Photo Credit: Steve Rafuse, MOA Parks and Recreation
This column, “LBWA” (Leadership By Wandering Around), is based on the premise that, in order to find out what’s going on in the field, a parks and rec leader has to leave his or her desk and “wander around” the area of operations, talk to people, ask questions, and kick around ideas with the individuals in the thick of delivering services to the public. So the author will bring up issues that may be common to many PRB readers and ask the leaders who are the readers to weigh in and share their knowledge and experiences.
Back in the 8^(th) century B.C.—that’s nearly 3,000 years ago—legend has it that Hercules, the mythological hero of strength and endurance, established the length over which athletes had to compete against each other, according to World Stadiums, an online resource.
Eventually, the story continues, the shape of stadiums was driven by this length, first in an elongated “U” shape with the start and finish on opposite ends then the more-familiar oval shape reflected in today’s stadiums.