KOCHI: Outdoor summer camps, which offer children a platform to take a break from studies to focus on honing their talents and interests, are seeing a tepid response due to the severe heat. However, activities held in well-ventilated indoor facilities are attracting a good response.
Organisers of camps, which are conducted by educational institutions or other organisations, have been struggling to alleviate the concerns of parents considering outdoor activities, following the recent spike in daytime temperature. Not surprisingly, outdoor activities such as cricket, football, skating, and others, are seeing a lower participation.
“Numbers have dropped this year, as parents are concerned about the heatwave conditions affecting the health of their children,” says Francis Tiju, a cricket coach with Regional Sports Centre, Kadavanthra.
Unlike the training session of professional players, the camps are now run either early in the morning or after 3.30pm, considering the summer heat. “Moreover, we allow adequate drinks breaks and rest time for attendees,” he added.
Sujal, a city-based football coach who manages a summer camp for Scoreline Sports, echoed the views. “The participation in summer camps has declined, even though workout sessions have been cut short. We are instead focusing on holding trials. This is allowing us to identify more quality players through our scouting programme,” he said.
Mujeeb Rehman, who operates a kalaripayattu camp in Edapally, stressed the importance of activity time to escape the punishing weather. “Participants usually prefer evenings, especially between 6-8pm. Compared to regular wards, the intensity of their prescribed activity is also less, he said. “Considering the extreme heat, we also allow drinks breaks, which is not the case during proper kalari training,” Mujeeb said.
Shine Kumar, of Irinjalakuda, who runs The Art Planet, which provides art classes and conducts exhibitions and meetings, said children are enthusiastic towards summer camps that focus on the arts, given the reluctance for outdoor activities. “But we have been struggling to meet the rising expectations of parents for better infrastructure, given our meagre resources, he added.