SLSFSC planning summer camps for Cochrane youth

COCHRANE— Summer is here, and Spray Lake Sawmills Family Sports Centre is gearing up to offer families a variety of ways to stay active through the warmer months of the year.

Public health guidelines allowing, the centre will be reopening many of its family-friendly programs in mid-June, including Family Play Zone, an hour session on the turf arena, Play Land for children under five, and Sport Zone in the gym, which has activities like pickleball, basketball and badminton, among other recreation options.

All of those activities are free to book for members of the facility, and will run all summer long, as long as Alberta Health Services guidelines allow.

Spray Lake Sawmills Family Sports Centre is also offering summer camps for youth in the community.

Courtney Febrau, recreation programmer at Spray Lake Sawmills Family Sports Centre, said the staff are planning camps for children of all ages.

“We’re planning for nine weeks of summer camps ... We are ready to adapt our camp in any way possible as long as we can run them,” Febrau said. “We’re really excited to have the kids back in the facility, we love summer camps, so we’re really hoping we can do that.”

The summer camp options are split into three different age categories and offer five fun-filled days for Cochrane youth.

The Lil’ Campers summer camp is available for children aged three to five and runs Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. Beginning at the start of July, the camp will run until the beginning of September. 

Campers will have the opportunity to engage in fun, creative activities, including outdoor exploration, spray park activities, crafts, interactive games, sensory-stimulating activities and more. 

Children from the ages of six to nine will find plenty of opportunities to meet new friends and have some summer fun in the Spray Lake Adventurers camp, which runs from July 5 to September 4, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday to Friday.

Older children aged from nine to 12 will find plenty of adventures waiting for them at the Spray Lake Explorers summer camp, which will include activities such as outdoor explorations, climbing, biking, water relays, Spray Park play sessions, rollerblading, crafts, fitness classes, playing games and more.

The Spray Lake Explorer summer camp also runs from July 5 to September 4, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday to Friday.

For both the Explorer and Adventurers camps there is a one-hour buffer window before and after the hours of the camp to allow for pick up and drop off of young people, giving parents the flexibility they need to accommodate their busy days.

Each of the camps has a weekly theme that will flavour the activities youth partake in. Themes include things like heroes, water activities, outdoor adventures, and more.

Sales and marketing manager Michelle Everett said that the extent to which the summer camps will be able to use other town facilities for field trips is still unclear at this time.

There could also be cohort size restrictions for campers and the use of the Aquatic Centre is uncertain as well, she said.

Registration for the summer camps is currently open and available online at slssportscentre.com/.