systems offers more 

than 80 years of experience manufacturing 

custom sports equipment. The company’s

Stronger 

Smarter 

Brighter 

Schelde SAM 10 

Breslin Center, East Lansing, Michigan 

Home of the Michigan State University Spartans 

Schelde Collegiate 4000 System 

Barberton High School 

Barberton, Ohio 

Schelde SportLight 86 fixtures 

Tri-Cities Family YMCA 

Grand Haven, Michigan 

Schelde 

Portable 

Basketball 

Goals 

Used by top professional, 

collegiate, high school and club 

programs. Patented design allows 

units to be set up by one person 

in five minutes or less. Features 

include Schelde’s patented 

“Dunk Proof ” glass backboard 

and Pro-Action 180° multidirectional 

breakaway rim. 

Available in several different 

models. 

Schelde 

Volleyball 

Equipment 

Easy to handle. Easy to operate. 

Simple. Dependable. That’s the 

thinking behind Schelde volleyball 

equipment. High tensile-strength 

Tecton Duraluminum lightweight 

posts and four-point net attachment 

system give you quick, 

precise set up by one person 

in five minutes or less. Used by 

top collegiate and high school 

programs. 

Schelde 

SportLight 

Tired of the high energy cost, 

low light levels and slow start 

up time of your conventional 

gym lights? With the Schelde 

SportLight, you can double 

the brightness of your gym 

lighting and save your facility 

50% or more on its energy 

costs. Brilliant. Long-lasting. 

Instant on/off. Economical. 

Quick payback. 

CIRCLE 52 

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single-post backstops are designed and 

engineered to meet the needs of any project 

application, allowing customers to realize 

the most effective use of available space. 

perfsports.com 

800/848-8034 

Circle 181 

PORTER ATHLETIC 

EQUIPMENT CO. 

Working with an athletic equipment manufacturer 

goes far beyond specifying and 

purchasing product. Successful athletic 

programs depend on innovative coordination 

and integration of the equipment. 

Porter, a manufacturer of a wide variety of 

gymnasium equipment, has the capabilities 

to help clients with equipment selection 

while providing total design 

integration customized to their gym. 

porterathletic.com 

888/277-7778 

Circle 182 

We offer on-site 

installation! 

Sports Enclosures 

Gym Dividers 

Replacement Nets 

Spectator Safety 

Field Houses 

Indoor and Outdoor! 

Custom Safety 

Netting Solutions 

226 Upton Road 

Colchester, CT 

06415 

860-537-1414 

800-596-1066 

www.incord.com 

POWER AD CO. 

Power Ad, maker of Score-Rite Score Tables, 

offers an LED-illuminated possession arrow 

that is made of clear acrylic. It is highly 

visible from front and back, and its seethrough 

nature allows scorers to easily 

keep track of action on the court. 

power-ad.com 

866/823-9483 

Circle 183 

PRO-BOUND SPORTS 

Pro-Bound Sports offers a complete line of 

quality aluminum bleachers designed to fit 



tight budgets without compromising quality. 

Pro-Bound offers bleachers with anodized 

aluminum planking and powder-coated steel 

frames, and in configurations from two to 

10 rows, with or without step aisles. Walkways 

are available as single or doublewide 

aluminum planks. All bleacher designs meet 

established guidelines for bleacher safety. 

proboundsports.com 

800/525-8580 

Circle 184 

PROMATS ATHLETICS 

With more than 20 years of experience 

manufacturing protective padding, athletic 

mats and bleacher enclosures, Promats 

Athletics offers its All Sports Catalog for 

download via the company’s web site. 

Customers can request a price quote and 

hear from a trained customer service 

representative within one business day. 

promats.com 

800/617-7125 

Circle 185 

Building a new athletic complex? 

Time for repairs on your existing facility? 

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CIRCLE 54 

ON REPLY CARD 

TOLL-FREE: 866-575-0577 

www.VarsityScoreboards.com 

www VarsityScoreboards com


QUED, DIV. OF SEAWAY 

MATS INC. 

The new Qued Terra product line 

of protective padding and netting 

combines innovation with environmental 

consciousness. Products feature recycled 

materials without compromising the 

company’s commitment to quality. 

Unlimited sizes are available to serve 

all net and pad sport applications. 

quedltd.com 

800/361-0464 

Circle 186 

REVERE PLASTICS 

Revere Defender® floor covers allow 

for the conversion of gymnasiums into 

multipurpose complexes. State-of-the-art 

vinyls protect floors from scuffs, spills 

and scratches while the facility is used 

for dances, concerts, plays, commencement 

ceremonies and other activities. Most 

Revere covers are constructed in 10-footwide 

sections and made to fit the actual 

length of the facility’s floor or the 

precise area to be covered. All covers 

are available in a choice of three 

standard weights. 

revereplastics.com 

800/226-8374 

Circle 187 



SCHELDE NORTH AMERICA 

Schelde’s new Telescopic Pro volleyball 

system features quick setup and elegant 

design. Spring-assisted, lightweight aluminum 

telescoping posts feature pin-set 

net height settings for men’s, women’s and 

junior competition. An adjustable base 

allows posts to be set to precise depth in 

floor sleeves, and has a floor-protective 

rubber foot. Setup or takedown can be 

completed by one person in five minutes 

or less, the company says. The system’s 

posts and high-torque winch carry a 

limited lifetime warranty. 

scheldesports.com 

888/724-3533 

Circle 188

of the AVCA of the NCAA Championships 

CIRCLE 56 

ON REPLY CARD



PurchasingGuide Gym and Arena 

SIGNCO EDS 

Among the most effective ways to 

generate revenue for an athletic program 

is corporate sponsorship and advertising. 

With SignCo’s rotating scorer’s table, 

programs are able to create 20 spots of 

advertising inventory that are as close to 

the action as possible. 

signco.com 

866/848-6646 

Circle 189 

SPALDING 

Spalding manufactures a complete line 

of gymnasium components, including 

basketball and volleyball systems, divider 

curtains and protective padding. The 

company’s GymDoctor is a program 

through which certified Spalding representatives 

visit gymnasiums and provide a 

free safety evaluation of gym equipment, 

engaging customers on their home court 

and encouraging facility improvement 

with no strings attached. 

spaldingequipment.com 

800/435-3865 

Circle 190 

SPEC SEATS INTERNATIONAL 

From high school gyms to NBA facilities, 

Spec Seats is a leader in providing completely 

flexible logo designs on seating systems to 

enhance team spirit or enable fundraising 

opportunities. Spec Seats builds durable 

seating to the customer’s exact specifications, 

and applications include special team 

benches and locker room seating. 

specseats.com 

800/535-2048 

Circle 191 

SPECTRUM SCOREBOARDS 

Complete basketball scoring systems 

from Spectrum include this dynamic 

scoreboard featuring 30- and 60-second 

timeout indicators, possession indicators, 

pre-programmable double-bonus indicators, 

and SpectraLite LED player, points 

and fouls panels. All basketball scoreboards 

come with the company’s clear, 

unbreakable SpectraShields, which 

improve wide-angle visibility while 

eliminating the need for unsightly 

nets and cages. 

spectrumscoreboards.com 

800/392-5050 

Circle 192 

SPORTABLE SCOREBOARDS 

The new patent-pending Legacy 

series from Sportable Scoreboards 

combines the company’s reputation 

for quality and craftsmanship with 

innovative visual appeal. The Legacy 

series features scoreboards that take 

the shape of sports balls, sports fields, 

sports equipment and much more. 

sportablescoreboards.com 

888/495-7446 

Circle 193 

SPORTSGRAPHICS INC. 

Closing off the ends of bleachers not only 

protects the understructure from vandalism 

and stray spectators from injury, it 

makes the bleachers aesthetically more 

appealing. SportsGraphics offers largeformat 

print capabilities to improve the 

look of any bleacher system, while 

protecting its structural integrity. 

sportsgraphicsinc.com 

800/257-6405 

Circle 194

TACHIKARA 

Tachikara’s Sensi-Tec volleyball is now 

offered in 51 different color combinations, 

as well as the NFHS-approved white 

SV-5WS. Each model is built with the 

company’s patented Loose Bladder 

Construction method for truer shape, 

better flight and increased durability. The 

Sensi-Tec composite leather cover has a 

textured grain for softer touch, a resin coating 

for better control and a subsurface fibrous 

layer for improved impact and rebound. 

tachikara.com 

800/729-8224 

Circle 195 

TARAFLEX SPORTS FLOORING 

BY GERFLOR 

The multilayer construction of Taraflex® 

Sport M Plus flooring is designed to 

enhance performance, safety and comfort. 

Flooring characteristics include the correct 

coefficient of friction for turning and pivoting, 

a 35 percent shock-absorption rate 

and accurate ball bounce. Permanent antibacterial 

product treatments mitigate the 

risk of skin-related infections. The flooring’s 

7-millimeter thickness and restrictedarea 

deformation provide user comfort. 

gerflortaraflex.com 

800/727-7505 

Circle 196 

VARSITY SCOREBOARDS 

Varsity Scoreboards’ VSBX-236LED is an 

8-by-3-foot basketball scoreboard that features 

all of the important timing and scoring 

functions, the company says. The heavyduty 

Galvaneal® steel cabinet with premier 

powder-coat finish ensures durability, while 

15-inch orange and red super-bright LED 

numerals are engineered to endure more 

than 100,000 hours of continual use. 

varsityscoreboards.com 

866/575-0577 

Circle 197 

Masters in 

Recreational Surfacing 

Obtain LEED ® Credits by using 

Surface America products. 

and 


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Interlocking tiles 

800-999-0555 

www.SurfaceAmerica.com 

Wipes as low as $15.95 •600 0 -1, 1100 count 

We have Biodegradable Wipes! 

gymwipes.com (888) 977-3726 


HOT 

TOPIC 

As facility operators prep for another 

sun-drenched summer, some light may 

need to be shed on the subject of shade. 

By Michael Popke 

On a chilly December Tuesday in 

Lafayette, Ind., city officials already 

had warmer days on their minds. 

The two 20-by-20-foot black-andgold 

fabric shade structures they unveiled that day at 

the CAT Park soccer complex are intended to 

shelter parents and players who need a 

break from the hot sun on those long 

tournament weekends. They were 

erected with the assistance of an 

$8,000 grant from the American 

Academy of Dermatology and were 

among 37 that the organization’s 

Shade Structure Program helped fund 

in communities all over the country last 

year. Since 2002, the AAD has awarded 

96 shade structure grants, helping keep an 

estimated 82,000 people out of the sun. 

“As the number of hours people spend outdoors 

participating in leisure activities continues to rise, and 

as the number of patients diagnosed with skin 

cancer increases, it has never been more important 


to offer protection from the dangerous rays of the sun,” 

says Diane Baker, president of the Schaumberg, Ill.based 

academy, which estimates that more than 

one million Americans will be newly diagnosed 

in the United States this year — exceeding the 

incidence of all other cancers combined. 

“This program furthers the academy’s 

commitment to reducing the incidence 

of skin cancer by increasing the 

amount of shade available and 

encouraging individuals and communities 

to incorporate sun safety 

into their daily outdoor activities.” 

Shade is a hot topic these days, 

as facility operators search for cool 

ways to keep their patrons out of the 

heat and in the game (or at least at the 

game). Manufacturers of contemporary shade 

structures — typically made of versatile highdensity 

polyethylene fabric that resists tearing and 

fading while blocking out nearly all of the sun’s 

ultraviolet rays — cite surveys indicating that people

PHOTO COURTESY OF SUN PORTS 

COOLING PLANTS 

Petal-shaped fabric supported by 

tree trunk-shaped posts keep 

kids cool at Centennial Hills Park in 

Las Vegas. 

will stay longer at facilities where they feel more 

comfortable, thus consuming more concessions and 

increasing facility revenue. 

Few things have a more tangible and immediate 

impact on the enjoyment of facility users than 

shade. “How can you have an athletic facility 

that’s functional and practical, and not provide 

shade coverage?” asks Gary Haymann, senior vice 

president of national accounts for USA Shade & 

Fabric Structures in Dallas, whose brands include 

Sun Ports and Shade Structures. “A lot of people 

look at shade at the last moment and think that 

it’s a simple element — ‘Oh, we’ll just throw in 

some fabric structures at the end’ — and it doesn’t 

really get the thought it needs up front.” 

“Shade is vital,” adds Mac Viers, national sales 

manager for Apollo Sunguard Systems, a fabric 

shade structure manufacturer headquartered in 

Sarasota, Fla. “I don’t think people truly understand 

the impact that UV has on both children 

and adults. I’ve run into a number of cases where 

some very nice parks have been designed with 

substantial amounts of shade over bleachers, 

dugouts and other areas, and then the municipality 

has to make some cuts. Shade is one of the things 

that usually gets cut. I’m biased, there’s no question 

about that, but I’m not talking about covering everything. 

I just think covering certain things is necessary.” 

You’ve no doubt heard it before, but it 

bears repeating: Melanoma — a condition 

typically caused by excessive UV exposure and 

characterized by large, irregularly sized moles — is 

the most serious form of skin cancer, according 

to the American Cancer Society. Sunscreen and 

lip balm with an SPF of 15 or higher are recommended, 

but shade is always desirable, especially 

between the hours of 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., when the 

sun’s rays are strongest. Keep in mind, the American 

Cancer Society warns, that sunlight and its UV 

rays can penetrate clouds, reflect off water, sand, 

concrete and snow, and even reach below the 

water’s surface. The overall incidence of melanoma 

has been rising at an alarming rate for more than 

a half-century, the AAD reports: Between 1950 and 

2001, it climbed 690 percent, with the overall 

mortality rate increasing 165 percent. The academy 

estimates that one person dies of melanomarelated 

skin cancer every 65 minutes in the United 

States, and more than 8,000 individuals were 

expected to succumb to the disease last year. 

“Increasingly, shade is becoming front and 

center, as more information is made available to 

the public,” says Alan Bayman, president of 

Ocala, Fla.-based fabric structure maker Shade 

Systems Inc. “I’ve seen at least three stories 

about the dangers of skin cancer from unprotected 

exposure to the sun on ABC evening newscasts 

in the past six months alone. What we’re finding 

is that the more people — especially concerned 

parents — hear about kids getting melanoma at 

a young age and realizing that it can be difficult 

to cure, the more they are making their voices 

heard by civic and community leaders. They 

say, ‘We need to get some shade.’ ” 


PHOTOS COURTESY OF HENDEE ENTERPRISES 

HOT 

TOPIC 

Likened to functional art by one manufacturer, 

modern shade structures essentially are low-tech 

architectural elements that can be among the most 

effective design components in any given facility. 

Many of them have moved beyond the traditional 

metal-roofed, pavilion-style square and rectangular 

structures to elaborate pre-engineered and custom 

fabric designs that can introduce what another 

manufacturer calls a “skyline” to outdoor athletic 

and recreation facilities. They provide nearly 

endless design options, as tensioned 

fabric can be twisted, overlapped 

and angled to create distinct 

identities. Temperatures 

beneath the fabric can be up 

to 30 percent lower than in 

non-shaded areas, and the 

latest fabrics offer water, 

wind and snow resistance 

— although many still don’t 

entirely repel rain. And they 

can be installed practically anywhere 

the sun shines to shield 

patrons not only from UV rays but 

also errant balls. 

Styles include triangular, square, rectangular, 

hexagonal and octagonal structures supported 

with one or more steel posts, sail-shaped designs 

used to cover odd-shaped areas, cane-shaped 

structures with curved tops ideal for waiting areas, 

cantilevered steel structures in which only one 

side is attached to the ground and the shaded area 

is free of posts, and oversized umbrellas. Some 


BROAD COVERAGE 

Shade structures have 

become part of the skyline 

at the Tulsa University 

tennis courts and Acoma 

Park in Phoenix, Ariz. 

structures are intended to draw users into a facility, 

while others take more utilitarian approaches 

that are just as effective but lack extra curb 

appeal. As Viers says, “I haven’t seen a really 

ugly shade structure, but I’ve seen some that are 

prettier than others.” 

Fabric shade structures can be used in a variety 

of settings. University of Phoenix Stadium, home 

to the NFL’s Arizona Cardinals, opened in 2006 

with a retractable translucent fabric roof that allows 

natural sunlight to penetrate through to 

the natural-grass field. When Arvest 

Ballpark opens this month in 

Springdale, Ark., as the 6,500-seat 

home of the Northwest 

Arkansas Naturals (the Class 

AA affiliate of the Kansas City 

Royals), large cantilevered 

shade canopies will extend 

from above the park’s 25 suites 

and over the spectator seating 

areas. Similarly, the Community 

& Recreation Services department in 

Surprise, Ariz., opened fully accessible 

DreamCatcher Park last year for athletes 

with special needs and shrouded the entire seating 

area in pyramid-style shade structures, and the 

Lee High Booster Club in Houston recently 

received permission from the school board to 

spend $18,000 to cover the bleachers at its baseball 

field. 

But it’s not just people that shade structures are 

protecting. Park and recreation officials in Dallas

CIRCLE 60 

ON REPLY CARD

used a $300,000 federal grant and city 

bond funds to pay for $950,000 worth 

of specially designed sunscreens to 

shield recently restored exterior art-deco 

wall murals at Fair Park. The screens 

can be mechanically raised and lowered, 

and ambient light allows the artwork to 

still be easily viewed. 

Other common shade-structure 

installations can be found on playgrounds, 

over player benches at soccer 

and baseball fields and at tennis 

complexes between courts, at driving 

ranges, around skate park perimeters, 

and above shuffleboard areas and lifeguard 

chairs. Some companies have 

even developed structures that span 

entire outdoor basketball courts. 

“It’s getting to the point where 

communities and civic leaders are 

realizing they’ve got to provide shade,” 

says Jay Jensen, USA Shade’s director 

of promotion and marketing. “It’s as 

important as providing drinking fountains 

and rest rooms.” 

It’s easy enough to say shade 

should be a priority. What’s more 

difficult is the determination of design 

and installation options to meet a given 

facility’s requirements. Pricing varies 



PHOTOS COURTESY OF HENDEE ENTERPRISES 

GREAT PYRAMIDS 

A cantilevered 

shade structure 

at the River Oaks 

Baptist School in 

Houston, Texas, tilts 

slightly upward and 

provides protection 

from behind, while 

two-tone laced 

fabric adorns 

all-aluminum 

structures that resist 

chlorine at The 

Woodlands (Texas) 

Athletic Center. 

greatly based on style and the amount 

of fabric and steel involved. Additionally, 

some structures come with built-in 

features that allow one person to 

remove and reattach the fabric for 

seasonal use. Shade structure manufacturers 

load their web sites with images 

of installations, giving facility operators 

an idea of the possibilities. From there 

stem discussions of dimensions, placement 

and costs (which typically begin at a 

few thousand dollars and can easily 

reach tens of thousands of dollars). 

Key factors to keep in mind when 

choosing a shade structure are color, 

height and the facility’s surroundings. 

One manufacturer, for example, stocks 

a white fabric that seldom sells 

because it offers only about 50 percent 

UV blockage. But that same fabric in 

black absorbs more than 90 percent of 

UV rays and is extremely popular. 

While white or other lighter colors 

may be aesthetically pleasing, they may 

not be providing as much protection as 

other colors, giving facility operators 

less shade for their buck. 

Another common mistake is 

installing structures too high or in 

locations in which the structure’s 

placement in relation to the sun has 

not been thoroughly considered. It’s not

necessary for five-row bleachers to 

have a 20-foot-high structure over 

them, because too much sun will shine 

in via the sides. Similarly, bleachers and 

other seating areas facing west in facilities 

that are used frequently during lateafternoon 

and early-evening hours as 

the sun goes down may require greater 

coverage than those facing east. Some 

shade structures come with optional 

side and back flaps that snap or otherwise 

attach in place and can be used to 

strategically block out sun. 

While many shade structures can be 

retrofit seamlessly into an existing 

environment, cantilevered structures 

require substantial concrete footings to 

provide a strong foundation of support. 

This means that existing water and 

electrical lines will have to be considered 

in the planning process. 

Vandalism and maintenance also 

are issues, but shouldn’t be major 

concerns. “Most of the fabric that’s 

out there is rip-stop, so if somebody 

pokes a hole in it, it’s not going to tear 

all the way across,” Viers says, adding 

that fabric can be easily patched. In 

the past three years, he has only 

twice replaced vandalized fabric, 

damaged by poked holes from sticks 

and burn holes from lighters held aloft 

by individuals standing on picnic tables. 

Graffiti on structural frames can be 

painted over powder-coated steel or 

sanded off galvanized steel. (Galvanized 

steel also holds up better than powdercoat 

finishes to vandalism damage 

inflicted by objects such as baseball 

bats.) “If somebody wants to write 

graffiti, they’re going to do it on a wall 

so people can see it,” Viers says. “If 

they want to really destroy something, 

there are other things available — trash 

cans, equipment, things like that — that 

are easier for them to get at. Vandals 

are lazy.” 

Dirt, bird droppings and other debris 

can easily be removed by aiming a hose 

with a solid jet spray toward the fabric, 

and although some manufacturers can 

design shade structures to withstand 

specific snow loads, other companies 

recommend removing and storing the 

fabric during the winter. Doing so can 

be a one-person job (depending on the 

size of the structure), and it’ll save wear 


When it comes to competitive pools, 

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Rutgers University 

For years, Splash has been manufacturing the country’s largest above-ground 

pools for a variety of swimmers: Olympic competitors, windsurfing and 

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these pools at a fraction of the cost of our in-ground counterparts. When 

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800-92-SPLASH • www.splashpools.com 



HOT 

TOPIC 

on the steel frame. “The issue is not the fabric,” Viers 

says. “The fabric will stand up to the snow. It’s the steel 

superstructure. When we engineer these, we engineer 

them for uplift against the wind, not for weight pushing 

down on them from the snow. The weight of the fabric 

with 20 inches of snow on it can bend the steel beams.” 

“These structures are pretty maintenance-friendly,” 

Jensen adds, “but they’re not maintenance-free.” 

At Boston College’s soccer complex, a new pair 

of massive cantilevered structures protects 

both the home and visiting players’ bench areas. They 

span some 30 feet in length and extend toward the 

field nearly 15 feet. Boston College “is in the vast 

minority,” Viers says. “In fact, I think any facility that’s 

currently putting up shade is still in the minority. Ten 

years ago, most facilities had zero shade. And when we 

did see any sort of shade, it usually was hard-top stuff, 

like a shed-type structure over the bleachers. Now, I 

would say on a scale of one to 10 we’re maybe at a twoand-a-half. 

I live in Georgia, and at the very best, one in 

20 parks has any sort of fabric-provided shade. They 

might have pavilions for picnics, but fabric is just not 

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SUN BLOCKS 

Skateboarders at 

Volcom Skate Park 

in Costa Mesa, Calif.’s 

TeWinkle Park, 

fans at Minor League 

Baseball’s newly opened 

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Ark., and lifeguards in Hurst, 

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PHOTOS COURTESY OF SUN PORTS PHOTO COURTESY OF SHADE STRUCTURES

SUE GRIGSBY 

Physical Education, Health & Wellness 

Department Chair 

Everett (Wash.) Community College 

SUE SHARES HER EXPERIENCE 

AS A 2007 CONFERENCE ATTENDEE 

“Talking with architects, 

vendors and other conference-goers 

left my head spinning, but in a good way.” 

UPCOMING PROJECT: We are in the earliest planning stages of a new, 

40,000-square-foot sports and fi tness center. 

TRADE SHOW: The trade show was a wonderful opportunity to get 

ideas and information about a variety of fi tness and sports equipment, 

climbing walls, lockers, fl ooring and virtually everything we’ll need to 

outfi t our new facility. 

SEMINARS: I attended “Mistakes, Nothing But Mistakes,” which also 

clued me in to possible design issues — good design ideas and those 

that should be avoided. 

WORKSHOPS: “Design & Construction 101” gave me, a physical 

education instructor with no background in facility design, planning 

or construction, a much better understanding of the challenges 

we’ll face over the next couple of years in designing and constructing 

our new facility. I learned that my input as an end user will be 

critically important to the design team, and that there will be myriad 

decisions to be made. I understand much more about the timeline 

and phases of the entire design and construction process, and now 

I’ll know what is being discussed and can provide appropriate input. 

Join Sue and 3,000 other athletic, recreation and fi tness professionals in San Antonio 

Dec. 3–6, 2008. For more information, circle the number below on the reply card 

or visit athleticbusinessconference.com 


PHOTO COURTESY OF APOLLO SUNGUARD SYSTEMS 

HOT 

TOPIC 

SERVICE RETURN 

Shade structures 

serve as 

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UNOBSTRUCTED 

VIEWS 

Cantilevered 

structures 

shield 

spectators at 

Cal Sr.’s Yard 

at Ripken 

Stadium in 

Aberdeen, Md. 

something that is in many budgets 

right now.” 

That may be one reason why Viers 

claims some of his company’s business 

currently comes from private youthsports 

organizations that use public 

parks. Their members want shade, so 

they raise the money and work with the 

municipality to get the structures erected. 

Often, that becomes the “aha” 

moment for many parks and recreation 

officials. “Municipalities have multiple 

facilities,” Bayman says. “Once they 

try a fabric structure in one of their 

facilities, we find that the next budget 

year they come back and buy a whole 

bunch of fabric structures, because 

they got such positive feedback from 

users. It’s the type of thing that gets 

instant gratification. I haven’t seen a 

case where a facility operator adds 

shade and then looks around and 

says, ‘Hmm, I think we’ve got too 

much.’ ” Ω 


EXPAND YOUR HORIZONS 

at the 6th Annual International Council on Active Aging Conference in San Antonio 

REGISTER TODAY! 

866-335-9777. 

Conference partners 

CIRCLE 68 

ON REPLY CARD 

December 4–6, 2008 

Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center 

San Antonio,Texas 

This outstanding learning experience offers you and your 

staff the opportunity to become inspired by an irresistible 

mix of engaging educational seminars, unique venues for 

networking, and some of the world’s finest presenters in the 

field of active aging. Come explore the ways in which you 

and your staff can help create and deliver your products and 

services in a fashion all your own. 

For more information about how to get the most out of 

your Active Aging 2008 experience, call toll-free 

866.335.9777 or 604.734.4466. 

Or visit us online at www.icaa.cc

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA 

THEFIELD 

college sports 

Ambiguous Boundaries 

THE NUANCED CULTURE OF ATHLETICS BRINGS BOTH LEEWAY AND LANDMINES 

TO THE DISCUSSION OF SEXUAL HARASSMENT. BY PAUL STEINBACH 

On Jan. 14, former University of North Carolina 

student-athlete Melissa Jennings won a 

settlement of $385,000, subtracted from the 

athletic department’s 2007-08 budget, to 

settle a decade-old sexual harassment claim against 

legendary women’s soccer coach Anson Dorrance. 

Jennings, a walk-on goalkeeper who had been cut 

from the team, alleged that Dorrance harassed team 

members by asking about their sex lives. Former 

team captain Debbie Keller had joined Jennings’ 

suit and settled for $70,000 in 2004. Dorrance, 

who has won 19 national championships (and 

counting) with the Tar Heels, dismissed his 

inquiries as banter of a “jesting or teasing nature.” 

A four-month investigation conducted by Florida 

Gulf Coast University determined that women’s 

volleyball coach Jaye Flood had been involved in 

an inappropriate relationship with a student-athlete 

and had violated the school’s sexual harassment 

policies. Voted the Atlantic Sun Conference’s 2007 

Coach of the Year by her peers despite being 

suspended by FGCU for the final eight matches of 


the season due to “student welfare” concerns, 

Flood was savaged by her players in written 

evaluations and fired on Jan. 22. 

On Jan. 25, former cross-country runner and 

football team manager Lauren Summa filed suit 

against Hofstra University, claiming she was the victim 

of repeated sexual harassment. Summa alleges 

football players taunted her aboard the team bus 

as they watched a movie depicting interracial sex 

scenes. “This is what you white women want,” said 

one player, according to Summa. On an earlier trip, 

Summa claims that players locked her in the bus’s 

bathroom and that head coach Dave Cohen urged 

her to not report the matter to campus authorities. 

She did anyway, and was promptly replaced. 

On Feb. 13, former Fresno State women’s basketball 

coach Stacy Johnson-Klein accepted a $6.6 million 

jury award, bringing to a close a discrimination 

case in which she claimed she was groped by 

athletic department superiors and retaliated against 

for advocating gender equity on behalf of her program. 

Johnson-Klein represents the university’s third 

WOMEN AND 

MENTOR 

The power 

that successful 

coaches such as 

Anson Dorrance 

hold over their 

players can 

contribute to 

a hostile 

environment.

CIRCLE 6 9 

ON REPLY CARD

THEFIELD VM college sports 

female athletic department employee 

within a year to collect on a Title IX 

claim against the school. Former volleyball 

coach Lindy Vivas convinced a jury 

she was fired based not only on her 

gender-equity views but her sexual 

orientation, and was awarded $4.52 million 

in July. In October, former athletic 

administrator Diane Milutinovich settled 

her sexual discrimination suit for $3.5 million. 

Fresno Bee editorial page editor 

Jim Boren wrote of the former Fresno 

State athletic director who served as a 

common denominator in all three cases, 

“If there is a hall of fame for sexual 

harassment, Scott Johnson has to be a 

unanimous first-ballot inductee.” 

Collegiate athletics administrators 

everywhere are confronted by the 

potential individual and institutional 

devastation posed by sexual harassment 

claims, for theirs is a domain clouded by 

nuance not seen in most other walks of 

life. On the one hand, acts that would be 

considered harassment in virtually any 

other setting — a sideline hug, a congratulatory 

pat on the backside, even a 

spontaneous massage — are tolerated, if 

not expected, in the sports arena. On the 

other, the close-knit nature of teams or 

entire athletic departments often thrusts 

individuals into a gray area between 

what’s acceptable and what’s offensive. 

According to Nancy Hogshead-Makar, 

a professor at the Florida Coastal School 

of Law and a three-time Olympic gold 

medalist in swimming, collegiate studentathletes 

may spend as much as a third of 

their waking hours under the direct watch 

of their coach, who holds tremendous 

power over the student-athlete in terms 


Courts are looking not only at 

one’s participation in sport, but the 

environment in which one is participating. 


of regular playing time and annual 

scholarship renewal. Moreover, teams 

spend large portions of their competitive 

seasons on the road and in hotels, and 

the sports themselves likely require acute 

focus on the physical fitness of the studentathlete. 

“Combine all those things, and 

you can see why sexual harassment 

could happen much more easily in an 

athletic setting than in a normal academic 

setting,” Hogshead-Makar says. 

Sexual harassment suits facing collegiate 

athletic departments are being 

filed with greater frequency under 

Title IX of the Education Amendments 

of 1972, according to attorney Robert 

Clayton, whose firm Littler Mendelson 

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investigates such claims and provides 

consulting services for athletic departments. 

“Title IX now is not only the 

focus of litigants in terms of equity in 

the offering of athletic opportunity 

between the men’s and women’s programs, 

it’s now a focus in terms of 

classic sexual harassment allegations,” 

Clayton says. “Individuals are making 

claims that the harassment has 

adversely affected their participation in 

the athletic program. That is uniquely 

captured under Title IX, which deals 

with educational benefits of participation. 

Courts are looking not only at one’s 

participation in sport, but the environment 

in which one is participating.” 

Ultimately, it must be determined 

whether a reasonable person would 

consider the alleged harassment to be 

severe or pervasive enough to create a 

hostile environment that interferes with 

access to educational benefits. In the 

North Carolina women’s soccer situation, 

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conduct on the environment in which 

Jennings participated came into question. 

“Remember, there hasn’t been a trial on 

this, so it’s ‘she says/he says,’ but the 

Courts tend to lend 

greater credence to 

the alleged victim’s 

perception than 

to the alleged 

harasser’s intent. 

allegation was that he engaged in sex 

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to her, but it was much more the discomfort 

with having this inappropriate 

talk going on around her.” 

Clayton, whose firm currently represents 

FGCU, often counsels athletic departments 

to think in terms of green-, yellow- and 

red-light scenarios — and how easily 

those colors can change. An acceptable 

behavior may involve a coach telling a 

player that she has greatly developed leg 

muscles, which should serve to enhance 

her stamina on the soccer field. “That’s a 

green light, because coaches are going to 

remark about the person’s physical 

condition as part of their ability to perform 

well in the sport,” Clayton says. 

A yellow-light comment, meanwhile, 

may simply be, “You have great legs.” 

“You don’t want there to be any ambiguity,” 

says Clayton. “Someone could be offended 

and say, ‘He’s referring to me in a sexual 

way, not as an athlete.’ ” In reviewing 

sexual harassment suits that claim a 

hostile environment, courts tend to 

lend greater credence to the alleged 

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victim’s perception than to the alleged 

harasser’s intent. 

As for red-light conversation, Clayton 

offers, “You’re an attractive young lady. 

You could be a model with those legs.” 

The dialog may start as something 

completely appropriate within the 

athletics context, but then morph into 

something arguably illegal in any setting. 

Says Hogshead-Makar, “You can see 

how quickly it can go from, ‘You really 

look like you’re developing those leg 

muscles’ to ‘You’re looking hot,’ and how 

quickly it shifts to sexual harassment.” 

If and when it does, schools must be 

prepared to go on the defensive. The 

university’s sexual harassment policy 

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can and should serve as the template for 

what an athletic department does to 

prevent and react to claims of illegality. 

(Hogshead-Makar, who serves as a legal 

advisor to the Women’s Sports Foundation, 

offers a sample policy in a paper she 

coauthored for the Marquette Sports 

Law Review in 2003 titled “Intercollegiate 

Athetics’ Unique Environment for 

It can go from, ‘You 

really look like you’re 

developing those leg 

muscles’ to ‘You’re 

looking hot,’ 

and quickly shift to 

sexual harassment. 

Sexual Harassment Claims: Balancing 

the Realities of Athletics with Preventing 

Potential Claims.”) It’s important to 

provide both staff and student-athletes 

with an understanding of the relationship 

leeway and landmines inherent in 

athletics, adds Clayton, and any policy 

should be discussed using hypothetical 

situations or actual case studies during 

annual or biannual meetings with 

coaches and players. 

“Take the policy and speak not only 

to what the policy says, but also to what 

types of situations it covers,” Clayton 

says. “Republish the policy as part of the 

contract of employment for administrators 

and coaches, and as part of the grantin-aid 

requirements for student-athletes, 

and then separately educate the administrators, 

coaches and student-athletes 

so that they are aware of the conduct 

that’s prohibited by the university’s 

sexual harassment policy. Then you are 

putting in an affirmative defense for the 

university to say, ‘We did everything we 

could to communicate the standard of 

behavior that they are to live up to.’ ” Ω 

Paul Steinbach can be reached online 

at paul@athleticbusiness.com





ANGER 

MANAGEMENT 

Supporters 

of a bill in 

Massachusetts 

are convinced 

that teaching 

self-control to 

student-athletes 

will, among other 

things, reduce 

run-ins with 

officials.

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easy compared to the next step, which is 

getting it implemented.” 

Because Haddad’s legislation also 

has the support of the Northeastern 

University Center for the Study of 

Sport in Society, Mass Youth Soccer 

and the Family Violence Prevention 

Fund, Vaccaro suggests that a pilot 

program at the youth level might be 

a better starting point for teaching 

self-control. “It’s like math class,” he 

says. “You start off doing addition, 

subtraction, multiplication and division 

in elementary school, then move to 

pre-algebra in middle school, and 

algebra and algebra 2 in high school. 

It’s progressive learning that moves to 

other levels as kids get older and their 

knowledge improves. By the time 

student-athletes get to high school, 

they should understand what the 

expectations are for their behavior.” 

At Reading Memorial, a handful 

of coaches already incorporate 

sports psychology into their team 

Prepare for a 

soft landing. 

tactics, using GetPsychedSports.org’s 

methods. Vaccaro says it’s key that his 

coaches understand how important 

good player behavior is to the school’s 

reputation. “What this legislation 

has identifi ed is that self-control is 

a skill,” he says, and HB 4479 has 

at least made state residents aware 

of that. “We’re not born with good 

sportsmanship; we develop it.” 

Despite his determined efforts to 

help move Haddad’s bill forward, 

Lyons — a former lawyer and longtime 

basketball coach at several levels 

— says he’s aware of the challenges 

any new education program could 

pose for high school athletic directors 

and coaches. 

“My response to that is, even 

though there is a learning curve 

involved, it will make the job of an 

athletic director so much easier,” he 

says, adding that GetPsychedSports. 

org has not yet been asked to help 

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develop the proposed curriculum. 

“Imagine if you could just hand 

parents a booklet and say, ‘Look, 

we’re teaching your kids how to be 

positive.’ But it’s hard to get people 

to see long-term gains. What we’re 

trying to do is capture the message 

of sports and use it to benefi t our 

society as a whole. But this is in 

the state’s hands. All I’m doing is 

advocating for it, and sometimes you 

have to make people angry in order 

to make them move. I know there are 

many, many ADs in Massachusetts 

who hate what I am doing.” 

Vaccaro, for one, harbors no 

animosity toward Lyons, Haddad 

or any of the bill’s supporters. “I 

don’t want to be negative about this, 

because I really believe in it,” he says. 

“Let’s start it and just see where it 

goes.” Ω 

Michael Popke can be reached online 

at mike@athleticbusiness.com 

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PRODUCTINDEX 

REPLY 

CARD # 

NEW & IMPROVED 

144 Fitness Anywhere ...............................29 

146 Hoist Fitness Systems ......................29 

143 Matrix Fitness Systems Corp. .........29 

141 Power Systems Inc. ...........................28 

145 ReadyCare ...........................................29 

142 Technogym USA Corp......................28 

140 TRUE Fitness ......................................28 

GYM AND ARENA COMPONENTS 

150 Aalco Manufacturing Co. .................70 

151 Aeson Flooring Systems, 

Div. of Stagestep ..........................70 

152 All American Scoreboards ...............70 

153 Artistic Coverings Inc. .......................70 

154 Basketball Products International ..70 

155 Bison Inc. .............................................70 

156 BSN Sports .........................................70 

157 Carron Net Co. Inc. ...........................70 

158 Clarin, Div. of 

Greenwich Industries ..................72 

159 Colorado Time & 

Colorado Display Systems ........72 

160 Covermaster Inc. ................................72 

161 CoverSports USA ..............................72 

162 Daktronics Inc. ....................................72 

163 Draper Inc. ...........................................72 

164 Electro-Numerics Inc. .......................72 

165 Eversan Inc. .........................................72 

166 Fair-Play Scoreboards ......................72 

167 First Team ............................................74 

168 Front Row Sports Technologies .....74 

169 Future Pro Inc. ....................................74 

170 Gared Sports ......................................75 

171 Goalsetter Systems Inc. ...................75 

172 H & H Enterprises Inc. ......................75 

173 InCord ...................................................76 


PAGE # REPLY 

PAGE # 

CARD # 

174 Institutional Products Inc. .................76 

175 Jaypro Sports LLC .............................76 

176 JV PRO Inc. .........................................76 

177 Kay Park-Recreation Corp. ..............76 

178 M. Putterman & Co. Inc. ...................76 

179 National Sports Products .................76 

180 Nevco Scoreboard Company .........76 

181 Performance Sports Systems .........76 

182 Porter Athletic Equipment Co. ........78 

183 Power Ad Co. .....................................78 

184 Pro-Bound Sports .............................78 

185 Promats Athletics ...............................78 

186 Qued, Div. of Seaway Mats Inc. .....80 

187 Revere Plastics ...................................80 

188 Schelde North America ....................80 

189 SignCo EDS .......................................82 

190 Spalding ...............................................82 

191 Spec Seats International ..................82 

192 Spectrum Scoreboards ....................82 

193 Sportable Scoreboards ....................82 

194 SportsGraphics Inc. ..........................82 

195 Tachikara ..............................................83 

196 Tarafl ex Sports Flooring 

by Gerfl or .......................................83 

197 Varsity Scoreboards ..........................83 

THE SHORT LIST 

137 Brendle Climbing Systems ..............51 

135 Brewer’s Ledge ..................................51 

131 Eldorado Climbing Wall Co. ............50 

130 Entre Prises Climbing Walls ............50 

133 Monolithic Sculptures Inc. ...............50 

134 Nicros Inc. ............................................51 

132 Vertical World .....................................50 

136 Xcelsior Systems ...............................51

ADINDEX 

REPLY 

CARD # 

59 2XL Corp. ............................................83 

89 A-1 Textiles & 

Hospitality Products ................. 110 

35 Aacer Flooring LLC ...........................47 

46 AAE (Aluminum Athletic 

Equipment Co.) ............................66 

75 Action Floor Systems LLC ............ 100 

64 Air Structures American 

Technologies Inc. .........................90 

61 ASFI ......................................................88 

39 ATG Sports Industries Inc. ...............54 

66 Athletic Business Conference ........91 

95 Athletic Business Conference ..... 118 

85 Ballard*King & Associates ............ 107 

8 Beam Clay/Partac Peat Corp. ........12 

91 Big Fitness ........................................ 113 

9 Bird-X Inc. ............................................12 

37 BonaKemi USA Inc. ...........................49 

3 Brock International ............................... 4 

62 Carron Net Co. Inc. ...........................89 

78 Century Industries Inc. ................... 101 

82 Clarin, Div. of 

Greenwich Industries ............... 105 

67 ClearSpan Fabric 

Structures Int’l Inc. .......................92 

100 Colorado Recreation University ... 115 

21 Courtclean ...........................................35 

19 Covermaster Inc. ................................34 

96 Covermaster Inc. ............................. 123 

15 CoverSports USA ..............................25 

11 Daktronics Inc. ....................................17 

6 Dixie Chopper .....................................10 

45 Draper Inc. ...........................................65 

80 Dri-Dek .............................................. 104 

2 Entre Prises Climbing Walls .............. 3 

49 Eversan Inc. .........................................73 

55 Fair-Play Scoreboards ......................80 

7 FieldTurf Tarkett ..................................11 

70 First Team ............................................96 

57 Goalsetter Systems Inc. ...................82 

93 Gopher Sport ................................... 115 

83 Grid Concepts ................................. 106 

99 Gym Tech.............................................92 

16 Hampton Fitness Products Ltd. ......27 

25 Hastings & Chivetta Architects.......40 

65 Hendee Enterprises...........................90 

53 InCord ...................................................78 

38 Infi nity Flooring....................................49 

68 International Council on 

Active Aging ..................................93 

13 Iron Grip Barbell Co. .........................21 

48 Jaypro Sports LLC .............................71 

44 K&K Insurance Group Inc. ...............63 

88 Kay Park-Recreation Corp. ........... 110 

PAGE # REPLY 

PAGE # 

CARD # 

34 Kraiburg Relastec ..............................46 

86 L.A. Steelcraft Products Inc. ........ 107 

97 Life Fitness ....................................... 124 

69 List Industries Inc. ..............................95 

23 Lyon Workspace Products ....... 36-37 

10 M. Putterman & Co. Inc. ...................13 

77 M.A.S.A. Inc. .................................... 101 

42 Matefl ex Modular Surfaces ..............58 

41 Mondo ..................................................57 

84 National Sports Products .............. 106 

4 Nautilus Inc. ........................................... 5 

87 Nicros Inc. ......................................... 109 

33 Ohlson Lavoie Collaborative ...........45 

60 Paragon Aquatics, Div. of Pentair ...87 

12 Paramount Fitness Corp. .................19 

76 Plexipave Sport Surfacing............. 101 

43 Polytan ..................................................59 

14 Porter Athletic Equipment Co. ........23 

94 Power Systems Inc. ........................ 116 

Precor Incorporated ............................ 6 

32 RehaMed International LLC .............45 

73 RehaMed International LLC .............98 

29 Robbins Sports Surfaces .................43 

71 Roppe Corp. .......................................97 

98 Russell Athletic ................................ 103 

81 Salsbury Industries ......................... 104 

52 Schelde North America ....................77 

27 Sink Combs Dethlefs ........................42 

90 SnapSports ...................................... 111 

31 SofSURFACES Inc............................45 

50 Spalding ...............................................74 

51 Spalding ...............................................75 

30 Spartan Chemical Company Inc. ...44 

74 Spectrum Scoreboards ....................99 

63 Splash SuperPools ............................89 

40 Sport Court International..................55 

5 Sportable Scoreboards ...................... 9 

56 Sports Imports Inc. (Senoh) ............81 

72 Sports Tutor Inc. .................................98 

28 Stanmar Inc. ........................................42 

26 Star Trac ...............................................41 

58 Surface America Inc. .........................83 

36 Synthetic Surfaces Inc. .....................48 

22 Synthetic Turf International ..............35 

18 Tachikara ..............................................33 

20 Tarafl ex Sports Flooring 

by Gerfl or .......................................35 

17 Technogym USA Corp......................31 

24 TMI Salt Pure Corp............................40 

92 Troy Barbell & Fitness .................... 114 

1 TRUE Fitness ........................................ 2 

79 Varco-Pruden Buildings ................ 117 

54 Varsity Scoreboards ..........................79 

47 WD Flooring LLC ...............................67 

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IMAGES COURTESY OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA 

THEFIELD 

ACCESS 

HOLLYWOOD 

After years 

of slow decay, 

the site of 

silent film star 

Marion Davies’ 

former home 

(above) is being 

transformed 

into a public 

beach club. 

recreation 

Re-creation 

TWO CALIFORNIA COMMUNITIES LOOK TO THEIR PASTS AS THEY TRY 

TO MEET CURRENT RECREATION NEEDS. BY NICHOLAS BROWN 

One is known for its laid-back skateboard 

culture, movie-star sightings and vast 

beaches. The other is known for its 

depressed, heavy-industrial economy, 

violent crime rate and environmental disasters 

both natural (earthquakes) and unnatural (illegal 

refinery emissions). But to characterize Santa 

Monica and Richmond, respectively, in that way 

would be to overlook two qualities that give real 

substance to these apparently disparate California 

communities — a desire to preserve the past and a 

belief in the importance of public recreation. 

Dig into the capital projects involving the reuse 

of historically significant recreation facilities 

currently under way in both communities, and 

even more similarities are unearthed (the use of 

creative fundraising and the public’s unwavering 

expectations regarding public land, to name a 

couple). 


In Santa Monica, those qualities are embodied in a 

state beach site restoration project known as “415,” 

a reference to its address on a stretch of the Pacific 

Coast Highway that is flanked almost exclusively to 

the west by private mansions. Construction is under 

way there for a $34 million public “beach club” that 

will include a renovated recreational swimming pool 

designed in the 1920s by famed architect Julia 

Morgan for William Randolph Hearst and his silentfilm 

star girlfriend, Marion Davies. Also included in 

the plans are the construction of beach volleyball and 

beach tennis courts, renovation of a historic guesthouse 

to be available for community programming, a 

new locker and shower facility beneath a viewing 

deck overlooking the Pacific Ocean, and a three-room 

events building that will be available for rent. 

“This is such a fabulous opportunity because it is 

a magnificently beautiful site,” says Callie Hurd, 

manager of the Santa Monica Open Space Division, 

one of several city departments 

responsible for the operation 

and maintenance of the site 

under a longtime agreement 

with the state. “I envision 

people having a movie-star 

experience next to that pool.” 

Despite such apparent opulence 

and the “club” moniker, 

Hurd stresses that the project 

reflects community-driven 

goals. “This is a state park, and

the purpose of the state park system is to 

provide for the health and inspiration of 

the people of the state of California by 

preserving its cultural and natural 

resources,” she says. “This is an opportunity 

to provide recreation for all of the 

public on this part of the beach.” Indeed, 

the property’s significance as a communityinclusive 

recreational facility extends 

back to 1959, when a new owner 

allowed minorities membership into the 

club. “There were historically two other 

beach clubs in the immediate area, and 

it is my understanding that they did not 

allow a diversity of members,” says 

Hurd, “so this club has a special place 

The interest in 

saving this 

building isn’t 

just because 

it’s historical; 

it’s a necessity. 

in a lot of people’s hearts because it was 

open to them.” 

Meanwhile, in Richmond, after a 

decade-long effort from a citizens 

group working in tandem with city 

leaders, bids have finally been solicited 

to renovate the historic Richmond City 

Natatorium, known as “The Richmond 

Plunge.” The 1926 building is on the 

state’s register of historic places, and 

serves as a landmark entering the city’s 

historic district, but was shut down 

permanently in 2001, “as the city of 

Richmond has struggled to keep it open 

and meet the costs of staffing while faced 

with the almost crushing urban issues of 

poverty, unemployment and violence,” 

according to a fundraising message by 

the Richmond Friends of Recreation. 

For those close to the project, spending 

$6 million to $7 million to renovate the 

Plunge wouldn’t just protect a beautiful 

old building. “The interest in saving this 

building isn’t just because it’s historical; 

it’s a necessity,” says Ellie Strauss, executive 

director of the Save the Richmond 

Plunge Trust. “We have many troubled 

youth — we have lots of problems in 

Richmond — and we feel strongly that 

swimming is one of the most wonderful 

benefits you can give, not only physically, 

but mentally.” 

Naturally, the challenge in any recreation 

project — let alone those 

involving restoration and historic 

 

 

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preservation — is fundraising, a function 

not necessarily of luck, says Strauss, but 

of “ringing the right bells, and a lot of 

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THEFIELD 

recreation 

I’m sure there are people within the city government 

who would have liked to have said, ‘Oh, Lord, let’s just 

tear it down and be done with it.’ 

built or renovated in Santa Monica and 

Richmond are designed to meet current 

recreation-based needs in the community, 

the largest funding source for each is 

geared toward cultural preservation or 

enhancement. In Santa Monica, that 

means a whopping $27.8 million grant 

from the Annenberg Foundation, which 

is now the project’s namesake. “It’s so 

much money I can’t even get my head 

around it,” says Hurd. Protectors of the 

Plunge, meanwhile, were nearly at a 

standstill until word came that they’d 

be receiving a late-round California 

Cultural and Historical Endowment 

of more than $2 million. The award 

is expected to make the first phase of 

construction possible. “It was the 

feather in our cap,” says Strauss. 

Also, because of the emotional 

responses that historic recreation projects 

can elicit, a major part of raising funds 

for them lies in promotion, in the hope 

that the right set of ears will hear. 

“[Annenberg Foundation vice president] 

Wallis Annenberg just called up one day, 

said she’d heard about 415, and asked, 

‘What’s it going to take to make this site 

usable?’ ” says Hurd. “It’s my understanding 

that she had gone there as a 

child, and now she wants her grandchildren 

to be able to go there and have 

similar experiences. They also had certain 

donation requirements they had to 

meet that year, and we just happened to 

be in the right place at the right time.” 

In many cases, when the public has 

been involved in the planning process 


for the restoration of longstanding 

public recreation facilities, failure is not 

an option — even if keeping those 

facilities open, or just standing, is 

draining government resources. Just ask 

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, 

who in February was feeling a public 

backlash from editorial writers and 

preservationists after his annual budget 

proposed killing operations at 48 of 

California’s more than 200 state parks 

in order to help meet an expected shortfall 

of more than $14 billion this year. 

Though a 1994 earthquake devastated 

the Annenberg Community Beach Club 

property, leaving its structures red-flagged 

and far from profitable, Hurd says the 

state never formally investigated selling 

the land. “It definitely would not have 

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POOL RESOURCES 

With more than 

a decade’s worth 

of fundraising led 

mainly by volunteers, 

the closed Richmond 

(Calif.) City Natatorium 

is finally scheduled 

for renovation. 

gone over well if there was serious 

consideration given to selling the 

property for private use,” she 

says. Likewise, in Richmond, 

political leaders have exhibited 

a certain sensitivity regarding 

the Plunge property, despite its 

perennial drain on city finances. 

“I’m sure there are people 

within the city government who 

would have liked to have said, 

‘Oh, Lord, let’s just tear it down 

and be done with it,” says 

Strauss. “But they never said it 

out loud.’ ” 

Strauss’ own 11-year involvement 

with the Plunge project — 

a “long, tiring haul,” as she 

describes it — remains personal, 

not political. “The first time I 

went inside, I couldn’t believe 

that a facility like that was sitting 

there,” she says. “It has these 

beautiful spanning arches and 

walls. Even now, as it’s sitting 

there closed, waiting for its 

rehabilitation, it entrances you.” 

But it is not history or aesthetic 

appreciation alone that maintains 

momentum in such projects. 

“What’s really moving this along 

is the impact the facility and the 

services it allowed have had on 

this community since 1926,” says 

Richmond recreation program 

coordinator Bill Kauppinen, who 

hopes to bring a “full menu” of 

programs back to the Plunge, 

including recreational swimming, 

lap swimming, water fitness 

training and even kayak water 

polo. “Just the fact that it was here, open and operational for that long created 

a big impact on people when it was closed. That service is part of its history.” 

Adds Strauss, “This is not some beautiful old shell that will just sit around. 

This is a pool that will be used by everybody.” Ω 

Nicholas Brown can be reached online at nick@athleticbusiness.com 

PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE RICHMOND FRIENDS OF RECREATION 



THEFIELD 

Inactive Duty 

KEEPING THE EXTENDED MILITARY FAMILY FIT INCLUDES SERVING 

THOSE WHO NO LONGER SERVE. BY ANDREW COHEN 

There is no such thing as a typical 

ex-soldier. Some get discharged from 

the service at 25 after their initial 

commitment has been fulfilled, some 

retire while still in their early 40s, and 

others retire after 20 years but then continue 

serving as a contractor for another 20. Their 

experience out of the military varies as 

much as their time in it, when some worked 

as drivers and desk jockeys, and others 

parachuted from airplanes or toted an M-16. 

And so does their health. Many military 

retirees continue to do the things that 

kept them in fighting trim, while others 

wake up to a common fate: Weight gain, 

decreased muscle mass and a variety of 

ailments (heart disease, cancer and 

type II diabetes among them) associated 

with physical inactivity. 

David Outcalt, a 46-year-old former 

U.S. Marine Corps lieutenant discharged 

military 

in his 20s, managed to avoid a flabby reflection in 

his mirror, but says he knows all too well how it 

can happen. 

“When I was in the service, I was more active just 

because of the nature of the work,” he says of his 

years leading an amphibious assault unit by day and 

a cadre of partiers by night. “Most of us would run 

anywhere from three to five miles on the beach 

during lunch, and we were young and in great shape 

and had some money in our pocket, so we’d go out 

looking for ladies at the bars a lot. You get used to a 

diet that requires a higher level of exercise to keep 

you in shape, so when you suddenly leave that 

environment and there’s nobody looking to give you 

a fitness test, you either adapt your food intake and 

try to stay active, or you’re going to put on weight.” 

The exact requirements vary from branch to 

branch or base to base, but active-duty personnel 

in all service branches are expected to maintain a 

healthy weight and pass regular physical fitness 

tests (PFTs). Accordingly, fitness center membership 

across the Armed Forces is offered to all 

active-duty and former service men and women, 


PHOTO COURTESY OF U.S. AIR FORCE 

their dependents and Department of Defense 

employees. The most organized response to the 

(real or perceived) fitness deficit among military 

personnel remains the Marine Corps’ branch-wide 

Semper Fit program, but fitness professionals at 

installations in the other branches remain just 

as committed to keeping military personnel healthy 

from their 20s all the way into their 90s. 

Lori Smith, fitness director at Fort Benning in 

Georgia, says the majority of Army retirees she 

sees working out range in age from 55 to 70, but 

she also has a dedicated 92-year-old retiree who 

comes in every day. 

What’s his regimen? “He does a lot of talking,” 

Smith says with a laugh. “I think it’s much more 

of a social environment for him. But he does 

work out. He goes through a circuit on the selectorized 

equipment, walks on a treadmill for 10 or 

15 minutes, and then spends the majority of his 

time in the whirlpool. He also worked for a 

while on balance issues with one of our personal 

trainers because he’d taken a fall.” 

Smith says that she doesn’t really program differently 

for the retiree population — an exception is 

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THEFIELD VM military 

When you leave that environment and there’s nobody 

looking to give you a fitness test, you either 

adapt or you’re going to put on weight. 

aquatics, in which more classes are 

geared toward seniors. Similarly, Naomi 

Parish, assistant director of the Patrick 

AFB Sports and Fitness Center, calls the 

U.S. Air Force’s response to fitness “less 

defined” than the USMC’s. But, she says, 

with the USAF’s emphasis on teaming 

base fitness centers with their co-located 

and more medically focused health and 

wellness centers, her center’s program is 

much the same as Semper Fit — “We just 

haven’t given it a name,” she says. Many 

retired personnel in the Brevard County, 

Fla., vicinity (especially the older ones) 

pair their visits to the exercise physiologists, 

dieticians and medical technicians 

in the health and wellness center with a 

trip downstairs to the fitness center. 

“We try to tailor some of our programs 

to meet their needs,” Parish says. “A lot of 

them are suffering from chronic diseases, 

so our goal is to carefully get them 

accustomed to some of the very basic 

exercise machines that we have in here.” 

The need for introductory lessons 

might seem odd, considering that this 

is a population in which working out 

is ingrained in the collective mind, 

from the exercise rituals of readiness 

to the heavy lifting of combat. But in 

addition to those whose active-duty 

physiques have softened, there are 

many ex-soldiers who, like Outcalt, 

spent their careers exercising outside 

the fitness center setting. 

“Even in the military we’re facing 



elevated health-care costs, so here at 

Patrick I’m noticing the retiree population 

is more concerned now with maintaining 

their health as a way of decreasing longterm 

medical costs,” Parish says. “Plus, it’s 

really over the past 10 years that a lot of us 

have become aware of how our lifestyle 

over the years can sort of catch up with us. 

It’s great to see so many people making a 

concerted effort to better their health.” 

Fitness directors say that the sedentary 

ex-soldier is mainly a stereotype — at 

least around their particular installation. 

“I don’t see the people who don’t 

come on post, obviously, ” Smith says. 

“Typically the ones I encounter are the 

people who are maintaining their health to

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THEFIELD VM military 

a certain standard, so my impression is we 

have a pretty healthy retiree population.” 

Doug Briggs, director of strength and 

conditioning at Fort Bliss in west Texas, 

says the norm in his corner of the U.S. 

Army assumes the shape of the lifelong 

exerciser. “A lot of them, because of all 

those years getting up early and running 

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cises, they actually maintain their level 

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who’s 80 years old, walks with a cane — 

she’s a retired colonel, probably back 

from the days of the Women’s Army 

Corps — and she’s in here working out 

all the time. She’s really funny, always 

complaining about other women in here 

not being dressed appropriately.” 

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Briggs recites the range of activities 

available to retirees — aerobics, gravity 

training, group cycling, selectorized 

strength training, free weight training, 

basketball, racquetball, swimming, personal 

training — and notes that the benefits to 

retired personnel extend beyond physical 

fitness to stress relief and camaraderie, 

among other things. “It’s all-encompassing,” 

he says. “We try very hard.” 

Smith says that, in fact, fitness center 

directors don’t have to work that hard to 

attract this particular market segment. 

“They kind of have their routine set,” 

she says. “They got vocal about having 

an arthritis aqua-aerobics class, so we 

implemented one, and I didn’t have to 

do any marketing for it. Once it was 

I’m noticing 

the retiree 

population 

is more 

concerned 

now with 

maintaining 

their health 

as a way of 

decreasing 

long-term 

medical costs. 

there, the word spread, and before I 

could even talk to marketing to get a 

flier sent out, we had more than enough 

people to fill out the class.” 

Reaching out to retirees is something 

that Parish and others say is part of the 

military DNA. “One of the Air Force’s 

top priorities is taking care of its people,” 

she says. “That does not stop with active 

duty.” Ω 

Andrew Cohen can be reached online at 

andy@athleticbusiness.com

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