JACKSON TOWNSHIP -- Some campers in the Poconos are busy playing all kinds of sports all day long. But in this heat, directors at the International Sports Camp say they’ve had to make some changes.
The hot sun hovered over hundreds of kids at the International Sports Training Camp near Reeders, but the young athletes aren’t planning to wait it out on the sidelines. Counselors have a game plan to beat the heat.
"This is really the first week where we've really taken the heat into consideration and altered our schedule a little bit to make sure that we're taking care of the kids and they're not overheating,” said camp director Kara Klaus-Major
So it’s out from under the sun and into the shade. Instead of baseball, it’s basketball on this hot day under the pavilion.
Danny Lamotta of New Jersey caught a cool breeze in between baskets.
"It's been really hot and there's like fans all around the place so I try to go in front of them and stuff and stay cool,” said Lamotta.
Some other kids decided to make a splash.
"Our sports group was actually scheduled to have softball, but we decided that yesterday was really hot, and it's hotter today so we were going to come to the waterfront and have a great time,” said Rose Genstein of Pittsburgh.
While staying cool in the water, campers jump on the blob, go rafting, kayaking, and even ride on a jet ski with counselors.
When the kids aren't in the water or in the shade, there's still plenty of ways they can stay cool. Everybody is given a water bottle at camp, and there are plenty of water coolers for them all over.
"They can cool off, they can get rehydrated. We have special electrolyte ice pops for them up there so we're really being cautious to take care of everybody,” said Klaus-Major.
Counselors are trained to look for signs of heat exhaustion like nausea and dizziness. Campers say so far, staying out off of the fields makes a big difference.
“The energy definitely stays inside of you, without the sun blazing on you,” said Katie Diorio of New Jersey.
