RECREATION
WHAT IS RECREATION AND HOW
CAN WE RECOGNISE IT AND
WHAT DO WE HOPE TO GAIN BY
PARTICIPATING IN RECREATION?
IN THIS LESSON………



RECREATION
PHYSICAL RECREATION
OUTDOOR RECREATION
WHAT DOES IT MEAN?






The word recreation stems from the Latin
word recratio, which means ‘to restore
health’ Recreation is an active aspect of
leisure, something useful, not simply a time
left over after work, duties and so on.
Key words that are appropriate for recreation
include:
Relaxation – a chance to escape
Recuperation – recovering from stress
Re-creation – to be creative
These are often referred to as recreation’s
‘three rs’
DEFINITIONS





Some definitions:
Lumpkin – ‘Recreation refreshes or renews one’s
strength and spirit after toil’.
Kaplan – ‘ activity voluntarily engaged in during
leisure and motivated by the personal satisfactions
which result from it … a tool for mental and physical
therapy.’
Parker – ‘ In its literal sense of re-creation, it may be
seen as one of the functions of leisure: that of
renewing the self or preparation for work.’
TASK – Write your own definition of recreation and list
down your own recreational activities.
NOT ONLY PHYSICAL……






Recreation can be viewed as:
An extension of the ‘play’ experience
A personal experience – the value to
the individual
The nature of an activity
An institution and structural
framework
A process – what happens to the
individual.
DEFINITION

WRITE YOUR OWN DEFINITION
OF RECREATION AND LIST YOUR
OWN RECREATION ACTIVITIES.
ALSO, DESCRIBE AND EXPAIN
HOW IT DIFFERS FROM
PHYSICAL RECREATION.
PHYSICAL RECREATION


PHYSICAL RECREATION IS PHYSICAL
ACTIVITY WITH A PLAYFUL ATTITUDE
IN A RECREATIONAL ENVIRONMENT.
TO PHYSICALLY RECREATE IS TO
TAKE PART IN A GAME FOR ITS OWN
SAKE – NOT FOR ANY EXTRINSIC
REWARD.
THE PROCESS…….




PLAYED AT A RELATIVELY UNREFINED
LEVEL
SYSTEMS NOT BE STRICTLY ADHERED
TO
LIMITED RESOURCES AND DRESS
CODE
RELATIVELY UNSOPHISTICATED
LEVEL
OVERALL…………….

PHYSICAL RECREATION IS MORE
THAN JUST AN ACTIVITY – IT IS
ALSO A POTENTIALLY VALUABLE
EXPERIENCE.
EXAMPLES………..









All intrinsic reasons. – This also accounts for the low status which sport often
achieves in our society, in other words, if an activity has no external value it
serves little function.
Jogging, step aerobics, a knock-up in tennis and visiting a water ‘splash’ park
are all recreational activities. They all involve physical exercise and the
participants gain something from doing them. They are not sport as we have
defined it, because there is no definite outcome, extrinsic reward or stringent
organisation.
LEISURE--------------RECREATION-------------PHYSICAL RECREATION>
This model show that the continuum from leisure to physical recreation
narrows as less people are involved. It will get narrower still when we look at
sport. What causes this narrowing process?
Opportunity
Provision
Esteem
Income facilities
In theory, physical recreation should be for everyone irrespective of age,
ability or disability, gender, class or race.
TASK






COPY DIAGRAM ON P218 TO
EXPLAIN:
WHO
WHERE
HOW
BENEFITS
WHEN
WHAT ABOUT OUTDOOR
RECREATION?

The simplest and most straightforward
definition of outdoor recreation is
simply the participation in any
enjoyable, holistic activity
(participation involves immersing your
whole body in the activity, a complete
commitment to the activity) in the
outdoors, where the term outdoors
refers to the natural, or at least rural,
environment.
ACTIVITIES COULD INCLUDE:
RAMBLING
FISHING
HILL WALKING
CYCLING



Colin Mortlock explains the potential of
outdoor recreation as follows:
ADVENTURE WAYS
‘The following journeys, providing you take
any of them to the outer limits of your
capabilities in a self – reliant manner, can
take you along the road to truth beauty,
freedom and happiness.’ – To be gained ‘Up a
mountain or down a river, across an ocean or
along a coastline, across the wilderness or
along the outdoor way, through the air or
under the surface of the earth.’
THIS LOOKS NICE……….


Artificial areas whilst others have to travel to them.
Whether climbing, walking , canoeing or orienteering,
the scenery of the countryside rewards our senses
with beauty and variety. We get to see, feel, smell and
hear things that are way outside our normal day-today existence. We are able to get away from the
clutter of urban life and get in touch with the natural
world. We can do simple things and get back to
nature, we can experience and appreciate beauty – it
can be indeed a spiritual experience, a time when we
tune in to our deepest thoughts and feelings. To notice
and appreciate things that would otherwise go
unnoticed.
RESPECT


TO RESPECT THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT
Experiencing the natural environment and
appreciating the pleasure and intrinsic values it has to
offer means that one has to respect and sometimes
abide by a strict code of conduct in order to preserve
for future others to appreciate. We may feel concerned
about issues such as preservation and pollution and
have a greater interest in and understanding of the
work of the Countryside Agency. As a result of more
and more people moving around the countryside, it
too brings its own problems of erosion, disturbance to
the wildlife, litter etc.
ADVENTURE





TO FEEL A SENSE OF ADVENTURE AND PERHAPS RISK
The environment is unpredictable, weather, tides,
steepness of paths etc.
this creates a feeling of risk, worry and even
hazardous.
The key to a positive experience of outdoor recreation
is to avoid all real risk by using commonsense and by
abiding strictly to safety codes, creating a feeling of
real excitement and adventure – personal
achievement can then be gained.
In some cases, to find the inner self.