Queen’s Summer Camps Cancelled For COVID-19 Safety

Queen’s University has cancelled their summer sports camps out of concern for camp attendees and staff. This, of course, affects the league players that had been selected to attend. Here is the text of the announcement from the Queen’s ARC web site:

“Given the current public health environment and challenges presented by physical distancing, Queen’s has made the difficult decision to cancel all in-person youth camps normally delivered throughout the summer.

“We understand that this is disappointing news for campers and their parents,” said Donna Janiec, Vice-Principal, Finance and Administration. “The impacts and restrictions imposed on our community as we respond to the Covid-19 situation continues to be hard on everyone, and it’s been especially tough on families with young children.”

The health and safety of campers and camp staff is the university’s top priority. Based on its most current public health guidance, and given the indefinite nature of the ongoing Covid-19 epidemic, the decision was made not to run any in-person camps this summer. Physical distancing requirements will likely remain in place through to the end of the summer.

The university notes any registration fees paid will be refunded; parents should consult their specific camp website or administrator for details. A few camps are exploring options for online summer camp programming, but these are still in development.

Students that are unemployed as a result of this decision may be eligible for one of several federal Covid-19 emergency benefits programs. Impacted students are welcome to contact the Student Awards Office if they have questions.

The university knows that the camp experience is an important one for children and counsellors. Queen’s camps have been a popular tradition in Kingston for years, and the university looks forward to maintaining that tradition once it is safe to do so. Information on the variety of Queen’s camps can be found online.

Q Campers who have registered for Summer Camps at the Queen’s Athletics and Recreation Centre will be e-mailed early this week with details on reimbursement options.”