Camp is Coming... But It's Your Decision

Going Back to Camp! Starts 7/8

Beginning July 8, we start a new era of both summer conditioning camp, as well as another season of cross country. Participating in this camp experience will have many new steps to complete, but the first one is choosing if camp is right for you and your family at this time.

The risk of corona-virus transmission will still be present to some degree at any camps during the summer at Kaneland.  Students and their families, along with school personnel must recognize these risks and implement best practices to reasonably mitigate them.  Participation in our conditioning camp is voluntary and every individual will need to evaluate the risk versus the benefits of said participation.  Those immuno-compromised students, or those who live with family members with elevated health concerns, should evaluate associated risks of participation and may choose not to participate. This is absolutely understandable, and we will work to share the same virtual training opportunities that we've used in June, via the calendar connected to this blog.

With that being said, here are a few things to help you prepare for camp days, should you choose to register and participate:

*In the morning when you rise, you should take your temperature. Write it down. Watch for a pattern of consistency. IF any day said temperature is above 100.4, DO NOT COME TO CAMP.

*Because some of our camp locations include forest preserves, there's a chance that bathrooms may be locked. Make sure you're "empty" before you show up for camp. Know how your body "works" in the morning, prior to coming to camp.

*There is NO WATER PROVIDED FOR CAMPERS at this time so please bring your own jugs and water bottles. Can't even do a refill from the cooler. The cooler won't be there. Your own bug spray would also be a need each day as we won't be sharing a bottle among team members.

*If you carpool to camp with other runners, please plan on WEARING A MASK IN THE CAR. If one member of a carpool tests positive, the carload will need to self-quarantine, and not come to camp. This is a proactive suggestion, not part of the school expectations for safety protocol.

*When you arrive at camp (without a fever or symptoms related to the five questions that we are going to ask) the coaches will physically distance you in order to take your temperature and ask the five questions related to COVID symptoms. If your temperature is below 100.4 on the thermometer the coaches use, and if you are not having any of the symptoms related to the questions - asked in private - then you'll be able to participate.

*If your temperature is above 100.4 (you shouldn't even be there, because you checked it at home...) or if you answer YES to any of the five questions (you shouldn't even be there, because you will know the questions by heart...) then your parent will be contacted and you will need to go home. Per district guidelines, you are not allowed back in camp, or practices when school starts, without a doctor's written permission.

*IF A TEAMMATE TESTS POSITIVE FOR COVID-19, then there is the very real potential for many team members, including all in a training group who have had more than 15 minutes of exposure, to have to self=quarantine for 14 days at home. WASH YOUR HANDS AND BE SMART ABOUT THIS. TAKE IT SERIOUSLY.

*We will be spreading out far more than in the past for our pre-run active stretching routines, post run static stretching, core strength work and team chats. You'll need to be on your toes, ready to listen, and ready to go. While there may be more "hanging around" at the start, initially, to get the health protocols complete, you need to be making safe choices reflective of the responsibility that it is in coming to camp amid the pandemic Phase 4 conditions.

More details will be forthcoming from the Kaneland Athletic Department, including the safety protocols as well as how to register for the camp. We will run the camp on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays until July 31.

Mondays - Meet at Elburn Lion's Park - 6:00 to 7:30 (MS camp at 8:00)

Wednesdays - Meet at Bliss Woods in Sugar Grove - Same times as above

Fridays - Meet at Nelson Lake ***DIFFERENT PARKING LOT, the one on Nelson Lake Road, not Main Street - Same times as above

If there's an impromptu run (Tuesday/Thursday) at another location, that is entirely optional, it will come via Remind text.

There will NOT be camp running through "Dead Week" even though the IHSA removed that restricted week this summer. Mrs. Clarey and the other coaches' wives have different plans for the coaches at that time.

Finally, if you determine that the Cross Country Conditioning Camp is something you'd like to do this year, you absolutely MUST get registered ahead of time. In the past, kids have shown up for three days or so and then the parent gets the registration complete online. This year, you'll have to go home if you're not on the list, the first day. Because of the waivers and contact information that is required of us, we cannot bend like in the past. NO ONE will be turned away because of financial hardship, related to the cost of the program, which always goes back to the student athletes in the form of cloth goods anyway. We will have a camp shirt again this year, and possibly incentives for consistent participation in the camp.

As always, if you have any questions, please reach out to your coaches. We are so excited to get to start back with our team, and we are taking every bit of the health and safety protocols seriously. As a matter of life or death, our collective resolve to be responsible with symptoms and being forthright is crucial. We are all relying on one another.