Summer Heat has become something of a tradition in Hay River to give young people an active time when school is out.
Now, Summer Heat is being expanded to include sports camps, along with the more familiar activities.
Nicole Mitchell, the recreation programming supervisor with the town, said the sports and physical activity camps are a brand-new initiative.
“We just started up our multi-sport program and we have a bunch of great fitness equipment and a facility here,” she said. “And we thought that having a multi-sport camp would probably be a good idea to give kids the chance to have a full week camp dedicated to a sport they’re interested in.”
Mitchell noted that the outdoors sport season in Hay River is very short compared to many other areas of Canada.
“So we want to be able to make sure that all the kids can try as many different sports and have the time to not only do the sport but actually build the skills in the sports,” she said.
The sports camps, like the regular Summer Heat, are expected to run for seven weeks from July 12 to Aug. 27.
For the sports camps, each of the seven weeks will focus on a particular sport – basketball, volleyball, ultimate Frisbee, traditional games in conjunction with the Aboriginal Sports Circle, ball hockey, flag football and speed cup stacking, along with a one-day mini track and field event.
The sports camps will be for young people a little older than those for the usual Summer Heat, which is for children aged five to 12 years.
“We’re still figuring out ages,” said Mitchell. “It would definitely be for kids a bit older.”
She came up with the idea for Summer Heat sports camps based on her own experiences growing up in Northern Ontario and all the different opportunities there.
“I thought it would be good to have a nice multi-sport camp here in town so that kids could enjoy it,” she said. “They don’t have to travel elsewhere for it.”
Mitchell said the sports camps will be a lot of fun for the young people.
The registration for both the regular Summer Heat and the sports camps opens on June 1.
The participation costs are still being worked out by the town.
“This year, we’re adding a few more things like kids being able to stay through lunch and longer hours than last year, so we’re just finishing up some of the pricing details,” said Mitchell. “But it will be comparable to previous years.”
The maximum number of participants for the sports camps will be 20, while the regular Summer Heat can accommodate 30.
The traditional Summer Heat will be a bit different this year with themes for each week, such as Disney, pirates, Star Wars and the Olympics.
“So each week it’s something different to keep kids engaged so they don’t really get bored,” said Mitchell.
“Summer Heat is a great program,” she added. “It’s been an affordable and reliable program for the community to have the youth participate in. Especially in the long summer, people need their kids to be having fun, to be safe, to be watched.”