Summer Means Camps, Events at Salisbury University"
class=""MsoNormal"">SALISBURY, MD---The Eastern Shore means summer at Salisbury University for some 6,000 visitors annually. Whether it's camps, sports, fund-raising for charity or a convenient and comfortable place to gather together, Salisbury’s campus has become a vacation and recreation destination for many. In the process, both SU students and the region benefit.
class=""MsoNormal"">With everything from tennis tournaments to cheerleading, annual association meetings and even some barbershop harmony, the months of June, July and August become the busiest times of the year for the Events Services Office.
class=""MsoNormal"">Summer programs benefit both regional tourism and the University which receives less than 30 percent of its total operating budget from state funding. These service activities help keep student fees down and provide summer jobs for many students and staff while more fully utilizing the facilities of the institution outside the academic year. Such events often are the first introduction to the Lower Shore for visitors traveling some distances. While in the area, they spend money on gasoline, recreation, dining and shopping.
class=""MsoNormal"">From the University’s standpoint, many of the middle and high school students who attend camp here also are getting their first introduction to a college campus. In a few years they may want to return as freshmen.
class=""MsoNormal"">Thus summer fun at SU is win-win. Below is a partial listing of some activities:
class=""MsoNormal"">In June both the Multiple Sclerosis Society and the American Lung Association sponsored 100-kilometer bike rides as fund-raisers. The two events, held over two days, collectively attracted more than 1,000 riders. July 6-10, a third biking event returns, the antique bicycle conference. A retreat for those interested in vintage bikes, they come from all over the country. As part of the celebration, collectors stage a vintage bicycle parade downtown dressed in outfits from previous eras. The also have a “garden party.”
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class=""MsoNormal"">Salisbury is still Tennistown USA for those holding tournaments. Two of the most popular are the Thomas-Purnell Tennis Tournament August 15-21, and, the week before, August 5-7, the Atlantic Coastal Tennis Championship benefiting the Epilepsy Association of the Eastern Shore. The Washington Area Chinese Tennis Association holds its summer tennis family camp at SU through July 3. Some 150 people are expected.
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class=""MsoNormal"">Sports camps for all ages, but particularly middle and high schoolers, are among the most popular activities. Many are sponsored by Nike. Such camps last on average three-to-five days and include softball with Tom Stitcher, team cheerleading with the National Cheerleading Association, women’s basketball with Bridget Benshetter, women’s lacrosse with Jim Nestor, men’s lacrosse with All World Lacrosse, tennis with Randy Halfap, football with Robb Disbennett, aquatics with Jill Stevenson, soccer with Tim Lee and baseball with Doug Fleetwood. In addition the Fellowship of Christian Athletes combines sports and spirituality for middle and high school youth in a five-day retreat. A Tai Chi conference from California is also scheduled as well as an Asthma Camp for children cosponsored by SU Respiratory Therapy faculty Dr. Lisa Joyner and Peninsula Regional Medical Center.
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class=""MsoNormal"">SU is also a conference destination. For 15 years the Office of Education and Training for Addiction Services has been meeting here. The Delaware State Education Association is a regular. Other educational programs such as Gear-Up and the K-16 Collaboration Workshop (in mathematics) find SU an inviting summer host.
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class=""MsoNormal"">Arts fans get to enjoy barbershop harmony presented by Harmony College East when some 400 singers descend upon the campus for three days of classes, seminars and coaching, culminating with evening shows open to the public. The Maryland Summer Center for the Arts is a two-week residency for some 140 middle and high school children in the fine and performing arts. The Summer Center not only stages a public performance and exhibit July 16, but sponsors an evening of Latin jazz July 13 with the quintet “Salsamba,” featured on National Public Radio’s “American Jazz Radio Festival.” For more information on these and other activities hosted by Events Services during the summer, call 410-543-6172. "