Hunt Club Park Aquatic Center adds shade protection to community aquatic park

Shade Systems is proud to announce it has recently provided a multitude of Shade Kite shade structures to the Hunt Club Park Aquatic Center in Gurnee, Illinois.

Named for their soaring sky-bound shapes, Shade Kites from Shade Systems are an innovative, imaginative variation of traditional square frame-supported shade structures. With one corner post twice the height of the other three, Shade Kites offer the design flexibility of orienting them tilted toward the sun for maximum shade protection. Shade Kites are manufactured as single shade structures or connected together in groups of two, three, four or more.

The Community of Gurnee Outdoor Aquatic Center’s primary mission is to offer a fun, high quality, safe swimming experience to the citizens of Gurnee, Illinois. The aquatic center is the largest in Lake County, Illinois, with a 1,500 swimmer capacity. Slides are standard, featuring tube, drop, body, speed, youth & toddler slides to provide a fun experience for the entire family. The aquatic center features a spray ground, sand volleyball court, lap pool and cascading waterfalls.

Shade protection is important to the City of Gurnee, Illinois and has become an integral part of their outdoor public aquatic facilities. Shade protection from Shade Systems allows the Hunt Club Park Aquatic Center to provide an environment of fun and excitement while still maintaining proper safety procedures for sun overexposure.

Do you have shade in your Skate Park? Choose Shade Systems!

As with any outdoor recreational daytime activity, the need for shade at public skate parks is paramount, and Shade Systems is the leading manufacturer of shade structures for skate parks.

Shade Systems was recently featured in the Bowie Blade-News in Bowie, Maryland for providing its single cantilever shade structure to the newly renovated Allen Pond Skate Park. Matt Reno, Project Manager with the City of Bowie is very pleased with the decision to choose Shade Systems: “After exploring several options and product lines, a single cantilever shade structure manufactured by Shade Systems was chosen to meet the city's requirements. As desired, cantilevers protect people from the sun's rays and keep the bleacher system much cooler,” said Reno.

You can read the full article by clicking here: http://www.shadesystemsinc.com/bowiebladenews.htm.

Please call us today at (800) 609-6066 to discuss how we can provide an innovative shade structure at your existing or proposed skate park!

Shade Systems continues supplying shade structures for multiple Miami-Dade County Parks

Shade Systems is proud to continue supplying its shade products to Miami-Dade County Parks. In 2009 so far, the landscape architect staff at the County has selected Shade Systems for several important park shading projects, including Tamiami Trail Park, West Perrine Park, Tamiami Lakes Park, Miller's Pond Park, and Continental Park, among others. The shades have been installed at playground areas to protect children and their parents from the harmful effects of the sun’s U.V. (Ultra-Violet) rays.

The Parks Department staff has an ongoing program of providing shade in public areas to reduce the occurrence of dangerous sun exposure for its residents. As the inability to quickly remove and re-install other shade manufacturers' canopies has been a concern to the County, the landscape architect staff at Miami-Dade County cited Shade Systems' innovative easy fastening system, the Turn-N-Slide™ as one of their primary reasons for making the award. They also considered Shade Systems' superior and extensive warranties when making their selections.

In designing its products, Shade Systems has answered the need for quick removal of the fabric canopy when needed. The patented Turn-N-Slide™ is a revolutionary fastening system which comes standard on all frame-supported Shade Systems products, and makes removing and re-attaching the CoolNet™ fabric canopy a breeze!

Café Umbrellas from Shade Systems win MVP award two years in a row

Shade Systems is proud to announce its patented Café Umbrella is the recipient of the Most Valuable Shade Product Award from Aquatics International Magazine for two years running. Aquatics International’s Most Valuable Product (MVP) awards feature the top reader-approved tools, equipment and accessories being used in the aquatics industry today.

Shade products are one of the top 3 most desired amenities by aquatics managers nationwide, as surveyed by Aquatics International. And 67% of NRPA members name shade products are their most needed purchase in 2009.

Café Umbrellas from Shade Systems are portable and collapsible and provide convenient shading for a variety of outdoor environments such as pools, skate parks, theme parks, concessions, restaurants, patios, and any other outdoor gathering places where people desire protection from the sun’s dangerous ultraviolet (U.V.) rays.

Café Umbrellas feature an innovative, patented crank mechanism which allows a single person to quickly and easily collapse the umbrella to a folded position by turning a single crank. In the case of inclement weather or security, the umbrella collapses and can easily be stored.

Miracle League of Westchester adds 2 Single Cantilever structures to baseball complex

Shade Systems is proud to announce it has recently provided 2 Single Cantilever shade structures over dugouts at the Miracle League of Westchester in White Plains, New York.

Ideal for shading a dugout or seating area, this highly functional and efficient design from Shade Systems features support posts that are only located on one side of the structure which creates a large shaded space for obstacle-free circulation. Single Cantilever structures from Shade Systems are the ideal solution for arranging seating and tables.

The Miracle League of Westchester’s mission is to establish and sustain baseball programs for people with disabilities while providing an opportunity for those individuals to experience the joy and benefits that come from playing our national pastime.

Shade protection is an integral part of their baseball park operations since providing an environment of fun and excitement while still maintaining proper safety procedures for sun overexposure is a priority to their organization.

City of Bowie, Maryland, receives new Shade System at skate park

Shade Systems is proud to announce it has recently provided a large cantilevered shade structure for the Bowie Skate Park located in Allen Pond Park in the City of Bowie, Maryland. The structure was installed over a five row bleacher system at the skate park to provide skaters and spectators with protection from the sun’s harmful UV rays as well as relief from the heat during the hot summer months.

“The City sought a shade structure that would fit within the confines of the area that could be easily installed, assembled, deployed, and removed, and that would be aesthetically appealing to park users” says Matt Reno, Project Manager for the City of Bowie. And that’s just what the City received. With its innovative Turn-N-Slide™ system, Shade Systems makes it easy to remove and reattach the canopy in case of inclement weather.

Reno said: “I was the motivating factor behind this improvement, as I have experienced firsthand, the need to protect your skin from the damaging effects of U.V. rays. As a kid, I was always outdoors, and not listening to mom about putting on sun screen has now resulted, at age 40, in numerous basal cell carcinomas having been removed from my body over the past 5 years. By having a shade structure available at the Bowie Skate Park, there was at least a place where skaters and spectators could find relief from the sun. Not to mention, it looks really cool!”

The City of Bowie thoroughly considered several shade manufacturers and chose Shade Systems for its excellent customer service, high quality, and durable products. “After visiting your website and drilling down through every possible link, I was able to quickly determine that Shade Systems would provide a product that will last, tolerate the abuse public park amenities receive, and provide staff with an easily deployable and removable shade canopy,” said Reno.

The UV Index and your city

The UV index is a standard measurement of how strong the ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun is at any given location. Its purpose is to help people to effectively protect themselves from UV light and help educate to prevent overexposure to the sun’s harmful UV rays. Public-health organizations recommend that people protect themselves when the UV index is 3 or higher.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) together with the National Weather Service (NWS) have developed an online UV Index that allows you to look up the UV Index by day for your particular city. You can access this helpful information by going to http://www.epa.gov/sunwise/uvindex.html.

City of Lake Charles, Louisiana shade projects featured in two industry magazines

The shade projects completed for the City of Lake Charles, La. have been featured in the March 2009 editions of Recreation Management magazine and Specialty Fabrics Review. Both publications have featured the rebuilding efforts currently underway in the City of Lake Charles after the effects of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The City of Lake Charles has made shade a top priority during their rebuilding efforts.

Café Umbrellas from Shade Systems

Warm weather is just around the corner and with the warmer temperatures comes an increase in outdoor activities. Now is the perfect time to add Shade Systems Café Umbrellas by your pool, water park, concession stand, restaurant, patio, or any other outdoor gathering place where people desire protection from the sun's dangerous U.V. rays.

Café Umbrellas by Shade Systems are portable and collapsible and provide immediate shade protection in a wide variety of applications. Since this product is portable, it can be removed on-demand and there is no permitting or licensing from your municipality required for installation! It's as simple as picking your colors, receiving your product, and setting it up on-site! Café Umbrellas feature a unique crank mechanism that allows a single person to quickly and easily fold or unfold their Café Umbrella canopy for easy operation. Click here to see a short video of how it works: http://www.shadesystemsinc.com/Cafe%20Umbrella%20video_2.wmv.

Café Umbrellas are constructed of durable and corrosion-resistant aluminum components for strength, yet are lightweight for easy portability. All metal surfaces have a U.V. stabilized polyester powder-coat finish, available in a variety of durable vibrant colors. Canopies are available in Shade Systems' CoolNet™ shade fabric for maximum U.V. protection and cooling effect or with optional water repellent fabric.

Please contact us today at (800) 609-6066 to discuss how a Café Umbrellas can add value to your location! Additionally, please visit our website at http://www.shadesystemsinc.com/cafe-umbrella.htm to see pictures and learn more about our Cafe Umbrellas.

Sun Safety at a Glance Article

Shade Systems is pleased to announce a new Sun Safety at a Glance article on our website at http://www.shadesystemsinc.com/sunsafety.htm. This article details facts and statistics about skin cancer and the many benefits shade provides to combat it. In addition, the article details the health effects of overexposure to the sun while explaining the various types of the sun’s ultraviolent (U.V.) rays.