Summer camp ready for young athletes
Camps are always a big summer activity for Belizean children. And one of the longest running vacation institutions is the Curlin King Track and Field Summer Athletic Programme. The camp not only helps the children to get physical, but it also encourages them to stay in school. Today, King, along with three of his dedicated participants, visited our studios to talk about what we should expect this year.
Curlin King, Coordinator, Summer Athletic Programme
“We decided to start off with a basketball camp first and then gradually the camp grew bigger and bigger and we were doing multiple sports such as basketball, volleyball, track and field, gymnastics. We also included first aid in the programme. But now we have reached a level where we are just doing track and athletics and these kids continuously remind me, Mr. King we want our camp everyday. I said, no man we can’t have it everyday, we could have it every summer. So they said, okay we will have it every summer. Sometimes it just slips me when I am working so busily and these kids are the ones that remind me that they want their summer programme to be done during the summer.”
“These kids have been in the programme ever since. Germin here started when he was about four years old and she started when she was about five and she started when she was about four as well, and now she’s about thirteen and going to A.C.C. and she still stays committed to the programme.”
Jacqueline Woods
“What’s the plus about this programme, what does it do for the child?”
Curlin King
“What it really does for the kids is keep them motivated and what we try to instil in these kids is that in order for you to be successful in any sport that you do you must have a good educational background. So we promote education in our programme and try to motivate them to stay in school, don’t be a fool. And if they stay in school they could be successful in whatever sport they do. And that’s what we try to do, motivate that kind of initiative in the programme.”
Jacqueline Woods
“Now there is always some cost involved when it comes to holding summer camps like the one you have every year. What has the sponsorship been like for this year?”
Curlin King
“So far this year, we have sent out our letters asking our regular sponsors to assist us and they have given us some positive response. Hopefully, we are going to generate the fund that we need for this programme, cause it’s not really expensive to run the programme, the budget is about four thousand, two hundred and twenty-five dollars, because all we do is ask the kids to subsidise by bringing twenty-five cents daily so we could help with the refreshments part of the programme.”
If you would like to have your child attend King’s summer camp, you can get in touch with him at telephone number 207-4233.
