Dan Ovington

"What came out of the last PAC meeting here," said SEAPARC recreation programmer Dan Ovington, "was that one of the programs they'd like to see would be structured sports activities over the lunch hour."

Judging by the lunchtime scene June 5 in the Sooke Elementary gym the idea is working as desired.About 20 kids were involved in a frantic game of multi-goal indoor soccer and it was obvious a lot of energy was being burned.

"We started it here and it's been really successful," said Ovington from the sidelines.

"It was organized by our director Richard Unsworth in Seattle, along with Dan Ovington down at the (SEAPARC) rec centre."
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For his part, SEAPARC's Dan Ovington told the Sooke News Mirror the British Soccer Camp people had initially approached the local recreation commission promoting the program.He described the camp as a success and said he had already committed for more of the same next year.
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"I've heard a lot of good things," said Ovington of the local response to the program, adding that 34 youth took part in the instructional sessions over the course of the week."

Dan Ovington, recreation programmer at SEAPARC, said he came upon the idea after having visited several other sites in other municipalities that featured the same idea.

Using a vacant room at SEAPARC in the arena area, Ovington and a group of other staff transformed the room into a camoflage theme for $500 using a bit of paint, netting and surplus furniture from the Capital Regional District.It took about three weeks to complete.

Ovington said he's hopeful that the room - which will be open on Fridays from 9-11 p.m. - will give youth in the community a place that they can call their own.

"There's nowhere really where they can hang out in the community," he said, adding that he hopes the bunker can change that.

The room is geared toward youth aged 11-18 and provides an alternative method of recreation for youth that will be supervised by recreation staff and the Positive Leisure Activities and Assets in Youth group.It features a television, an X-Box game system and an air hockey table.If the hang-out catches on, Ovington said he hopes to have designated nights with different themes such as X-Box nights, girls nights and pizza nights beginning in the fall.

Dan Ovington, recreation programmer at SEAPARC, said he came upon the idea after having visited several other sites in other municipalities that featured the same idea. Using a vacant room at SEAPARC in the arena area, Ovington and a group of other staff transformed the room into a camoflage theme for $500 using a bit of paint, netting and surplus furniture from the Capital Regional District.It took about three weeks to complete.Ovington said he's hopeful that the room - which will be open on Fridays from 9-11 p.m. - will give youth in the community a place that they can call their own. "There's nowhere really where they can hang out in the community," he said, adding that he hopes the bunker can change that. The room is geared toward youth aged 11-18 and provides an alternative method of recreation for youth that will be supervised by recreation staff and the Positive Leisure Activities and Assets in Youth group.It features a television, an X-Box game system and an air hockey table.If the hang-out catches on, Ovington said he hopes to have designated nights with different themes such as X-Box nights, girls nights and pizza nights beginning in the fall.