|  | Resources | No.50 May 2007 |

Watching the Web: Leisure and Recreation Associations Gretchen Ghent |
The words leisure and recreation may seem easy to define but each has different meanings to different people. Leisure is thought by many to mean that time when one has no obligations or is not at work and is free to enjoy many activities. Recreation can also mean the same thing – games, hobbies, or recreational sports. Leisure time may consist of updating information and skills in an educational context (reading, taking educational courses, learning a new skill or spending time on hobbies such as knitting, sewing, model trains, stamp collecting, or making decorative objects). For this Webliography a number of specific activities, for example, alpine/mountaineering clubs, hiking/walking societies, whitewater/rafting associations, surfing/soaring associations, hobbies and crafts, were not included. The focus is on national, regional or international inclusive recreation and leisure organizations. Directories and Meta Search Engines To find specific recreations go to Google Directory using the following example: Google Directory>Recreation and Sports>Regional> Africa> Recreation and Sports http://www.google.com/Top/Regional/Africa/Recreation_and_Sports/ or http://www.google.com/Top/Regional/Europe/Recreation_and_Sports/ LIN Lifestyles Information Network http://www.lin.ca/ Collects and disseminates information and publications on health, parks, recreation, sport and culture, especially the “gray literature”. Intute: Social Sciences http://www.intute.ac.uk/socialsciences/ Search this directory for leisure studies or recreation to find websites that Intute recommends Therapeutic Recreation Directory http://www.recreationtherapy.com/ International Organizations: International Federation of Parks and Recreation Administration (IFPRA) http://www.ifpra.org/ World Leisure and Recreation Association (WLRA) http://www.worldleisure.org/ This is a major international association for leisure and recreation. Note that their section on partners is not complete as yet. A commercial website, international in scope, that has sections on outdoors in many countries, city guides, active vacations, sells gear for hiking and winter activities is Outside magazine that is connected to Orbitz (http://www.orbitz.com/ )and Away.com. See also GORP (the great outdoor recreation pages) http://gorp.away.com/index.html and ActiveEurope http://www.activeeurope.com/home/index.cfm?STS=AE Africa The best listing of sport and recreation organizations in Africa can be found on the website of Sport and Recreation South Africa. See their Sport Atlas http://www.srsa.gov.za/Sports.asp Institute of Environmental and Recreation Management (Ferndale, South Africa) http://www.ierm.org.za Asia Daehan Therapeutic Recreation Association http://www.tr4u.co.kr/ Website in Korean only Hong Kong. Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Dept. Country and Marine Parks http://www.afcd.gov.hk/english/country/cou_vis/cou_vis_cou/cou_vis_cou.html National Recreation Association of Japan Suidobashi, Nishiguchi Kaikan 20-7 Misaki-cho 2 chome Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 101 Japan Tel: (03)3265-1369 Tokyo Outdoor Japan http://www.outdoorjapan.com/ Taiwan Recreation Portal http://202.39.225.132/jsp/Eng/html/search/index2.jsp?layer1=2 Outdoor Recreation Association of Taiwan Europe For many European countries, sport, recreation and leisure for the general population is included in governmental sport confederations or councils. For an explanation on how this is organized in 15 countries of the European Commission see: http://ec.europa.eu/sport/information/structures/sport-structures-ms_en.html Association for Tourism and Leisure Education (ATLAS) http://www.atlas-euro.org/ Countryside Recreation Network (UK) http://www.countrysiderecreation.org.uk/ Deutscher Olympischer SportBund (Leistungssport, Breitensport sections) http://www.dosb.de/ Institute for Sport, Parks and Leisure (ISPAL) http://www.ispal.org.uk/index.cfm Leisure Studies Association UK http://www.leisure-studies-association.info/LSAWEB/Index.html Spanish Association of Parks and Public Gardens / Asociacion Espanola de Parques y Jardines Publicos http://www.aepjp.com/ Sports & Leisure Association of the International Labour Organization http://www.ilo.org/dyn/snl/website.home?p_lang=en North America Academy of Leisure Sciences http://www.academyofleisuresciences.org/index.html Adventure Travel Society http://www.adventuretravelsociety.com/ (Website under construction early 2007) American Academy for Park and Recreation Administration (AAPRA) http://www.rpts.tamu.edu/AAPRA/ American Association for Physical Activity and Recreation (AAPAR) One of the six associations within AAHPERD. AAPAR was formed in 2005 as a result of a merger between the American Association for Active Lifestyles and Fitness (AAALF) and the American Association for Leisure and Recreation (AALR,) http://www.aahperd.org/aapar/ American Recreation Coalition http://www.funoutdoors.com/arc American Therapeutic Recreation Association http://www.atra-tr.org/ Association of American Geographers. Recreation, Tourism and Sports Specialty Group http://www.geog.nau.edu/rts/ Canadian Association for Leisure Studies (CALS)/ Association canadienne d'etudes en loisir http://www.eas.ualberta.ca/elj/cals/home.htm Canadian Fitness and Lifestyle Research Institute http://www.cflri.ca/eng/index.php Canadian Parks and Recreation Association (CPRA) / l'Association canadienne des parcs et loisirs http://www.cpra.ca/ See World Playground directory website for links to all the provincial parks and recreation associations http://www.world-playground.com/ParkRecreation.htm#canada Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society http://www.cpaws.org/ Canadian Therapeutic Recreation Association (CTRA) http://www.canadian-tr.org/ National Association of Recreation Resource Planners (NARRP) http://www.narrp.org/ National Association of State Park Directors http://www.naspd.org/ National Council for Therapeutic Recreation Certification http://www.nctrc.org/ National Forest Recreation Association http://nfra.org/default.aspx National Recreation and Parks Association (NRPA) http://www.nrpa.org/ See World Playground directory website for all US state parks and recreation associations http://www.world-playground.com/ParkRecreation.htm#usa Society of Park and Recreation Educators http://www.nrpa.org/content/default.aspx?documentId=531 Oceania Australia Amusement, Leisure and Recreation Association http://www.aalara.com.au/aalara.htm Australian Council for Health, Physical Education, and Recreation Inc. (ACHPER) http://www.achper.org.au/ Australia. Culture and Recreation Portal, Sport and Recreation Associations http://www.cultureandrecreation.gov.au/website/category/ZXSA03 ~Sport+and+Recreation;+Associations,+Leagues+and+Councils Australian and New Zealand Association for Leisure Studies (ANZALS) http://www.staff.vu.edu.au/anzals/ New Zealand Recreation Association http://www.nzrecreation.org.nz/ Parks and Leisure Australia http://www.parks-leisure.com.au/ SPARC (Sport and Recreation New Zealand) http://www.sparc.org.nz/ List of Recognized National Recreation Organizations http://www.sparc.org.nz/partners-and-programmes/national-recreation-organisations/ recognised-national-recrea Contact Ms. Gretchen Ghent, Librarian Emeritus President (Pro tem), International Association for Sports Information The University of Calgary Library Calgary, Alberta CANADA Email: gghent@ucalgary.ca http://www.icsspe.org/portal/index.php?w=1&z=5 Watching the Web: Leisure and Recreation Associations Gretchen Ghent