Bend Park and Rec winter recreation program registration opens Dec. 5-7

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- The new year is around the corner and there are plenty of recreation offerings to welcome in 2023. Bend Park and Recreation District is opening registration for winter recreation and programs and winter/spring sports leagues on Dec. 5, Dec. 6 and Dec. 7.

Available activities include programs held in January through March and sports leagues with registration deadlines during this time.

An online Winter 2023 Online Playbook is available for easy viewing and download.

Staggered registration dates are new this season. After high demand in past seasons that overwhelmed the online registration system, BPRD is grouping program offerings and will have three days of registration openings.

• Monday, Dec. 5, 6:00 a.m.: Enrichment/Recreation Activities
• Tuesday, Dec. 6, 6:00 a.m.: Swim Lessons
• Wednesday, Dec. 7, 6:00 a.m.: Sports including Ice Sports and Leagues: adult curling, adult/youth hockey, youth indoor soccer, youth lacrosse and youth softball leagues

“We surveyed community members about ways to improve registration and the feedback indicated a strong preference for staggered registration dates for the most in-demand programs,” said Julie Brown, communication and community relations manager. “Staggering registration over three days will reduce initial registration volume by nearly 70% each day, so I encourage patrons to be attentive to the opening date of desired programs as they prepare to register.”

Patrons are encouraged to register online or in person at the Juniper Swim & Fitness Center, Larkspur Community Center, and the District Office during regular business hours.

The BPRD team worked quickly on several technology improvements to improve registration including:

• 10x increase in internet bandwidth.
• Improving server performance to accommodate up to twice the volume of transactions per minute.
• Many system refinements to fix other software bottlenecks.
• Added virtual waiting room feature to avoid overloading systems, similar to what is used for purchasing concert tickets.

For additional information, contact the BRPD Customer Service Team at (541) 389-7275 or visit www.bendparksandrec.org.