Given our picturesque seaside location, water-safety matters. Especially when it comes to our children.
The Sooke Sailing Association will be offering its second annual sailing camp for children between the ages of six and 14 again this year. Here, the children will (in order of priority) have fun, learn how to be safe around water, and learn how to sail.
Last year, the SSA offered one one-week camp. It was booked fully within one week of announcing the program. Gord Fulcher of the Sooke Sailing Association said the children enjoyed it so much last year that most of them have signed up again for this year’s camp.
So, this year, they have increased their offerings from one one-week camp up to three one-week camps, starting on July 8 and running for three consecutive weeks (July 8, 15 and 22). The camps will cost $250 per child, per week, and there are subsidies available.
The camp runs from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., and lessons include both “classroom” content and hands-on sailing experience. A day-in-the-life of a student at camp would consist of morning warm-up and fun time, sailing on the water (with life jackets on of course), lunch, and a debriefing at the end of the day.
“There are three parts to it,” said Fulcher. “First, the kids are having fun, and that’s really important. The second thing is that they are learning to be safe around the water. And the third thing is that they learn how to sail by the end of the week.”
Kids attending the camp will also learn valuable life skills that according to Fulcher include leadership, teamwork, decision-making, crisis management, and “a good healthy respect for the waters.”
Fulcher has a long-term vision of inspiring children who want to continue with sailing as a passion into aspiring for sailing at the Olympic level.
For more information about the camp or the subsidies available, contact Gord Fulcher at the Sooke Sailing Association, 778-425-4030.