The 20th anniversary season of the always popular Trent Summer Sports Camp (TSSC) is currently underway at the Trent Athletics Centre with over 800 campers between the ages of five and 17 scheduled to participate in a variety of exciting sport and recreation activities over four two-week sessions.

Video: 20 Years of Trent Summer Sports Camp

“Building on two decades of success, this season of TSSC is sure to be another great one,” said TSSC Director Kate Pearce. “Once again, we have a team of amazing staff and a fantastic group of excited campers. Combine this with the same great standard of TSSC programming and 2012 looks to be one of our best years yet.”

This summer, campers are once again being treated to a full-spectrum camp experience that involves a variety of sport and recreational activities, including canoeing, dancing, swimming, rock climbing, biking, sports, and more. Daily activities are combined with dynamic concepts and theme days to continually keep campers engaged and interested throughout their eight-hour days.

Enhancing the TSSC experience is the state-of-the-art Trent Athletics Centre, which provides campers with access to unparalleled indoor and outdoor fitness and recreation facilities, including indoor climbing wall and indoor rowing/paddling tank, outdoor Justin Chiu Stadium, as well as renovated pool and expanded Wildrock Canoe Centre.

But ask any camper what makes the TSSC so great and the response is often the same – the outstanding staff. This year, the staff consists of nearly 30 counsellors, the majority of whom are highly-skilled university students. Many of these students, like returning TSSC counsellor and Trent University student Darl Sutherland (aka Kudu), have a goal of working with kids after graduation, which makes them the perfect choice for TSSC staff members.

“This is a great job for any student especially those who wish to work with children or in a school setting as you get the opportunity to work with a variety of ages, ethnic backgrounds and children whose first language may not English,” said Kudu, a second year Trent student who came to Trent after completing two diplomas at Fleming College. “It is the beginning of realizing the opportunity you are given and that you have the ability to affect children’s lives.  You become role models as you must in the classroom, teaching that there is a time for fun but also that nothing is gained without hard work and perseverance. In the classroom you have the ability to mold children into the people they will become in the outside world. TSSC is a taste of what that feels like and how your actions can make a difference and change people’s lives and how they see the world. At TSSC we can help motivate and encourage children to have a dream and teach them how to go about making it a reality.”

TSSC is run by the Athletics & Recreation Department at Trent University and has a long reputation of being an outstanding summer program for children. The camp is a thriving piece of community programming that benefits not only the campers, but also the entire Peterborough region as one of the only summer camps offered in the ever-growing North end of the city.

Spaces are still available for the August 2012 sessions of TSSC. Please visit www.trentsummersportscamp.ca or call (705) 748-1670 for information or to register.