Your news: Olympic Games come to Arndt Park
Chicago may not have the opportunity to play host to the next summer games, but Olympics Week is an annual event at the Des Plaines Park District's Arndt Park.
The Arndt Park Adventurers competed in a week of games from July 19-23. Four teams, The Golden Hyenas, Jake in a Dress, The Mutant Teddy Bears and The Shadow Dragons, comprised of boys and girls ages 6-12 participated in 12 unique sports. Games included dodgeball, team handball, the shoe kick, jump the river, a belly flop contest at Iroquois Pool, four corner soccer, a series of relay races, including the tennis racquet balance, a softball throw, merry-go-round kickball, a timed obstacle course through the playground equipment and downhill skee ball.
"This is the most active the campers have been all summer," one of the counselors remarked. "Even in the 90 degree days, we have had a great sense of competition balanced by energetic team spirit and camaraderie. Of course, we make sure we take plenty of water breaks and really load up on sun screen."
The teams compete for an overall high score. This year The Mutant Teddy Bears took the gold; their speed and agility through the obstacle course edging them into first place. The counselors are creative when designing the games to choose activities that are not just based on athleticism and skill, but also fun and luck. The downhill skee ball tournament is a good example. Campers roll a ball from half way up the Arndt Park Sled Hill toward a parachute target marked with cones, hula hoops, jump ropes, and a center bucket. Points are awarded based on where the ball lands, with 50 points for a "bucket in one" and 75 points for rolling into the hula hoop.
Arndt Park Adventure Camp is a one week-long camp that runs from as early at 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., through August 20. Registration is still in process for weeks in August. Each week campers participate in activities unique to the designated theme and walk to Iroquois Pool in the afternoons for swimming fun. For information, call (847) 391-5700 or visit desplainesparks.org.
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