MCCPRA prepares for Summer with exciting announcements

Published 3:00 pm Thursday, April 20, 2023

MOULTRIE – Moultrie-Colquitt County Parks and Recreation Authority is preparing for Summer with four exciting announcements including free swim lessons, reopening facilities, and two upcoming, free community events.

Facilities are reopening

The A.F. Shaw gym, located at the William Bryant Park, will host a grand re-opening from 2-5 p.m. on Sunday, April 30.

Children will have primary access to Shaw gym Monday, Wednesday and Thursday from 4-6 p.m. and again on Saturday from 2-5 p.m.

Adult free time will also be provided at Shaw Gym on Tuesday and Thursday from 7-8:30 p.m. and from 2-5 p.m. on Sundays.

Feel the Beat step aerobics taught by Zell Ellerson, will resume at Shaw gym May 2. This is a volunteer based program which is free for the public to attend. Classes are every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday for an hour starting at 6 p.m.

The Tommy Meredith Gym, at the Jim Buck Goff Recreation Complex, will reopen May 1 with free play from Monday thru Thursday 10 a.m. to noon.

Both gyms have undergone multiple renovations including: new flooring freshly lined for basketball, pickleball and volleyball; new entry and bathroom tile; security cameras with access control technology and Shaw gym has a brand new air conditioning system.

“It’s been a long time coming,” said Maggie Davidson, who is the Executive Director at MCCPRA, and talked about how it took a year from ordering to installation. “Let’s just say they hadn’t been resurfaced since the 70’s. It was time.”

Both gyms are available for reservations.

Practice time reservations are $15 an hour.

Group rentals for $300 a day or $75 an hour.

All rentals require a facility supervisor in attendance, and that is an additional fee of $15.

Free swim lessons for adults and children, registration in the coming weeks

“We’ve seen in the past few years there is definitely a need in the community,” said Davidson. “We want to try and shift focus and get more people safe and comfortable around the water. This is South Georgia. There is water everywhere.”

MCCPRA, who are already licensed to provide a variety of programs through the American Red Cross, have recently partnered with them on another program: the Learn-to-Swim initiative.

This initiative allows 150 kids free swimming instruction through one of three available sessions. Each session includes eight 30-minute lessons.

Two of the youth sessions will be in June, and one in July.

Thirty-two adults will also be given the opportunity for one free session, which includes five one-hour lessons. There will be two adult sessions to choose from. One in June and the other in July. Both of these sessions will be adults only.

All registration is on a first come, first serve basis and the opening registration dates will be announced on MCCPRA’s social media and on www.mccpra.com in the coming weeks.

Taking a swim session outside the Learn-To-Swim initiative is $30.

Private sessions are also available for $100 which includes six 45-minute lessons.

“We try to make it a safe and fun environment where serious skills are being taught,” said Shyanna Corman, MCCPRA’s Aquatics Director. “We hope to create an environment where they (brand new swimmers) aren’t as embarrassed or scared … when no one else is around, besides the lifeguards, they can hopefully feel more comfortable with who they are around, people with the same swimming skills as them.”

Corman goes on to explain how each session will be kept small to maintain a one-on-one style instruction method. Youth sessions will be capped at 48, and the adult sessions are ideally going to be groups of four.

“It surprises me every year that there are a lot of people, especially adults, who don’t know how to swim,” said Corman. “Being able to provide this for the community is going to be so beneficial and needed.”

Bike Rodeo

MCCPRA’s first Bike rodeo will be held Saturday, May 6 at the Goff Complex from 9 a.m. to noon.

The focus will be education about cycling safety and awareness from both the rider and a vehicle driver’s perspective.

“We haven’t really done anything focused around bike safety,” said Davidson. “We’ve seen a lot of cyclists since COVID and want to make sure they are safe. Any little accident could happen and there are a lot of cycling related injuries that people don’t think about that are actually common.”

Bicyclists are encouraged to bring their bikes and equipment with them to better participate in the events.

Hands-on training, demonstrations, races, obstacle courses, prizes and giveaways (including helmets and even some bikes) will all be present during this inaugural event.

“We are hoping this will generate a lot of interest,” said Davidson. “We would like it to become a yearly event.”

Annual Fishing Rodeo is just around the corner

The annual fishing rodeo, anticipated to bring in 150-200 people, will be held Saturday, May 13 from 8-11 a.m. at Magnolia Pond.

Larry’s Bait and Tackle, who have been sponsoring this event since 1996, will have everything needed to fish for those who don’t have their own supplies, including ways to measure a fish.

“It’s great to see all the families show up every year,” said Davidson. “That first hour is basically drop a line and reel out as fast as you can. Lots of action that first hour.”

The 26-foot center deep pond is stocked by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources a few different times throughout each year, and they provide strict feeding instruction for MCCPRA to follow.

To allow the fish to grow as big as possible, MCCPRA uses the fishing rodeo as it’s opening day, and then closes the pond October 31 until the next season.

All fish caught go home with the fishermen, meaning lots of families show up with empty coolers and leave ready to go home and start a fish fry.

There is no fee required to participate, and a fishing license is not required for this single event.