The University of Iowa is resuming its summer sports camps after a two-week delay caused by flooding. Sports camps director, Josh Berka, says the flooding shut things down at a key time. He says they lost several important camps including football, gymnastics, basketball and wrestling, so it had a huge impact on their program.
Berka says just getting everyone notified of the cancellations took a big effort. Berka says it was a team effort, as all the camp counselors and office staff were on the phone making calls to just over one thousand campers to notify them they were canceling due to the flooding. Berka says the camps they lost can’t be rescheduled"
Berka says they have a tight schedule to begin with, and the loss of some on-campus housing that was flooded, won’t allow them to reschedule the camps that were canceled. He says they are getting the camps scheduled for next week going for basketball, golf and wrestling. He says "it’s been a real kinda makeshift year, but we’ve been getting through as best we can."
The loss of two weeks of camps also means a loss of revenue. Berka says they’ve lost somewhere in the neighborhood of one-half million dollars, which he says impacts the coaches, students employees and others who come in to run the camps. Berka says the reports of the flooding have made it easier for people to see why the camps were canceled.
He says most people have been very understanding in knowing how the area was impacted by the floods. Berka says some of the camps still have openings for those who can commute to the camp in Iowa City. He says you can find out more about the camps at the Iowa Sports Camp website