Basketball Blues; Two Great Camps, Only One Big Gym

One of the area's most popular summer basketball camps, run by Madison Hoop Dreams, and a basketball camp run by the town both want to use the Polson School gym the week of June 27th.

Citing a policy set by the town's Board of Education, the Beach & Recreation Commission Chairman says the camp run by the town will take precedence. The Beach & Recreation Department is charged with assigning the gyms for summer programs.

The town has three gyms, says Bill Barker, who runs Madison Hoop Dreams. The Brown School gym holds about 40 campers, the Daniel Hand High School gym holds about 60 campers, and the Polson School gym holds about 120 campers.

Accommodating the most campers

"It only makes sense that the largest gyms are assigned to the largest camps; that way the town facilities can accommodate the most campers," Barker said in a prepared statement to the Board of Selectmen. Instead, the Beach & Recreation Department "assigned Madison Hoop Dreams to the smallest of the three gyms."

Barker said he was appealing to the Board of Selectmen because "someone has to make an intelligent decision for the sake of the kids."

Barker said camps run by the high school girls' varsity coach and high school boys' varsity coach were assigned the other two gyms.

Board of Selectmen asked to intervene

Barker took his concerns to the Board of Selectmen's meeting Monday morning, where he expressed his concerns during the portion of the meeting reserved for citizen comments. He said he had discussed his dilemma with the Beach & Recreation Commission Chairman Tom Banisch, and with the Beach & Recreation Department to no avail.

"For the week of June 27, Madison Hoop Dreams anticipates having 120 campers," Baker said. "If we are forced to go to Brown rather than Polson, we can only accommodate 40 campers. Neither of the other two camps has ever yielded 120 campers."

Barker said Madison Hoop Dreams for 17 years has provided 20 to 27 summer jobs and has served about 450 campers, from Madison and surrounding towns.

Most popular basketball day camp in Connecticut

"We are the most popular basketball day camp in Connecticut and the most popular recreation activity in the history of our town, and we should have the appreciation and support from our political leaders to reflect the respect and appreciation we get from all the families we serve in our great town," Barker said.

Beach & Recreation Commission Chairman Banisch said Madison Hoop Dreams has his appreciation and respect, but that the program cannot have the Polson gym for the coveted first week of summer, when many families are looking for camps for their children.

Banisch said during the meeting that "we want a camp for varsity players in their varsity gym." The high school team plays at the Polson Middle School gym becuase the high school gym is not big enough to accomodate large crowds. He recommended that Barker move the start date of his camp to a week later. "Bill can start his camp one week later and go for as long as he wants."

"We've made our decision"

Selectman Bill Gladstone expressed concern that the decision by the Beach & Recreation Department might seem "predatory." Pushing Hoop Dreams back a week could put it at a disadvantage since the first week "is the biggest week for camps."

The selectmen were discussing whether to put the item on the agenda for further consideration, when Banisch said it wasn't up for discussion, that it was up the Beach & Recreation Department.

"We've made our decision," he said. "It's up to us, not you guys."

Policy calls for Beach & Rec programs to take precedence; Beach & Rec trying to grow program

Following the meeting, Banisch said he was acting in accordance with Madison schools' established policies and procedures. "Schools have first priority, then Beach & Recreation programs, then non-profit groups, then for-profit," he said. He said Madison Hoop Dreams was a non-profit.

"Our policies and procedures say we take care of our town kids first," he said. "Our camp is all Madison. His camps have kids from all over. I have no problem with that, but it would be better if they could push their start off a week."

Banisch added that the Beach & Recreation Department is trying to grow the camps run by the varsity coaches, but that those camps will never get a chance to grow if they have to use the smaller gyms. He added that it will evantually benefit the town's high school teams to have a thriving summer camp program run by varsity coaches in the gym where the varsity games are played. "I think our programs deserve a chance. We can peacefully co-exist, they just have to wait a week."