AU summer sports camps canceled for second year in a row

By Chris Rickerson | Staff writer 

Augusta University has canceled its summer sports camps for the second straight year due to COVID-19 guidelines, according to Athletics Director Clint Bryant.

In past years, AU has hosted several sports camps throughout the summer that include men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s golf, softball and volleyball. However, risk assessments by the university determined it was best to close the camps again.

Dip Metress, AU men’s basketball coach, says he understands the university’s decision to cancel. 

“I like having camps,” he said. “We have gotten to the point where we had 100 kids up in camp, but I understand with COVID right now there are certain polices because we are medical university and are overly cautious. I understand the decision 100 percent.”

Earlier this week, AU President Brooks A. Keel announced the lifting of the mask policy for vaccinated students and strongly recommended students who are unvaccinated to keep wearing mask. 

While the campus seems to be going back to normal quickly, the decision to close summer camps was mainly due to the potential of having unvaccinated minors on campus.

“Some part of it was focused on having minors on campus who would not be vaccinated,” said Metress. “My camp is 6-year-olds to 17-year-olds. Some younger kids are not getting vaccinated, so there was some concern along those lines.”

AU summer sports camps are usually held throughout June, and the university is hoping to bring them back in 2022. 

“We will miss the kids coming to camps, but if this helps get our school year started the right way, I understand completely,” said Metress. “It’s tough, but it is part of the crazy 14 months we have been dealing with and hopefully we are done with it.”

Contact Chris Rickerson at crickerson@augusta.edu.