Peter Tulchinsky, director of Campus recreation, and six students attended the National Intramural Recreational Sports Association (NIRSA) annual conference in Cleveland recently. Tulchinsky was recognized as one of the six recipients of the Horace Moody Award. This award annually recognizes six professionals (one form each of the six regions) who have been instrumental in student development. Elon is in Region II, which includes Virginia, Kentucky, West Virginia, Tennessee, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina.
NIRSA has a rich history, and 52 years ago established itself as the pioneer of organized recreation, primarily for colleges and universities. Founded in 1950 at Dillard University in New Orleans by 20 African-American men and women intramural directors from 11 historically black colleges, NIRSA began as the National Intramural Association (NIA). Dr. William Wasson convened the initial meeting in New Orleans, served as NIA’s first president, and is revered as NIRSA’s founder.
Today, NIRSA is a non-profit membership organization serving a network of more than 4,000 highly trained professionals, students and associate members in the recreational sports field throughout the United States, Canada and other countries. It is the leading organization in many areas: training and professional development, intramural sports, sport clubs, recreation facilities, fitness programming, outdoor recreation, wellness programs, informal recreation and aquatic programs. NIRSA’s member institutions represent nearly seven million college students, of whom an estimated five and a half million participate in recreational programs.