Good News For Parents; Hillsborough County Summer Camps Back On

HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, FL — There's good news for Hillsborough County parents. Hillsborough County has done an about-face after announcing in May that it was canceling summer camps at recreation centers.

In May, the county announced the camps were canceled because of concerns over the coronavirus pandemic. Since then, Hillsborough County Parks & Recreation has created a plan that would allow the camps to safely reopen.

Summer camp begins Monday, June 8, and runs through Aug. 7. Hours are 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. each weekday.

Several changes have been made upon the advice of the Florida Department of Health in Hillsborough County and the University of South Florida College of Public Health to help ensure the safety of camp participants, their families and summer camp staff.

Changes include:

• Camp staff will wear face coverings when social distancing is not possible. Camp participants will be encouraged to wear masks.
• Daily health/temperature checks will be performed on each camp participant and each staff member.
• Hand sanitizer stations will be available at each location, and intensive cleaning protocols will be in place.
• Camp participants will be broken into groups to minimize contact with others; staff will stay with the same group of children each day. Any shared objects will be washed after each use, nightly and on the weekends.
• Each camp site will have designated contactless pickup and drop-off areas.
• To minimize potential exposure, there will be no off-site field trips.

Instead of the traditional fee of $76 per two-week session, families will pay $50 per child for the entire nine-week session.

Because capacity will be limited, children in the county’s after-school recreation camps will be given priority. Additional details will be available soon on the county’s website.

Athletic Field, Sports Complexes To Open

Hillsborough County also has opened open its athletic fields to individual use, a move designed to increase opportunities for exercise and recreation and a prelude to the return of team sports.

Athletic fields and sports complexes have reopened, but use is limited to individual activities or those living in the same household, e.g., a father and son playing catch. Those using the fields are required to follow social distancing guidelines.

Recreation centers, playgrounds, splash pads, picnic shelters and basketball courts remain closed.

Hillsborough County Parks & Recreation is working with individual leagues to resume team sports. The county will provide leagues with guidelines for practices and team play. Each league will submit a plan that must be approved by Parks & Recreation before the league will be allowed to use the athletic fields or sports complexes for team sports.

See related story: Hillsborough County Parks Department Cancels Summer Camps