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Video: The cost to play during the summer

Jun 18, 2022 06:25AM ● By Editor

Watch the WDIO-TV Report here

Summer days are underway at the Salvation Army with their Rookie Basketball clinics. Photo: WDIO, File


By Shalon Monroe from KSTP-TV • June 17, 2022 

The average cost of day camp more than doubled from 76 dollars per day last year to 178 dollars per day this year, according to Money.com.

At the Salvation Army Rookie Basketball Association summer clinics, a developmental youth basketball league for girls and boys, grades k-8 have been able to keep things under $100. If you are interested in having your child attend the clinics, there are a few spots left; visit the website to learn more. 

They still saw a small decrease in participants compared to last year. "We have K1's...2nd through 3rd grades and K2’s…4th through 6th grade. Our fourth through the sixth-grade second session was the only one with short numbers, says Mallett. We had a minimum of what had to hit and did not hit in the second session.” Kris Mallett is the Rookie Basketball Director at the Salvation Army. 

Ms. C.F, a grandmother, says that summer clinics and camps like this are a tradition in their family, and they want to pass that along. While making sure kids have fun, it does come with a price. "Almost every camp they go to, because she also does gymnastics and that cost, and she is going to do soccer and that cost. She is also in daycare still. So, you are paying for daycare while she is at camp."

Inflation caused the clinic organizations to make some changes when it came to how they pay their staff. Mallett mentions how pay had to increase. "We had to take a hard look at what we are paying our staff, and we had to increase what we pay our staff and referees to be able to be competitive in that realm in the area. So, we went from 11 dollars to twenty dollars an hour, and that is how we are able to get the staff."

On the court, the rookie basketball association wants to make sure that everyone has a chance to participate. "Through covid, it really surprised me that the number of families asking for scholarships did not change a whole lot from the norm. I was expecting a lot more families to ask for scholarships. We were prepared for it, and they did not. We do not ever turn anyone away that has financial hardships, said Mallett. We just asked them to fill out an application, provide proof of assistance and income, and we review that and then give the scholarship appropriately. The goal of the out program is to provide basketball opportunities for all regardless of income."


To see the original report and read related stories, follow this link to the WDIO-TV website. https://www.wdio.com/duluth-minnesota-news/summer-camps-income-clinics-cost-attendance-salvation-arm...

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