School's out, but camps keep campus busy
SLIPPERY ROCK — School may be — mostly — out for summer, but Slippery Rock University's campus is hardly quiet or deserted.
Starting May 13, outside groups began visiting its campus for a conference and camp season that concludes Aug. 19.
If anything, it's busier than ever before for this time of year, the school said, with at least 900 more people on campus this summer than were there in 2015. A 27 percent increase in participation in summer camps and conferences is the reason.
Groups from marching bands, sports teams, Special Olympics athletes and professional organizations use SRU's sports fields, classrooms and residents halls during the summer.
In total, SRU will host 70 conferences, camps and other events from May 14 to Aug. 20. More than 4,100 people will attend, according to a list provided by the university.
Some of those are first-time programs such as the Roger Bobo Festival of Brass and the Forge Dance Intensive, a workshop that targets dancers ages of 17 and 27 that runs July 11- 22.
It's an opportunity for dancers from the region to get the kind of intense instruction they might otherwise miss as well as get exposure to SRU's dance program, which is ranked fifth nationally.
“Butler, Lawrence and Mercer counties are in need of a world-class summer dance intensive program to rival the caliber of dance festivals in other cities,” said Ursula Payne, a professor of dance at SRU who directs the event. “Students will receive excellent training from highly regarded national and local dance artists.”
The university also hosted hundreds of student-athletes for the Northeast High School Regional Ultimate Frisbee Championship, which was in late May.
It was the event's first time at SRU, said Christopher Cole, the director of conference services and the Smith Student Center.
Cole said the wide range of facilities at SRU, as well as its location near Interstate 79, have make it an attractive destination for groups looking to hold summer events. These visitors to campus means hundreds of thousands of dollars in extra revenue for SRU.
“We're always excited when new people come,” Cole said. “For many, many years the focus has been on youth experiences with sports camps, but we have expanded.
“People would be surprised by how many adults come — whether its for American Red Cross training or a special interest group like the Chesterton Society.”
The Red Cross had its Western Pennsylvania Disaster Training Institute at SRU in mid-May, while the Chesterton Society — a group that promotes 19th century writer and journalist G.K. Chesterson — will have its conference at SRU on Aug. 4 to 8.
Last year the groups paid $600,000 in fees for housing, dining and use of SRU facilities, and in 2016 the university expects that amount to increase, Cole said.
In addition to the outside groups visiting campus, SRU will have 11 internal camps this summer, including workshops for its cross country and field hockey teams, and its jazz program.
“The goal is to fully utilize the campus in the summer to help our campus partners,” Cole said. “Housing benefits from folks staying in the residents halls; athletics benefits. Lots of people benefit from having folks on campus.”
Cole said SRU could accommodate twice as many groups as it currently hosts, and is working to boost awareness of its facilities and attract businesses.
Even long-standing programs, like the university's VIP Sports Camp, which caters to blind and visually impaired children, are adding new elements to their lineups. This year the camp visited UPMC's Lemeiux Sports Complex in Cranberry Township, where about 50 children got a chance to ice skate and participate in a sport called Blind Hockey. The sport uses blind goaltenders and places players in different positions on the ice based on their level of vision.
Camp director Wendy Fagan, who has been running VIP for 11 years, called the event an important opportunity for blind and visually impaired children, who are often forgotten during physical educational class in school and lack opportunities to participate in sports.
“They often don't understand that there's a lot of athletic opportunities for the blind and visually impaired kids,” Fagan said.
