Kids have field day after rain

Ten area parks fielded teams in the event.
By SARAH POULTON
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Rain, rain, go away.
Luckily, for some local children, it went away and stayed away. A little bit of rain wasn't about to stop the children who belong to Summer Camp 2006 from competing in their annual Track and Field Day at Cardinal-Mooney High School.
The Summer Camp 2006 program, an activity provided by the Youngstown Park and Recreation Commission, was held Thursday from noon to 4:30 p.m.
Alicia Anderson, park coordinator, said the day kicked off with a parade at noon, followed by a brief thunderstorm, lunch, then field day activities. Each team was dressed in their park colors and carried a home-made banner to represent their park in the parade, she said.
The 10 parks that participated were Wick, Crandall, John White, Lincoln, Hillman, Sheridan, Fosterville, MVSD, Homestead and Lynn.
Anderson said the parade was important because it gave the children the Olympic atmosphere but also taught them about hometown pride and that everyone is a winner.
"Everyone here is a winner," Anderson said. "We try to instill in the children that it's important to be physically fit, to do their best and to have fun while doing it."
She said that events included the shot put, long jump, tug-of-war, 50 meter dash, four-by-100 meter relay and others.
For the smaller children, there was a shoe race, where the children take off their shoes and put them in a pile. Then they go to the starting line and race to find their shoes, put them on their feet and run back to finish.
Participants' reactions
Jasmine Williams, 6, of Youngstown participated in the shoe race. Jasmine is a member of the Crandall team.
"I'm in one race," Jasmine said. "I'm going to win, and I'm going to have fun."
Anthony Vinion, 8, from Austintown is on the MVSD team. He said that even though it was raining, he was still having a great time.
"Track and field day's fun," Anthony said. "I'm going to win at track. I've got five brothers and sisters, and I want to win this for them."
Some of the older participants weren't as thrilled to be in the rain as Anthony.
Dyshia Stone, 10, from Youngstown was a member of the Fosterville team. She said the weather wasn't good, and even though the rain stopped, the day was ruined.
"This isn't going to stop," Dyshia said. "They need to get the drivers to take us home."
Alyssa Stilson, 14, of Youngstown, was lying on the Wick team's tarp, taking a quick nap, when she was awakened to the sound of thunder. She enjoys reading and often brings books with her before she goes to summer camp, just in case it rains. She was ready to leave because of the rain and couldn't figure out where the buses were to take her home.
"I think they should take us home and reschedule for another day," Alyssa said. "The buses should be here to get us, but they're probably at the doughnut place right now. That's where I'd be if I was them."
Nothing, not even a few drops of rain was going to spoil the day for Brandon Logan, 14, from Youngstown. Logan was a member of the Crandall team and was psyched to win the four-by-one relay.
"Yea, Crandall's gonna win," Brandon said. "We've been practicing every day. [This program's] good for kids who don't have much to do over the summer."
Anderson said the event was in the works since January.
spoulton@vindy.com