History
Dovercourt Recreation Association is a 22 year old, non-profit, community-driven organization that delivers municipal recreational services to approximately 50,000 people in the west end of Ottawa. It originated from a Westboro neighbourhood study in the late 1970's that recommended the community acquire more control in the provision of recreational services.

Today, DRA is comprised of an elected board of 10 - 14 community residents, 10 full-time staff, 130 part-time staff and 250 - 300 volunteers. It provides service to approximately 12,000 regular users who make 280,000 annual visits to the Dovercourt Recreation Center.

The present building was completed in 1987 with the support of the Westboro Kiwanis Club. Dovercourt is an 8,000 square foot facility with an indoor leisure pool, whirlpool & sauna, exercise room, pottery studio, nursery school space, meeting hall, kitchen & canteen, several smaller meeting spaces and an outdoor play area. DRA also uses space in local schools, churches and in the field house at McKellar Park.

The DRA Purchase of Service agreement with the City of Ottawa provides DRA with seed funding amounting to approximately 17% (1999 figures) of its operating budget, plus the use of the Dovercourt Recreation Centre rent-free. The City picks up operational costs of the building with the exception of maintenance staff costs. While the City does define performance measures in the agreement, DRA has a great deal of autonomy in determining its staffing, programs, services, fees and charges (with the exception of public swimming fees), operating budget and its policies and procedures. While rated as the busiest in Ottawa, Dovercourt is run at a significantly lower cost to the taxpayer than a municipally-run community center .

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Community served:
Catchment Area:
Dovercourt Recreation Association defines its boundaries as Woodroffe Avenue to the West, Island Park Drive to the East, the Ottawa River to the north, and the Queensway to the south. Dovercourt Recreation Centre is located within Westboro Kiwanis Park. Other parks in the catchment area include Clare Gardens, Champlain, Lyons, Hampton, Iona, Tillbury, Kingsmere, and Woodroffe.

Program Locations:
While the bulk of DRA programs take place at the Centre, DRA also runs programs at Westboro Kiwanis and McKellar parks, in 4 of the approximately 20 local schools in our catchment area (Broadview, Nepean, Our Lady of Fatima, and Churchill Alternative), as well as in local churches and at the Churchill Seniors Recreation Centre. (see Map)

Main Market Segment:
The bulk of clients lives in the immediate catchment area. The neighbourhood is middle class and family-oriented with one of the highest average incomes by neighbourhood in the city . The typical client profile is family-oriented, between 25 to 55 years of age, active, busy, a concerned and involved parent, educated, progressive, highly scheduled and stressed.
Beyond the catchment area, our client profile remains middle class, family oriented, with a significant percentage (seasonal high of 20%) coming from Aylmer, Wakefield, Chelsea and Hull west. Many of our clients indicate that they travel to DRC due to its excellent facilities, pool temperature, and variety of programming. Most clients from outside our catchment area have local alternatives but have chosen to travel to Dovercourt.

Special segments:

• Seniors
• Youth
  
• Persons with Special Needs
  
• Cultural Minorities
  
• Community Partners