FORT FAIRFIELD, Maine — The Fort Fairfield Parks and Recreation Department will reopen in time to host a limited variety of summer activities aimed at local children and teens beginning July 6.
Due to state guidelines regarding summer camps during the COVID-19 pandemic, all participants must stand six feet apart and not take part in activities that require close contact. Everyone will have their temperature checked during the drop-off period, and anyone with a temperature of 99.5 or higher won’t be allowed to participate.
Each camp will be limited to 12 participants and two instructors. To keep social distancing possible and prevent potential COVID-19 spread, the recreation department can only accept registration from SAD 20 students and any homeschooled children who live in Fort Fairfield.
For that reason, Fort Fairfield’s recreation program will shift its summer sports from teams and competitions to individual skills training in baseball. The levels will include Little Sluggers for children entering kindergarten and grade one, Minor League for grades two and three, Major League for grades four, five and six, Pony League for grades seven through 10 and Junior Girls Softball for grades four through seven.
Other activities designed to allow for social distance and minimal contact with staff members will include a soccer camp for pre-K to grade five, hiking and mountain biking at the Nordic Heritage Center, kayaking at Monson Pond, archery and a new rocket science camp. The American Red Cross will offer a baby sitter’s training for youth ages 11 to 15 that the recreation department is sponsoring.
Parks and Recreation director Kevin Senal noted that children will not be required to wear masks or face coverings due to the outdoor nature of all the camps, but staff members will wear face coverings whenever they must talk one on one with participants.
“We thought of activities that would be fairly easy to lay out and more feasible compared with having a baseball team,” Senal said. “It’s going to be a challenge making sure the younger kids stay separated, but it’s the safe thing to do.”
Fort Fairfield’s community center is closed for the time being due to being categorized as a gym and fitness center under COVID-19 guidelines. Although many gyms across the state are reopening with limitations, the recreation department decided that keeping camps outside will allow for greater social distancing and prevention of disease spread.
Senal said that his department also made the tough decision to close their community pool this summer. Costs related to hiring more lifeguards and purchasing chemicals for increased cleaning, restrictions on pool visitors and safety concerns for staff all played a role in the decision to close the pool.
“If a lifeguard is wearing a mask and they have to rescue someone, they would take the mask off and be within six feet of the person,” Senal said. “They would have to wear personal protective equipment for CPR, but by then they’ve already been exposed. No matter how we did it, our lifeguards would be at risk.”
Despite the changes, Senal hopes that the summer activities will give area children and teens plenty of fun experiences. After more than three months of being unable to offer any recreation programs, he is excited to finally see children interacting together, even if at a distance.
“I’m just excited to see their faces again,” Senal said. “We’re a social species, so having kids interacting with each other is a healthy thing. We haven’t seen that since March.”
Those who wish to register their children for the summer program can download the registration form on the Parks and Recreation Facebook page and return it to the town office or sign up during a special registration day happening on June 27 at the community center.
