Spartoon 2020

Update: Tuesday June 23rd, 2020:

Dear Parents,

It is with deep regret that I write to inform you that we have had to cancel the Spartoon 2020 camps due to lack of interest. Unfortunately we only have 80 spots filled out of the 384 spots we created. When the pandemic forced the cancellation of our original summer camps programs (Spartoon, Laser Tag and Bazooka Ball/Archery Tag Camps) we had over 500 registrations.

When the Provincial Government announced that Day Camps would be able to proceed for the months of July and August, our team felt very strongly that if we could possibly offer a camp we would.

The provincial Government Guidelines were released on June 1st. Our team reviewed the guidelines, met with the school board and consulted public health officials. We sourced personal protective equipment, hand sanitizer, disinfectant and thermometers all to ensure we could meet and exceed the guidelines required to ensure campers and staff safety. Our staff of 22 held a virtual meeting on June 6th to review all the guidelines and started planning activities for all components of the camp.

We informed the school board on June 8th that we were confident that we could provide a camp experience that was compliant with the provincial guidelines. However, we were only able to offer 384 spaces with 8 campers and 2 staff members per group. We decided to be as fair as possible, we offered early registration on Friday June 12th for all campers who were previously registered for our summer camps. We felt that the over 500 original campers were entitled to first opportunity to register.

We honestly felt that the camp would fill up and we would be able to offer camp to parents who need somewhere to bring their kids so that they can return to work and to get their kids back into some sort of normal routine. We wanted to help with our return to “normal” and get kids used to the type of changes they might expect to see when they return to school in the fall. Unfortunately, the demand for camps is not there. Understandably, many parents are reluctant to send their kids to a camp while there are still so many unknowns, financial concerns and fears of infection.

To make the camp financially viable (break even) we needed the camps to fill up. The high staff ratios, the cost of personal protective equipment, sanitizer etc. made this a must. Given the fact that we have had over 1000 campers in previous summers, we thought that 384 spaces we were able to offer would sell out quickly. Unfortunately this is not the case and I realize that you will need time for alternative arrangements to be made for child care for the summer. This is why we have decided to act to cancel the camp now. We may have had some more registrations over the next week but based on the rate of registrations we will not increase by 300 registrations by the end of June.

We will begin the process of sending refunds which should be able to complete the process by the end of this week. Please let us know if you do not receive your refund by Monday.

Kids Fitness League is a registered not-for-profit community group that was created to provide low cost options to help parents keep their kids active and healthy. We have been active in the community for 14 years and will resume our programming once we are permitted by Public Health officials to do so. Thank you for your past support and we wish you and your family's good health and our sincere hope that you remain safe.

Stay safe, be kind and stay strong.

Sincerely,

Lloyd Armstrong

President

Kids Fitness League

(613)796-1740