Sports Camp participants having a blast

Mornings at the Oleai Sports Complex are filled with the youthful exuberance of youth as about 250 youngsters spend their first four hours of the day soaking up as much knowledge about various sports while attending the 2005 Sports Camp.

Organized by the Youth Services and Sports and Recreation divisions under the Department of Community and Cultural Affairs, the Sports Camp focuses on providing a positive venue for the youths to engage in healthy and creative activities while promoting the importance of physical fitness and building relationships.

The camp, open to youths between the ages of six and 12 years of age, features activities such as basketball, tee ball, soccer, volleyball, golf, and athletics.

“I’m really enjoying,” said 10-year-old Rodigan Jepen. “I’m having a lot of fun because there’s plenty of things to do and a lot of sports and I like to learn them.”

Fellow 10-year-old Vincent Seman also explained that being at the camp was so much better than just staying home.

“This is really fun and it’s better than just being at home because there’s so much sports and a lot of kids and we can all play together. There are plenty games…its just really fun everyday.”

For her part, nine-year-old Leilani Rabauliman said although she likes all the activities, her favorite is volleyball.

“I really like volleyball,” she said. “We learn a lot of things, just like the others, but it’s just the one that I really like. We do a lot of things and there are many different games that we can play.

The Sports Camp is the second half of DYS and DSR’s summer camp program, which featured Day Camp earlier.

The Day Camp was held for a week at the Kilili Beach area and was followed by two weeks of Sports Camp, which will conclude tomorrow.

Day Camp activities included bead making, weaving, banana printing, music, dancing, outrigger canoeing, swimming, and sessions with the Brown Tree Snake program, NMC-CREES, Department of Public Safety Fire and DARE, Boys Scouts and Girls Scouts, and the NMI Crime Stoppers.

Each participant paid a $20 fee, which was used for insurance coverage. The fee covered both camps.

Co-coordinator Joey Dela Cruz said the camp has received positive feedbacks from the participants.

“As I observed the different sports stations, the kids were very responsive to the instructors’ teachings,” he said during an earlier interview. “Everything is going good. They are very cooperative.”

The Day Camp and Sports Camp are also sponsored by the Saipan Mayor’s Office and the Commonwealth Council for Arts and Culture.

For more information about the two camps, contact Vivian Sablan at 664-2550 or Dela Cruz at 664-2502/3.