YMCA at Glen Cove Will Offer New Experiences This Summer

A convention in Orlando gave Peter Foster, the executive director of YMCA Glen Cove, several ideas to make the Y’s summer camps better this year, including a Ninja Warrior inflatable, competitive obstacle course, and an ice-skating rink where kids can skate even in the heat. Foster also updated the Y’s Gameland experience with game pieces as big as children themselves. These fun features aim to make camp even better for kids who have summered at the Y before, and attract new campers in the process.  

“Our ice skating rink, which I think will be our biggest attraction this year, is a synthetic rink and it’s great. Just imagine in the summer, you can ice skate outside,” Foster says. “To be able to ice skate in your shorts in the summer will be fantastic. That was something I walked by at the convention and saw and it looked effortless.”

The surface of the rink allows kids to use regular ice skates and do any of the tricks, spins, or jumps they could accomplish on normal ice. The rink also means the Y can incorporate hockey into its sports camps.

The Y will also be holding half-day coding camps that give kids who love screen time the chance to learn coding skills in a social, fun environment. These sessions are great, Foster says, for kids who are looking for something a little different to do this summer. However, Foster says that regardless of all the Y’s new features, it’s the community the camps foster that will have kids coming back summer after summer.

“Between the camp we had last year, the staff, and just the culture we’re developing here, along with the new pieces, I think we’ll do really well,” Foster says. “But again, we can have all the toys that we want, but it really comes down to the culture of the staff, and I think it’s really improved in the last few years.”

Main image: At YMCA at Glen Cover Summer Camp, children can participate in a variety of fun activities every day.

Courtesy YMCA of Long Island.