Sports Council camp off and running

Students spending the next six weeks with the National Sports Council (NSC) at their annual Summer Camp will get a chance to pick up some new skills with the introduction of two disciplines to their already lengthy repertoire. Now in its 32nd edition, the camp will be offering the reintroduced sport of Archery as well as Orienteering.

During the official launch of the camp yes-terday at the Netball Stadium, Assistant Director of Sport (Ag.) at the NSC, Ryan Toppin told The Barbados Advocate that the two additions were expected to do well.

“This year we have new disciplines. We are reintroducing Archery as a discipline and we are also introducing the sport of Orienteering, which is a combination of map-reading and racing. It is a sort of map-reading race that will be satelliting at different venues, so that the youngsters can get an opportunity to see that,” he said, noting that Rugby had been promoted to a full-time offering after being a satellite sport last year.

With a roster of sponsors that include Wibisco, FLOW and Sagicor, Toppin said that the organisation of the camp remains a challenging task, noting that planning began since last October.

“The 32nd year of the Summer Camp has been a phenomenal undertaking. We definitely have to thank our sponsors for sticking with us, especially in these economic times that are hard on everyone. It is no small feat trying to put together a camp to cater for 1 500-odd youngsters on the island.”

With the limited access at the National Stadium providing some logistical issues to the camp, Toppin said that some accommodation had been made at the venue and others in a bid to cater to the needs of all the campers.

“We have about 13 venues that we will be using and we have decentralised to try to make it easier for the campers to get to camp. We have a venue at Alexandra School and that is housing Basketball, Track and Field, Football, Netball, Table Tennis and Road Tennis. We also have the Table Tennis Centre and the Barbados Community College, Deighton Griffith, the Barbados Golf Association, the Barbados Squash Centre and the Police Boys and Girls Club.”

As is customary, members of the public have taken their time in registering for the camp with numbers standing at just over 900 at the close of registration this past Saturday. However, registration is continuing till this coming Friday with the 1 500 cap expected to be reached.

The disciplines of Badminton, Basketball, Bodybuilding and Body Fitness, Boxing, Chess, Cheerleading, Football, Volleyball, Swimming, Rugby, Water Polo, Table Tennis, Road Tennis, Tennis, Track and Field, Netball, Cricket, Karate, Hockey, Squash and Golf accompany the two new additions with specialised training groups from the Junior National Volleyball teams, the NSC Basketball squad, the Badminton national squad and the national Under-13 cricketers. Toppin said that this has been part of the programme for some years now.

“It is more than just baby-sitting. We do actually get the opportunity to work with some of the best youngsters on the island and assist them in moving to the next level,” he said. (MP)

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