Despite COVID-19, 18-2 Sports Camps brought sports to many young athletes this summer, and free of charge.
     18-2 annually holds sports day and evening sports camps for youth near Delia. However this year because of COVID-19 restrictions, camps were cancelled.
    “The staff was determined to find a way to make a camp situation work so they would not miss a summer seeing their loyal 18-2 campers! With a lot of creativity and camp set up, the regular indoor sports camps became FREE outdoor, socially distanced, COVID camps ON LOCATION!” said organizers in a release.
    The daytime multisport camp was offered for two weeks, and the evening volleyball camps/training was offered all of July and is still going on indefinitely as the weather holds out.
    The camps are staffed by high school and university athletes, both local and from across Western Canada.
    The multisport camp was offered at 18-2 just outside Delia, or the staff took their camp on location and travelled to local cohorting families. They set up their camp at parks, right in back yards, or at school grass areas.
    The daytime camps were multisport and mix of technical teaching and fun and games. The cohorting kids and their parents would have a safe playing area separated from staff. After initiating the equipment and balls for the activity, the kids managed the equipment on their own, and when they were done would safely gather the equipment in a location where everything was sanitized.
    “We saw about 70% of our regulars, and we hope to visit the rest during the last half of August. We also gained a lot of new campers and are excited to continue relationships with them and their families,” said camp staffer Sonya Nielsen.
    In the evenings on the 18-2 beach and grass courts, multiple cohort groups are coming to train with the 18-2 Crew staff. They are sometimes training four different sessions in an evening, and the courts are booked every night of the week.
    With grass and beach volleyball, COVID restrictions are put in place, and the staff is unable to initiate any balls during drills. Camp staffer Kaitlyn Leischner explains that “the staff has different separate color-coded balls that allow us to demonstrate with each other and not share or be in contact with any of our campers.”
    Organizers do not know what the future holds for indoor sports and COVID restrictions, but while they can be outdoors, they are enjoying training kids in the fresh air and will continue to do so until the weather doesn’t allow it anymore.
    All the staff joined knowing it could have been strictly a volunteer role for the entire summer, as the camps were provided for free they would have to fundraise the camp expenses. They are selling frozen homemade pre-scooped cookie dough, selling 18-2 gear, and putting on a virtual volleyball SHOWDOWN tournament. Follow 18-2 and the 18-2 crew for more information... @eighteentwo and @eighteentwo_crew or contact them by email: eighteentwocamps@gmail.com

Wheatland County has proposed to make temporary amendments to its land use bylaw to allow residents to quarantine and self-isolate in their recreational vehicles due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Current bylaws prohibit the use of recreational vehicles as dwellings, temporary or otherwise, within the county, however, COVID-19 has made amendments temporarily necessary.
“Residents of Wheatland County had expressed concerns about whether they would be able to use their recreational vehicles to quarantine or self-isolate. In order to accommodate this, staff determined changes needed to be made to the land use bylaw,” Matthew Boscariol, general manager of community and development services, told the Mail.
A first reading of the amendment was heard during Wheatland County’s regular council meeting on June 16.
Prior to the first reading, research revealed Strathmore was the only municipality to make similar amendments in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. Residents of the municipality are permitted to use their recreational vehicles, however, they require an on-street parking permit to do so.
Rocky View County, surrounding Calgary, made temporary amendments following the 2012 flood in Bragg Creek.
They placed a time restriction on the bylaw, with a date by which the vehicle would need to be removed and cease to be used as a temporary dwelling.
Wheatland County is using this amendment into consideration as an example on how to accommodate residents through the COVID-19 pandemic.
Boscariol noted any

recreational vehicles used for quarantine purposes “must be self-contained with no discharge of sewage or wastewater outside of an approved sewage disposal system,” and each parcel within the county would be limited to one recreational vehicle under the bylaw.
Other amenities such as electricity and water from an outside spigot would need to be obtained through the property owner’s own dwelling, according to Boscariol.
A removal date has been temporarily set for October 1, 2021 though Boscariol noted Wheatland County would consider revisiting the bylaw should quarantine measures be needed beyond that date.
A public hearing was held ahead of the regular Wheatland County council meeting on Tuesday, August 18. Results of the hearing and minutes from the meeting were unavailable at the time of publication.