"When I say 'SPart' you say 'CAMP'"

Week 1 SPartletes during an EPIC football game

I like to think that I’m still a kid, actually I’m convinced I am still a kid regardless of how “old” I may be. If there was any doubt of me being a kid, the past six weeks have definitely erased it. The eraser has been our newSPart camp, a camp that finds the balance between the physically intense, competitive athlete and the creative, expressive artist. Often, it is believed that if one is an athlete they can’t have interests in art, or vice versa, but we know that there are many who love both sport and art and we want to bring these loves together. This is why I have been surrounded by 10-15 kids - or should I say SPartletes - almost every day since the summer has started and I have loved it! 

 SPart has filled my days with various sports. I have always loved sports because of the team spirit they foster, the competitiveness they create, and the physical demand they place on my body. I will admit, that during the camp there have been times I have become so enveloped in the sport we were playing that I couldn’t be distinguished by the kids who were playing. This is why I love this camp, because I get to experience exactly what the SPartletes experience. I can feel what they feel, see what they see, and discover what it is they love the most and what we can do to improve the activities. 

SPartletes from week 6 "TADAAAing" in tadasana

I have also completed many different art projects because of SPart. Now before I continue, I must make a confession. I have been coaching SPart camp, coaching sports (many of the sports I have personally competed in), but I have also been teaching art, something that I have never really been good at and know VERY little about. Now I don’t want you to think that I don’t like art, because it is something that I really enjoy, but something I do not have much natural ability for. This is one of the reasons why I have enjoyed SPart so much. I have been learning with the SPartletes. This summer has been as much as a learning experience for me as it has been for them. I have learned the basics of water colour painitng, something I knew nothing about before this summer.  I have also learned about making sculptures using a variety of materials including things found in nature, clay, and wire. I have personally experienced the value of SPart because of the exposure it has given me to something I knew little about which has allowed me to find love in something I would never have found on my own. 

SPartlympians from week 5. They were best friends by the end of day one

SPart has given me so much joy, but the best part is being able to watch the SPartletes. The kids we have had this summer have been amazing. There has been a consistent eagerness from every kid to participate in sport and art meaning the word “SPartlete” is appropriately given. I have seen kids encourage others during competition and helping those they see struggling during art. I have seen older SPartletes ensure that those who are younger are participating. I have seen kids separated in age by more than six years get a long as if they were the same age. My favourite observation has been seeing the growth the SPartletes experience in just a week. I have seen kids come in on a Monday as timid as can be, and by Friday they are a wild fire running the show. I have seen kids have trouble accepting defeat, but learn that “defeat” is really just an opportunity to learn. This is what I have enjoyed the most about SPart. 

Soon I have to go back to school and am sad because I have to leave a week before the summer ends, meaning I am going to miss a week of camp. I have to miss a week of blissful smiles, joyous laughter, and the crazy happenings that you only see when you have a group of 10-20 SPartletes joined together. I am thankful that I have been a part of this SPart-tastic summer and that I can call myself a SPartlete.