Recreation professionals in the 21st century are faced with one of the most challenging tasks, to be innovative in the provision of recreation services to communities. The modern day requires recreation professionals to anticipate and effect changes rather than to wait and react to change as a result of the demand for recreation services from the communities. The purpose of this study was to investigate the possibility of utilising new ways of delivering recreation services to communities by local governments in the North West Province in South Africa. A mixed-methods research design using a questionnaire and focus groups was used on 20 targeted personnel who are responsible for managing recreation at local government level in the Province. Frequencies and phi coefficients were calculated for the
quantitative data, while for qualitative data patterns were established thematically. The results show that 75% of the local governments are located in rural settings whilst 25% are found in urban areas with limited resources. Most respondents (70%) indicated that they do not provide programmes for human
services that go beyond traditional recreation activities. A large proportion (65%) of local governments indicated that they do not use staff resources to coach citizens until they can provide their own leadership. About 35% of local governments indicated that they do not justify budgets in terms of social need and programme results. The results indicate that local governments do not adapt to new ways of responding to community needs with regard to recreation. The study recommends that if a new approach to recreation is accepted (emerging paradigm) not only can communities help to implement programmes that should satisfy their needs, but service providers will be able to afford and incorporate emerging activities. Local governments should be at the forefront in designing and implementing effective recreation programmes in consultation with communities, and also liaising with the relevant departments in provincial government
