Get into the game!
Programs help build skills, confidence, sportsmanship
Pick a sport camp, any sport camp. And watch as your child blossoms into an athlete this summer.
“Kids see other people in our facility doing their sport, and it opens up their eyes says Lorissa to discovering Dong, the what’s sales possible, and marketing manager at Calgary’s Talisman Centre. “The variety of sports a child can try in our facility, and exposure to different levels of athletes who train and compete here, is important.” The centre offers five new camps for this summer, including water polo, yoga, triathlon, rhythmic gymnastics and a leadership camp, along with its regular sport-specific camps like badminton and diving, and multi-sport
camps. “We have really interesting, different camps this year,” Dong says. “You’re not going to find these camps in regular recreation centres.” The Talisman Centre’s multi-sport camps offer kids an introduction to all kinds of sports. “Every day they do something different, it could be a soccer game one afternoon, and then running around and exploring the area,” Dong says. You can increase your child’s proficiency in yoga with the Talisman Centre’s new yoga camp. “This one was quite surprising for us,” Dong says. “We knew adults liked yoga, but kids love
it, too. We had a lot of demand for it, for eight- to 14-year-olds. It’s a great way to build flexibility and confidence for them.” The Talisman Centre summer camps run through July and August, for kids age four up to 17. The centre also offers free child care in the morning and afternoon before and after camp. Sports-specific summer camps for more advanced athletes can also be found through Hockey Calgary and at Canada Olympic Park.
Besides skill development camps for novice, atom, pee wee and ban
tam players, Hockey Calgary also offers summer registration to the Max Performance and Okanagan hockey schools. COP offers a multitude of sports camps, including mountain biking, skating, hockey and the many multisport camps, such as Adventure Quest, which combines mountain biking, archery, mini-golf, rock climbing, yoga, roller luge and biathlon.
At the City of Calgary leisure centres, summer camp is part of daily life. “We run camps for ages three to 12,” says Michelle Tait, recreation supervisor at Village Square Leisure Centre. “This year, we have a few new ones happening at both leisure centres, including one called Olympic Gold, to celebrate
the Summer Olympics, and another called Run, Jump, Read, combining recreation and reading together.” Summer camp offerings from the City of Calgary include a little bit of everything, from badminton to gymnastics, skateboarding and climbing. “It’s a whole wellness package deal
for the entire family,” Tait says. “Parents can come to the rec centre and find out if their kid even likes soccer, or go further on into competitive sports if they like.” Multi-sport camps include Sports Spectacular and Smorgasports where every
day includes new sports and activities to try, including basketball, soccer, badminton, dodgeball, indoor hockey, swimming and more. Kids are supervised by qualified instructors, and camps help build fundamental movement and sports skills,
motor skills, participation and fun. “The feedback we get from parents is that they know they can drop their child off at any of our facilities, and they know their child will come home having had a great day and a lifelong experience they won’t forget.”