Credential

Upon completion of this program you will be awarded with an Ontario College Diploma in Recreation and Leisure Services.

Program Description

The goal of the Recreation and Leisure Services program is to teach students how to improve the quality of life for all citizens by developing healthy communities. The courses in this college diploma program are based on a curriculum that meets the demands of the ever-growing and in-demand recreation and leisure field. Throughout their studies, students will conduct needs assessments, create risk management plans, develop business plans and practice grant proposal writing, and plan and implement recreation programs for people of all ages and abilities. In addition, students will complete 880 hours of supervised field placement, which helps develop critical practical skills through the integration of classroom learning into real-life situations.

Program Highlights

• Courses include: Program Planning, Community Development, Recreation Management and Marketing, Inclusive Recreation, Gerontology, Child & Youth Development, and more!
• Supervised field placements take place in the second semester (two days a week), and in the third and fourth semesters (three days a week).
• An example of industry partners who host field placements include, but are not limited to: The Centre for Dreams, Viva Pickering, Bridgepoint Health, Sienna Living (various locations), the City of Toronto, the City of Markham, Variety Village, and Crescent Town Club.
• Students will have the opportunity to participate in supplemental training sessions, such as Sensory Training and High Five’s Principles of Healthy Child Development and Quest 2.
• Parks and Recreation Ontario (PRO) offers two province-wide student awards during its annual educational forum to students in their graduating year. Centennial College Recreation and Leisure Services graduates have captured these prestigious awards for 13 consecutive years (2007 to 2019).
• Established by the 2011 graduation class, the Sandy Foster Student Award of Merit is awarded annually to one student entering the second year of the Recreation and Leisure Services Program at Centennial College. This award recognizes a student who consistently demonstrates a commitment to their studies and a passion for recreation.

Program Overview

Recreation and leisure consists of a broad range of activity, including the cultural, creative, social
and physical. It is recognized that individuals interpret recreation and leisure in a unique way that
is meaningful to them.

As a profession, the field of Recreation and Leisure Services is evolving to more fully respond to
the social, economic and environmental priorities in our communities. As a result, the profession
is being driven by strong commitments to:

1. Leisure Equity: ensuring that all people have access to recreation and leisure services regardless of geographical location, economic position, age, gender, ethnicity or ability level, moving to a barrier free system.
2. Holistic Personal Development: helping people grow to their maximum potential reaching for balanced individual and social potential, nurturing the artist, the athlete, the participant and the leader in everyone.
3. Community Empowerment: a belief that community initiative and self-reliance are keys to successful communities, whether they be communities of interest or geographical neighbourhoods.
4. Diversity and Inclusion: acknowledging the diverse backgrounds and talents people possess and ensuring that they are all welcomed and included in leisure participation utilizing leisure education and advocacy where appropriate.
5. Focus on Health, Wellness and Individual Well-Being: through recreation and leisure, the self-esteem, health, and wellness of individuals, family and community are enhanced; believing that recreation centred initiatives as less expensive and more effective for individuals and society than responding to illness, malaise, discord or dysfunction.
6. The Environment: an area that protects, enhances and interprets the ecosystem in both urban and wilderness settings.
7. Joie de Vivre: an appreciation of the immense intrinsic value that play, fun and humour has for quality of life.