Spring break is a fantastic time to get your kids—or brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews, et cetera—enrolled in something new. Being active is much better than sitting on the couch at home (both physically and mentally!) and fun camps offered at the Bellingham Sportsplex are much cheaper than a family vacation. With camps in skating, soccer, and general youth activities, there’s something to keep every youngster busy—and happy—this spring break.
The skate camp takes place at the Sportsplex April 7 to 10, for two hours each day from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Kids ages 5 to 12 are welcome to sign up. Participants are separated into subgroups based on skating strength and ability to make sure each child gets the most out of the program. Each day, there’s a half-hour of guided lesson time followed by supervised skate time, games, and other fun activities. The $100 registration fee covers the camp attendance, as well as a Skating Academy t-shirt. You can find more info on the Sportsplex website, specifically at BellinghamSportsplex.com/SkateCamp.
Steve Baker is the director of the Sportsplex’s skating program. In fact, he loves his job so much that he spends hours a day commuting to Bellingham from his Edmonds home. Baker, who grew up in the UK about 100 miles south of the Scottish border, has an extensive skating history. Having earned multiple championship skating titles in the UK, Baker is also a British National Pair champ. He was a team member at both the World Junior Championships and the World Professional Championships.
“My favorite part [of the skate camps] is seeing the kids’ faces when they learn new skills and find they can skate now when they couldn’t skate before,” Baker says. “At this point, for the camp, we’re just teaching skating safety. It’s too early [for hockey or figure skating]; it’s just ice skating. They’re too young for us to put them in a box. It’s just teaching them how to be safe on the ice.”
The Hammers Football Club Academy hosts a soccer camp at the Sportsplex, which runs from April 6 to 9. Kids arrive at 9:00 a.m. and practice until 12:00 p.m. Each day of the camp will focus on a different technical aspect of the sport taught by professional coaches. Kids learn through drills and practice games. These soccer camps are intended to help kids better themselves at the sport on both technical and mental levels. Registration costs $105 and includes a Bellingham United Football Club t-shirt for each participant. Kids age 5 to 12 are welcome to sign up.
If your child is more interested in a larger breadth of activities, check out the Youth Activities Camp. While this camp has longer days—8:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.—participants get to enjoy a broader range of fun. Each day sees something different, be it skating, soccer, swimming, bouncy castles, art, or something else entirely.
This camp is structured so that if a child wants to sign up for either the soccer or skating camp that occurs in the morning, they may do so and also join in with the Youth Activity Camp in the afternoons. This is a great option for parents or family members who work and wouldn’t be able to do a mid-day pick-up or keep an eye on a kiddo for the afternoon.
Registration is broken down in multiple ways: daily drop-in fees are $55, whole-week enrollment is $195, and a provided lunch is available for $6 per day. This camp is also open to kids age 5 to 12, and campers will be split into two groups based on school grade.
“Our Youth Activity Camp is where kids age 5 through 12 can just spend the day and do a variety of activities,” says camp administrator Alisha Bhatia. “They play field games, go ice skating, swimming, sometimes we have bubble soccer, a bouncy castle. We go swimming at the [Arne Hanna] Aquatic Center but everything else is at the Sportsplex.
Bhatia loves this program because of the variety of activities it provides. “If they really like soccer, then maybe they’ll sign up for a fall soccer league,” she says. “Or if they really like skating, they’ll come back and sign up for skating classes.”
Enroll your favorite youngster in a spring break camp at the Bellingham Sportsplex and help them possibly discover a passion for a new activity.
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