Town Upgrades Ball Fields, Automates Sports Scheduling 03/3/06

As the time to "Play ball!" draws closer, Holly Springs' Parks and Recreation staff is working indoors and outdoors to prepare for baseball and softball seasons.

Improvements at Womble Park continue. Workers are adding lighting, dugouts, fencing and irrigation to fields 3 and 4 to mirror what fields 1 and 2 have. Bleachers for all fields will have canopies to shade spectators and help protect them from foul balls.

"We should finish with all of it by the first of May," Len Bradley, Parks & Recreation director, said Thursday.

Meanwhile, the Parks and Recreation staff is testing new computer software to help schedule sports efficiently and accurately.

"It will allow athletic staff to get information to participants a lot quicker," said Sarah Kennedy, office manager for the department, noting the time saved from reducing paperwork.

Staff members plan to use the sports scheduling software beginning with spring baseball and girls' fast-pitch softball registration. Holly Springs residents can register for those sports beginning March 20 at Hunt Community Center.

Registration for Town residents ends March 31. Non-resident registration for spring baseball and girls' fast-pitch softball will be April 3-7.

Practice for spring baseball and girls' fast-pitch softball starts April 24. The seasons begin May 15.

For program participants, the registration process won't change.

"It's just different on our end, not on their end," Kennedy said. "But everything should run a lot smoother."

Holly Springs Parks and Recreation began using Class software in 2001 to help with program registration and facility booking. Software uses have expanded over time. Staff members can take credit card payments. They can issue membership cards that open the door to the Hunt Center fitness room.

Sports scheduling for practices and games is the latest function to become computerized.

"It gives us the ability to set up leagues and register individuals in them and register teams in them," Kennedy said, adding it will be easier to keep track of individuals who need placement on a team.

The software can also prevent an error such as inadvertently double-booking or over-booking a field.

"It'll let you know, and you can go back in and adjust," Kennedy said.

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Town of Holly Springs - PO Box 8 - 128 South Main Street - Holly Springs, NC 27540 - (919) 552-6221 - Holly.Springs@hollyspringsnc.us