The Catoosa County Parks and Recreation Department is taking over operations of youth sports in the county.
Over the past few months, both the Ringgold Youth Sports Association and Boynton Recreation Youth Association were absorbed by the department. Consolidation talks began in late 2019, said department Director Catlin Conduff.
“We met with both groups and just approached them with an idea of consolidating to make an overall combined program offering great quality for all county kids,” she said. “The county is in a situation financially and staff-wise that we have enough people and resources to actually provide the programs on our own now.”
RYSA has existed for more than 30 years, previously as Ringgold Youth Athletic Association, offering a growing number of sports with the help of parents and volunteers.
“The proposal was creating a partnership to determine a way to offer the youth the most affordable set of programs with maximum support from Catoosa County,” a December 2019 post on RYSA’s website reads. “After multiple discussions, it has been decided that the best solution is to partner with Catoosa County Recreation Department moving forward.”