BEND, OR -- Bend Parks and Rec kicks off winter recreation activities, leagues and classes very soon. "We are going to be opening our winter registration next Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday," says the parks district's Julie Brown. 

Sign-up periods will again be staggered. "Next Monday, December fourth, is when we’re going to open our Recreation, our Enrichment and some of our sport camp-related programs," says Brown. Also Monday, families can register for upcoming no-school days, including during Spring Break. "Tuesday, December fifth, is going to be our swim lessons; that’s always a big day. And then on Wednesday, December sixth, is when we will have our sports leagues opening." She tells KBND News, "Now, our sports leagues, in particular, are going to be for winter and spring. So, you really have to be thinking about - not only what you might be wanting to do in January, but all the way through into that March timeframe." Brown says, "Our sports leagues that are going to be opening are going to include hockey and another season of curling at the Pavilion. It’s also going to include lacrosse and softball."

Each days’ registration period opens online at 6 a.m. Brown acknowledges stretching sign ups across three days can be inconvenient, "For some folks, that means having to get up at 6 a.m. three days in a row. But for us, it means that it has spread out the amount of activity that we were having with registration, so everything goes a lot smoother and we’re not having those long wait times that we had before."

If you haven’t accessed your Bend Parks and Rec account in a while, Brown recommends logging in this week, just to make sure you remember your password.