Creating An Inspection Model For Waterslides Page 18 Session Ends Amid Flurry of Legislative Activity Page 11 What Makes A Day Camp Successful? Page 20

6        Across the Board: Park and Recreation            Boards: Democracy at Work            by Dr. Ted Flickinger, CAE, IAPD Executive Director 8        Point/Counterpoint 11    Legal/Legislative Scene            by Peter M. Murphy, CAE, IAPD General Counsel 16    Facility Design: Planning It            Right From the Start            by Carol Sente 18    Creating An Inspection Model            For Waterslides            by Robert Quill & Roy Jesen 20    What Makes A Day Camp Successful?            by Matthew Ellman 22    Just What The Customer Ordered            by Sharon Anderson 24    Improve Seasonal Concession Profits            by Terry Olten 27    Where Have All The Lifeguards Gone?            by Ron Shaw 31    Front-line Staff and Training Programs            by Michael Clark 34    Capital Financing Options            For Special Facilities            by David F.Phillips 36    People, Places & Things Tim Snodgrass, Editor Springfield, Illinois Theodore B. Flickinger, Managing Editor Executive Director, IAPD, Springfield, Illinois National Advertising Representative Allan S. Young P.O. Box 4407 Arlington Heights, Illinois 60002 (708) 670-0264

The Associated Press recently reported that walking has surpassed swimming as American's number one sport/fitness activity.

According to the article, exercise walking is in, while calisthenics is fast losing its popularity.

So many Americans say they have taken up walking that last year it surpassed swimming as the nation's number one sport or fitness activity according to a survey conducted for the National Sporting Goods Association.

"Of course, some of the walkers may merely be people who walk to the train station in the morning," association spokesman Thomas Doyle said.

"What the survey really shows is that the consciousness of walking as a fitness activity has increased," he added. "We have no idea whatsoever if any more walking is really being done."

This caveat not withstanding, the survey indicates that walking for exercise grew 72 percent over five years, from 41.5 million people in 1985 to 71.4 million in 1990.

Meanwhile, with the growing popularity of exercise equipment and clubs, the routine of push-ups, sit-ups and other calisthenics has gone into a steep decline.

"Exercising with equipment was in seventh place with 35.3 million participants, which was an increase of more than 3 million over 1985," said Larry Weindruch, another spokesman for the Mount Prospect-based association.

"In that same time period, the number of people who did calisthenics fell by half. There are only 13.2 million of them now, and there used to be more than 26 million."

The data, collected by the NPD Group Inc. of Port Washington, N.Y., was based on telephone surveys of 50,000 people in 20,000 U.S. households.

Swimming, which fell to second place in popularity, drew 67.5 million participants in 1990 compared with 73.3 million in 1985—an 8 percent decline. Bicycle riding was in third place in 1990 with 55.3 million; next was fishing with 46.9 million, followed by camping with 46.2 million and bowling with 40.1 million.

Doyle and Weindruch noted wide divergencies in activity patterns between men and women.

The fastest-growing recreational sports among women—at least by percentage of participation—appear to be archery and hunting.

On The Cover This photograph of a re-enactment of Colonial "Red Coats" was provided by the Illinois Department of Commerce and Community Affairs. This staff photo was one of the final selections in DCCA's photography contest held four years ago, "Focus Illinois."