By Brittany Rejda
On October 16-18, 2013, attendees from 130 different institutions gathered at the Magnolia Hotel in downtown Denver to learn at the 2013 NIRSA Triventure.
The Triventure was an innovative event that saw the coordination of three NIRSA institutes under the same roof: the NIRSA Aquatic Institute, NIRSA Recreation Facilities Institute, and NIRSA Fitness & Wellness Institute.
This event saw an exceptional turnout for these three highly-regarded institutes, with more than 230 NIRSA members from across North America registered. In fact, Triventure reached capacity well before the event, surpassing attendance rates for each of the previous three institues; NIRSA stopped accepting registrations in order to ensure attendees were comfortable in our secured meeting spaces, tours, and socials. However, both those who attended and those were supporting Triventure in spirit were able to follow along with the action and excitement through following the #Triventure hashtag on Twitter.
Attendess relaxing at the Magnolia Hotel before attending Triventure’s educational sessions.The event was not only a lot of fun, but also extremely successful in providing top-notch networking and professional development goals, as over 82% of surveyed attendees were satisfied or very satisfied by the event.
Inspiring educational sessions
This unique opportunity allowed attendees to move freely between educational sessions, no matter what institutional track they were focused on. Between the three institutes, forty-two educational sessions were offered.
Overall, attendees came away from the event with new ideas, experiences, and contacts, rejuvenated and excited to transfer this new energy and knowledge to their own institutions. As Sara Jones, from the University of Washington, reflects, “The 2013 NIRSA Triventure was great! It provided an excellent opportunity to see some great facilities while networking with others in our field. The workshops were interesting and educational. I would definitely recommend the NIRSA Triventure to my fellow co-workers in the recreation community. My experience at the NIRSA Triventure made me want to get more involved in NIRSA. Thank you.”
Exciting facility tours
In addition to the educational sessions, all attendees had the opportunity to participate in two half-day facility tours. Attendees who registered for the Facilities and Aquatic Institutes were automatically able to attend the tours, and those registered for the Fitness & Wellness Institute were able to add that option to their registration.
A view from the Anshutz Center facility tour.The six facilities toured over the two days were:
- University of Colorado Boulder
- Colorado School of Mines
- Carmody Recreation Center
- University of Denver
- Colorado State University
- Anschutz Health & Wellness Center
These tours offered attendees a unique opportunity to view facilities other than their own and discover the design and operational features that have both worked well for that facility and those that, in hindsight, should have been handled differently. The Facilities Institute Program Committee always strives to visit local facilities that, in addition to having been recently built or remodeled, also cover a wide array of university types, facility sizes, services, and operations.
Their efforts for Triventure were well-rewarded! 87% of this year’s facility tour attendees reported being satisfied or very satisfied with the tours. One attendee summed the experience up well, saying, “I always love the tours. They’re fun, and give us the opportunity to learn about what’s happening in the industry, network with colleagues, and validate what we’re doing right too.”
Fun socials
Two socials were held for Triventure attendees, and these much anticipated and highlight events didn’t disappoint. The first social was held on opening evening; hosted by the University of Denver and presented by Matrix, it included a keynote speech, dinner, and self-guided tour of the facility. The Networking & Expo Social presented by Star Trac took place the second night of Triventure in the Magnolia Hotel’s Ballroom; in addition to dinner, professional, student, and associate members were able to mingle and view vendor table-top displays from 18 diverse venders.
Triventure attendees enjoying the Networking & Expo Social.Energizing keynote speakers
The Triventure featured two energizing keynote speakers. Fitness guru, Jane Bahneman, welcomed the group at the Opening General Session on Wednesday, October 16 with her keynote speech “Taking the Long Way Home: Reigniting Your Professional Passion and Identity”; Jane also presented a preconference workshop and fitness class. The second keynote, “RecAttitude: Your Attitude as Passionate Recreational Sports Professional”, was presented by Juliene Heftner, aquatics expert and founder of Safety First Aquatics, LLC, at the welcome social at the University of Denver; Juliene also presented an educational session entitled “Developing Aquatic In-Service Training and Performing Audits.”
Keynote speaker Jane Bahneman guiding participants through here her early morning workout, “Centered in 60”.Unique preconference opportunities
In addition to all of the conference activities, many attendees also partook in one of two preconference events. The trip to tour the U.S. Olympic Training Complex in Colorado Springs, one of three in the country, allowed attendees to see what type of facilities and technologies are serving some of the world’s best athletes; this trip was combined with a visit to Colorado College’s amazing new facility. This offered participants the chance to take a closer look at facility development at a small liberal arts school, as well as how to affectively coordinate athletics and recreation in the same facility.
Preconference attendees ready to tour the U.S. Olympic Training Complex in Colorado Springs.The second preconference event was a Fitness Continuing Education Classes & Workout presented by keynote speaker Jane Bahneman. These classes presented participants with an intimate setting to learn and from a prestigious fitness expert and then immediately apply those lessons through a workout and also offered ACE and AFAA continuing education credits/units.
We want to know your thoughts!
With all of the education sessions, socials, facility tours, and preconference opportunities, NIRSA members left Denver feeling a little tired, but very excited and motivated to impart new ideas on their campus. “After attending the last three NIRSA Recreation Facilities Institutes, the Triventure allowed me to network with even more professionals from across the country all while seeing the multiple facilities on the tour,” said Bob Holub, Associate Director of Campus Rec and Centers, LLC at the University of Alabama-Birmingham.
And it seems the majority of attendees agreed! In the post-event survey, attendees were asked if they would like to see the NIRSA Triventure repeated in the future; 56.3% of those who completed the survey said yes, and every other year is good; 28.6% stated yes, and I would attend if they were every year. Michelle Scott, Centers, LLC and University of New Haven, said, “The 2013 NIRSA Triventure provided a unique opportunity for professionals from different areas of recreation to collaborate and share ideas and experiences. I would definitely attend if run this way again.”
What was your NIRSA Triventure experience like? What part of the event stood out most to you? The NIRSA Staff at Headquarters is interested to hear your thoughts on the combination of these three events as we consider the possibility of continuing this platform in the future.
