500 Children Participating in INSPORTS Summer Camp

Over 500 children from communities in Kingston, St. Andrew and St. Catherine, including 40 special athletes, are currently participating in the second staging of the Institute of Sports (INSPORTS) Summer Camp 2009.
The camp, which started on Monday (July 6), is being held at the National Arena and will run for three weeks. Over the period, the children will receive coaching in a number of sporting disciplines, including netball, football, volleyball, cricket, track and field and basketball.
Speaking at the official opening ceremony today (July 7) at the National Arena in Kingston, Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture, Olivia Grange, noted that sports is essential for the development of the country’s young people, as it brings them together and serves to develop their competitive spirit.
She further noted its importance in building leadership, supporting healthy behaviours and encouraging peaceful co-existence among communities.
“When we spend on doing camps like these, we are ensuring that our children are exposed to discipline, exposed to people, who will care for them, exposed to persons with the skills, who can teach them something, and I am hoping that you are all here attending this camp with the (willingness) to learn,” the Sports Minister said.
She encouraged the children to use the tips gained at the camp to work on their athletic skills “to take it into your communities, to take it into your schools and to teach your friends how to do it as well as you can do it.”
The Minister also lauded INSPORTS, the Sports Development Foundation (SDF) and the other organisers for putting on the camp.
Director of INSPORTS, Don Anderson, urged the children to make full use of the resources that are being made available to them and to enjoy themselves in the process. “Make sure that there is discipline, that everybody behaves themselves throughout.compete against each other when you have to, but remember, you have to do it fairly,” he implored.
The camp is free of cost and children will be provided with meals and transportation to the venue. A medical centre is being established at the camp site and an ambulance will be on location.
Some of the coaches that will be working with the children throughout the duration of the camp are: former Jamaican and West Indies batsman, Robert Samuels; national cricket coach, Junior Bennett; Olympian, Bert Cameron; international netball umpire, Sylvester Campbell; and former national basketball coach, Calvin Martin.