The City of Norman's Parks & Recreation Department recently received two awards at the Oklahoma Recreation and Park Society 2024 Conference, held at the Embassy Suites and Young Family Athletic Center. The department earned the Award of Excellence for Project or Facility and won the Oklahoma Recreation and Park Society Maintenance Rodeo title for the second year in a row, according to the City of Norman.
Following a two-day conference on November 7 and 8, the city had the chance to showcase the newly completed Young Family Athletic Center, part of the Norman Forward projects. Director Jason Olsen noted, "About 140 municipal Parks and Recreation officials were here and this conference allowed us to show off our finished Norman Forward projects including the Young Family Athletic Center to our Park professional peers around the state and the country," as stated by the City of Norman.
The Young Family Athletic Center in Norman is a 122,000-square-foot facility with eight basketball courts, 12 volleyball courts, 18 pickleball courts, and aquatic amenities, including an 8-lane, 25-yard competition pool and a 4-lane warm-up pool. It also features video screens, lounges, professional timing systems, a gymnasium, spectator space, meeting rooms, and locker rooms. The center is part of Norman’s efforts to support athletic and recreational activities. At a recent conference, Roslyn Johnson from the National Parks and Recreation Association gave a keynote speech, and a live recording of the “Recless” podcast was featured, as reported by the City of Norman.
