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NRPA Connect is an online network with 64,000 professionals to answer your questions, share your challenges and discuss trending topics in the field. Check out what is being discussed this month:

Pool Slot Reservations – An NRPA Member has asked the community to share success stories regarding pool slot reservations to implement for the upcoming summer.

NRPA members offered the following suggestions:

• We have employed the Acuity Scheduling software for all of our program scheduling, from lap swimming, to pickleball, to use of our fitness facility. It works very well for us and provides the necessary “contact tracing” data, should that info become necessary.
• Our agency has been using SignUpGenius for all our reservations: swimming, fitness classes, tennis, racquetball, weight room, cardio floor. It is fairly easy, so most of our [older adults] can manage the process. I do recommend you establish a 24-hour cancellation policy with two strikes early to cut back on “no-shows.”  We have allowed call-in cancellations if people are sick and it is under 24 hours.
• If anything positive has come from [COVID-19], it’s how we shifted our operations at our pool. We reopened our pool at the end of June and required reservations and set maximums for various time slots and activities. In the mornings, we established one-hour blocks of times for lap swimming, aqua aerobics and water fitness. During the day, we set up two-hour blocks for open, public swim and then additional lap swimming blocks again in the evening. This accomplished one of our county’s goals [toward] improving contact tracing — in the event there was a report case or exposure, we have all names, addresses and contact info for those visiting the pool. Reservation times are released and open every Thursday for the following Monday to Sunday times. We do not accept payment at the time of reservation, rather at the door. We felt this was best since we deal with weather closures, etc.

Log in to connect.nrpa.org today to share ideas or chime in to the discussion!