RECREATION

AND
LEISURE
Learning Outcomes:
At the end of this Chapter, you should be able to:

1.Define recreation and leisure;

2.Determine the varied views of recreation and leisure;
3.Describe the motivations for recreational participation;
4.Explain the factors which promote the growth of recreation;
5.Discuss the major types of organized recreation;
6.Explain the role of sports and tourism as major recreation service
components;
7.Differentiate theme parks, water parks, fun centers, and sports
tourism;
8.Analyze the need for professional leadership in the recreation
field;and
9.Discuss the challenges facing the recreation and leisure service field
in the 21st century.
Meaning of Recreation and Leisure
The dictionary defines ‘’recreation’’ as the process of giving
new life to something. ‘’Leisure’’ is defined as the productive,
creative, or contemplative use of free time.

Recreational Activities
Recreational activities include all kinds of sports, both team
and individual, such as baseball, softball, foothball, basketball,
volleyball, tennis, badminton, swimming, skiing, hiking, jogging,
aerobics, and rocks climbing, which are active forms of
recreations. Passive recreational activities include reading,
fishing, playing and listening to music, gardening, playing
computer games, and watching television shows or movies.
Varied Views of Recreation and Leisure
Recreation and leisure are all these things. They represent
a rewarding form of human experience and constitute an
important aspect of economic development and government
responsibility.
At present, the value of recreation and leisure is universally
accepted. As a consequence, the government in both developed
and developing countries has accepted the responsibility of
providing and assisting leisure opportunites through extensive
recreation and park system.
Recreational Participation
The most common notion of recreation is that it is primarily a
participation in sports and games. Recreation actually includes an
extremely broad range of leisure activities including travel and
tourism, cultural entertainment, participation in the arts, hobbies,
membership in social clubs, or interest groups, nature-related
activities such as hunting and fishing, and attendance at parties,
special events, and fitness activities.

Motivations for Recreational Participation

Many participants take part in recreation as a form of
relaxation and release from the pressures of work and other
tensions. Another recreational motivation is the need to express
creativity, expose hidden talents, or pursue excellence in various
forms of personal expression. Others enjoy recreation because it
provides them the opportunity to make new friends or cooperate
with others in group activities.
Factors Promoting the Growth of Recreation
The following are the factors that help bring about the
growth of recreation;
1. The Growth of free or Discretionary time- A
key factor underlying the growth of recreation has been
the growth of free or discretionary time in the 20th
century. Due to advanced mechanical equipment and
automated processes in factories, agriculture, and the
service fields, productive capacity increased
remarkably during the second half of the 19th century
and the first half of the 20th century.
2. Influence of Technology- Sophisticated
technology has provided new forms of recreation for
people. Outdoor recreation uses complex and
expensive devices in activities such as skydiving, hang
gliding, scuba diving, boating, roller blading, skiing, and
snowboarding. The internet has become an important
part of travel and tourism by providing information and
facilitating reservations and vacation choices.
3. Public Interest in Health and Fitness- A key
trend in the 20th century is the growth of public interest in
exercise and physical fitness programs.Many people are
now concerned about improving their health, vitality, and
appearance through diet and exercise.

4.Commodification of Leisure- Various forms of

recreation are being developed by profit-seeking
businesses. Giant corporations have taken control of
music, television, movie businesses, sports spandiums,
cruise ships, theme parks, and other leisure operations.
5.Therapeutic Recreation Service- An important aspect of
the growth of recreation has been the increased awareness of
the recreation needs of persons with physical, mental, or social
disabilities. In recents years, there has been an increased
recognition of the need to provide recreational programs for
special populations such as the mentally challenged, mentally
ill, and physically challenged.

6.New Leisure Roles for Women- At present, there is a

strong drive by women to play a more equal role in recreational
opportunities. Women were treated as second-class citizens in
leisure opportunities. There is now a growing interest in
women’s tennis, golf, gymnastics, track and field, and similar
events in every level of competition, outstanding women
athletes have helped create a new image of feminine strength,
determination, and self-confidence.
Types of Organized Recreation
1.Government Recreation Agencies – These are the
federal, state, provincial agencies and local departments that
provide recreation and leisure services as a primary function.
Also included are other agencies that offer recreation programs
as a secondary responsibility such as those concerned with
social service, education, special populations, and the armed
forces.

2. Voluntary Non profit Organizations- These are

nongovernmental, nonprofit agencies, both sectarian, which
serve the public at large with multiservice programs that often
include a substantial element of recreational opportunity. The
most popular voluntary organizations include the boy Scouts,
Girl Scouts,YMCA,YWCA, and YM-YWHA.
Example of Government Recreation Agencies
Example of Voluntary Non Profit Organization

Medical Center Girls Scout and Boys Scout

3. Private Membership Organizations- They Provide
recreational and social activities for their own members and, in
some cases, assist community recreation needs. Examples are
golf, tennis, yatch, athletic, and country clubs.

4.Commercial Recreation Enterprises- These are

privately owned businesses wghich operate to make a profit
such as ski centers, bowling alleys, nightclubs, movie houses,
theaters, health spas or fitness, dancing schools, and theme
parks.

5.Employee Recreation Programs- They serve those

who work for companies or employers by providing recreation
as a part of total personnel benefits package, linked to other
services concerned with employee health and fitness.
This is the example of Employee Recreation Programs
6. Armed Forces Recreation- Although it is obviously a
form of government sponsored activity, it is unique in its setting
and purpose. Each of the major branches of the armed forces
operates an extensive network of recreation facilities and
programs.

7.Campus Recreation- It includes intramural athletics or

sports clubs, social activities, travel programs, performing arts
groups, entertainment, lounges, film series, and other forms of
recreation on college and university campuses.

8. Therapeutic Recreation Services- These includes any

types of program designed to meet the needs of persons with
physical or mental disabilities, individuals with poor health,
dependent aging persons, social deviant persons in
correctional facilities, and similar special groups.
Two Major Recreation Service Components
In addition to the eight types of organized recreation, sports and
tourism represent major areas of recreational programming and
constitute powerful economic forces through their attraction for
people of every age and background.

Sports as Popular Recreation

Sports are major areas of recreational involvement. Of all the
types of recreational involvement, sports command the highest
degree of personal interest and emotional involvement both for those
who participate actively in them and those who are part of a big
number of fans of school, college, and professional teams. Sorts are
generally defined as physical activities demanding exertion and skill,
involving competition, carried on with both formal rules and general
standards of etiquette and fair play.
Tourism- A major Recreation Service Component
Tourism is a second major area of diversified recreational
involvement. Several major elements in the tourism enterprise which
are closely linked to the growth of tourism as a form of recreation
are the theme parks, water parks, fun centers, and sports tourism.

Theme Parks
Theme parks usually concentrate on one dominant theme
which may be historical, cultural, or geographical. An example of a
theme parks with a single theme is the marine Zoological Sea World
Park. The most popular theme park is Disneyland in Anaheim,
California which was built by the late Walt Disney around the theme
of Disney characters.
Theme parks create an atmosphere in which the visitors is likely
to experience fantasy, glamorous, escapism, prestige, and
excitement.
Water Parks
A specialized type of theme parks are the water parks. They
feature wave pools, slides, chutes, shows, and other forms of
water-based play and entertainment. Water parks are usually part
of larger operations.

Fun Centers
In heavily populated metropolitan areas, entrepreneurs have
developed a variety of indoor fun centers, ranging from children’s
play, gymnastics, to family party centers, video game arcades,
and big restaurants with the game area.
Sports Tourism
The purpose of sports tourism is to participate directly in a form
of sport or attend sports events as a spectator. In the past, only
the team traveled; the spectators remained behind to read about
their favorite game or to experience the game through radio and
television.

The Need for Professional Leadership

At present, there is a growing need for qualified professional
leadership in the recreation fields.
Recreation professionals should possess the skills needed for
direct leadership and supervision, group dynamics, and client
assessment. They must have the ability to carry out basic
research and write meaningful reports.
Emerging Professional Identity
As employment in recreation agencies grew over the past
several decades, recreation gained public recognition as a
fourishing career field. Millions of men and women become
employed in various specialized sectors of recreation and leisure
services.

Challenges Facing the Recreation and Leisure Service

in the Twenty- First Century
Recreational professional must be able to deal creatively with the
following challenges:

1. Serve Diverse society (race, age, gender);

2. Emphasize key social purposes of recreation in working with at-
risk youth, sewing persons with disabilities, and promoting
community development;
3. Achieve fuller public understanding of the value of recreation
and parks, and of the leisure-service profession;

4. Upgrade recreation and park programs and facilities,

particularly in inner cities and for minority populations;

5. Adopt a benefits-based management approach; researching,

providing and publicizing positive outcomes of recreation;

6. Promote recreation’s identity as health-related fields;

7. Developed partnerships with environmental organizations to

protect and restore wild lands, waterways;
8. Employ marketing approach to achieve fiscal
sufficiency and gain public respect and support;

9. Expand and improve family-centered programs and

facilities;

10. Promote higher values and ethical practices in

youth sports competition;

11. Strive for fuller mainstreaming of persons with

disabilities in community recreation programs;
12. Plan for long-term role of recreation and leisure in
potentially job-scare economy;

13. Develop higher levels of professionalism through

accreditation, certification, counting education, or
programs standards; and

14. Unify separate branches of recreation and leisure

service fields (public, nonprofit, commercial,
therapeutic) in common programs and projects.
 THAT’S ALL
THANK YOU

Reporter:
MICGAEL ANGELO RECOLITANO
FERRER, JESSICA C.