Summer is approaching and families have started to make plans to keep their children active, entertained and safe during the nearly 11 week break.   The difficult part of the planning is to make sure you find a place that offers enough activities to keep your children entertained and smiling.  Another part of the decision is the Florida summer weather.  We all know that the weather during the summer months is anything but predictable.  You might say it’s predictable through its unpredictability.  So signing your children up for a swim or baseball camp, for example, may mean 1/2 days of sitting in the dugout or locker room waiting for a storm to pass.

This is where the Sun Country difference really comes in to play.  At Sun Country, the FunFest Summer Camp program allows the children to stay active and safe while participating in everything from rock wall climbing to gymnastics.  And when the weather is nice- the children go swimming in the on-site swimming pool.  When the weather isn’t so nice- they stay inside the 40,000 square foot gym and hit the bounce houses or maybe learn a few new moves in the dance room.

Sun Country also understands that some children want to stay a little more focused on one sport or activity.  For this reason, they introduced their specialty camps during the summer.  Your children can join the 1/2 day Swim Camp, Dance Camp, Cheer Camp, Rockwall Camp, Trampoline and Tumble Camp or the always popular Gymnastics Camp.  Each camp provides the opportunity to advance your children’s skills in a sport or activity that they love.  Once the specialty camp is over for the day, they have the option to join their friends and continue the fun at FunFest Summer Camp for the rest of the day.

Whatever option you choose, you always can trust that Sun Country is providing excellent, well trained staff, a safe facility and a ton of options.  And that, ultimately, is the Sun Country difference.

Ryan Orce is dedicated to his sport.  Blessed with a gymnasts body, big heart and tireless work effort, Ryan recently qualified for the Junior Olympics.  But qualifying for the Junior Olympics comes with a big responsibility and a bigger price tag.  The Oregon Convention Center hosted the Junior Olympics this year and Portland, Oregon isn’t exactly around the corner from Gainesville, Florida.  But money and location were not going to be an obstacle to the 15 year old gymnast from Gainesville.  Ryan and his mother made the close to 3,00o mile trek to Oregon at the end of April for the event.  In Portland, Ryan competed against hundreds of other skilled level 9 gymnasts who had also qualified for the event from gyms and locations all around the country.  On day 1 of the event, Ryan qualified for individual events that take place on day 2.  Day 2 turned out to be Ryan’s time to shine.  Ryan competed individually, with the top 48 qualifying other athletes, on parallel bars and rings.  He took 2nd place on parallel bars and 3rd place on rings.  Both are outstanding achievements for Ryan but his goals are a bit more lofty.  Ryan said, “It would be really cool to go to the Olympics and that’s my main goal…  be able to get a nice scholarship for college and be able to go to the Olympics would be really nice but maybe, maybe not”.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wyt-qEvge5I

One very important aspect of coming to Sun Country is encouraging a culture of pride.  We certainly are proud of the athletes who compete at Sun Country and represent our teams so well in local and national competitions.  But it’s really about developing pride in those students and athletes that is important to us.  We encourage them to be proud of what they are accomplishing here at Sun Country.  We have been know to create champions and college athletes but, in truth, not every gymnast or swimmer is going to achieve these lofty levels.  And that’s just fine with us.  Every athlete or student is working hard, developing good attitudes, staying fit and achieving their own level of success.

We encourage the families that come to Sun Country to show off their “Sun Country Pride” by wearing their Sun Country shirts to the gym and around in the community.  It’s always great to see people around town showing off their Sun Country pride.  Having a good feeling about the gym you compete for and being proud of what you are accomplishing there is something we at Sun Country encourage on a daily basis.  We are creating a culture of pride in every gymnast, athlete and student we have the opportunity to work with.

We are often asked to explain the benefits of our popular FunFest Summer Camp program at Sun Country Sports Center.  Like most programs at Sun Country, the main benefit you receive from sending your children to FunFest is peace of mind.  You know that your children will be treated fairly by the talented and well qualified staff.  They will learn how to set goals, become more flexible, gain strength and coordination.  But above all, your children will be safe and happy.

Safe – because Sun Country cares about your children’s safety and takes all steps necessary to ensure that their facility and staff are equipped with the latest equipment and training.

Happy- because Sun Country has so much to offer.

While other programs in the area can offer swimming OR gymnastics OR dance … Sun Country’s FunFest Summer Camp offers them all.  Your children will participate in gymnastics, cheerleading, trampoline and tumbling, obstacle courses, rock climbing, dance, fencing, swimming and much more.

So FunFest Summer Camp offers a safe, fun place for your children to make new friends and try out a bunch of great activities.  For more information, call us today at 352-331-8773 – we love to talk about FunFest or any of our programs at Sun Country Sports Center!

On April 8th, all of the Level 7 gymnasts from Sun Country Sports Center competed at the State Championships. All 6 gymnasts finished within the top 86 out of the roughly 400 athletes that competed. This qualified them to compete at the Regional Championships in Atlanta this past weekend. These talented gymnasts were led by Sarah Morey at States.  Morey was the state vault, beam, and all around champion, and finishing with the 2nd highest all around score of the entire meet with a 38.25. This earned Morey, along with the rest of the top 8 finishers, a spot on Team Florida where she will compete against the 8 best gymnasts from each of the other Region 8 states.

The team has shown steady improvement under the direction of Paul McAloon culminating in the tremendous results at State.

The children at Sun Country had a surprising new student in their class yesterday.  Sun Country’s beloved mascot “Sunny” stopped by to stretch and play with the children.  Sunny is such a wonderful symbol of what Sun Country stands for.  He is always smiling, happy to bounce and play with the children and represents safety, fun and fitness.

On this Monday afternoon, Sunny wan not just stopping by to play.  Sunny is being featured in some new advertising campaigns and was part of a photo shoot at the Sun Country facility.  Keep an eye out for some exciting new ads featuring Sunny in the near future.

It’s always a great day at Sun Country- just a little better when Sunny stops by!