City of Syracuse - Department of Parks, Recreation & Youth Programs

City Parks wishes to thank the following for their contributions to Family Fun and Fitness Night!
Cornell Cooperative Extension and Cheryl Neal
Syracuse Kung Fu and Sharif Bey
Young and Talented Dancers and Akila Cage
Fitness staff from Golds Gym and Strength In Motion
POMCO and the Syracuse Silver Knights Soccer Team
City Recreation Center Staff

Orenda Springs Winter Camp...On February 17th, 10 youth from Parks and Recreation Community Centers, were able to participate in a unique program, as part of their February Break from school. In collaboration with the Syracuse City School District, and through many generous donations to “Send a Kid to the Woods”, 6 youth were able to spend the day, and 4 youth spent 2 days and 1 night, at Orenda Springs Experiential Learning Center, in Marcellus, NY. John Powers, owner of the center, was the coordinator of all camp activities for the two days.
The 6 who opted to spend just the day, started their experience learning about the equestrian program the center runs. They learned about the horses, including grooming, cleaning stalls and proper horse care. They retrieved 2 horses from the pasture and brought them back to the stalls. There, they brushed the horses and cleaned out their shoes. They were then able to take turns riding the horses around the barn area. The kids, who were not riding at the time, were cleaning the horse’s stalls. Once all kids rode the horses, and all stalls were clean, they then took turns climbing on the rock wall, before breaking for lunch. Click here for the full story.

Area Youth Compete in Local Jr. NBA / Jr. WNBA Skills Challenge...On February 19th, 50 local youngsters between the ages of 9 and 14 had the opportunity to participate in the Jr. NBA / Jr. WNBA Skills Challenge, sponsored by SINGULAIR. This grassroots program provides boys and girls a free opportunity to showcase their excellence in the core basketball skills of shooting, dribbling, and passing. The local Skills Challenge was conducted at McChesney Recreation Center during the Parks Department’s Winter Break Program, and as part of Syracuse’s WinterFest Celebration! The Skills Challenge is a national competition, with local events staged across the country. Winners of the local events have the opportunity to be selected, by Jr. NBA officials, for participation in one of 35 Regional competitions. New York’s regional competition will be held in Madison Square Garden! Click here for the results

McChesney Kings Crowned 12-Under Basketball Champs for 2008/09...The City Parks Department’s 12 & Under Rec Center Basketball League took place at the McChesney Recreation center from December 1 through February 11. It consisted of 3 weeks of an instructional clinic that took place in December followed by a Round Robin Tournament. The clinics served about 75 kids from various community centers throughout the city. The purpose of these clinics was to teach some basic fundamentals of the game to each participant.
After the clinics each participant had the opportunity to showcase their skills in a citywide Round Robin Tournament. The tournament drew the interest of 9 teams (100 kids). Seven teams from the Parks Dept., 1 team from the Rescue Mission and 1 team from the Valley Worship Center. The tournament ran for five weeks concluding on February 11, 2009 with a championship between two familiar foes, McChesney Community Center versus the Westmoreland Community Center, with the McChesney Community Center being the victors. Congratulations on a terrific season!

2nd Annual Syracuse Parks and Recreation Community Center Chili Cook-off...On Friday, January 30th at 2pm,Westmoreland Community Center hosted the 2nd annual Parks and Recreation Community Center chili cook-off. This was one of many monthly competitions held between the centers. Each participating center was given the basic ingredients to chili, provided by Parks and Recreation. They were told they could add any other ingredients they would like to make their chili the way they wanted. Each center was given, one pound of ground beef, one can of beans, one can of crushed tomatoes, and some chili powder. They then made their chili on their own with the children at their centers. Participating centers included, Westmoreland, Wilson, Northeast, Ed Smith, McChesney/ Schiller (who had one chili between the two centers), and Cannon. The Spencer St. office also entered a chili. There were 7 chili’s total, to be judged. All centers and staff were transported to the event by the Parks and Recreation green bus. Click here for the full story.

Cross Country Ski Trips @ Sunnycrest Park...After school Program participants learned a great new way to stayactive- right here in the City- during the cold, winter months…by CrossCountry Skiing! Thanks to the Sunnycrest Park Association, and key volunteers such as Russel Houck and Bill Koch, Sunnycrest Park (behind Henninger High School) is now home to miles and miles of groomed Cross Country Ski Trails and instructional programs…as long as there’s snow, that is! And there was plenty of it this winter! More than 25 youth and staff from City Recreation Centers visited on two occasions this past winter (January 29th and February 5th) and received valuable instruction by Mr Houck and his team before venturing out onto the trails. It didn’t take long for the kids (and staff) to realize how great a workout x-c skiing can be! After tackling some small hills, and burning hundreds of calories, the groups warmed up with some hot chocolate inside of the clubhouse.
Visit http://sunnycrestparkassociation.com/ for more information!

City of Syracuse Rec Center Youth Choose Obama in Mock Election Monday, November 3, 2008 7:30 p.m. - City youth presaged the nation on Monday afternoon, when they selected, by an overwhelming margin, Barack Obama to be the next President of the United States. The crowd on hand at “Election Headquarters” erupted into cheers when Recreation Supervisor Kathleen O’Neil announced that, with 297 total votes (83%), Obama had easily defeated John McCain (13%) to claim the Presidency. McChesney Center’s Mark Bardenett placed a distant 3rd with 7 votes (2%). Click here for the full story.