Camp Visits Pool to Beat the Heat

If you can't beat it, enjoy it.

That was the theme on Tuesday morning as summer camp opened in West Harrison while temperatures surged toward triple digits and campers flocked to the Ron Belmont Pool for their chance to enjoy the water. 

"It's crazy," L.M.C.C. Camp Director Rich Salerno said of the heat. "We are lucky to have this facility."

The camp hosted most of its sports and outdoor activities in the morning and rotated campers to the pool throughout the day to keep it under occupancy. Age groups switched off in 45-minute pool sessions for what was certainly one of the more popular activities of the day.

"You don't want them to be out there in the 100 degree weather," Salerno said.

The camp's councillors were instructed to keep a close eye on all of the campers throughout the day, and everyone was encouraged to drink plenty of water - in our out of the pool area. If students began to lose color or looked tired while playing outside, even in the morning, they were brought into the air-conditioned Mintzer Center. But Salerno said that for the most part the heat didn't keep the fun out of the first day at camp.

The Ron Belmont Pool is located in Passidomo Veteran's Memorial Park and is open to the public from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. The pool, now in its second year of operation, has been open since Memorial Day weekend but this week is expected to bring the largest crowds so far this summer.

Kristen Ciafone, recreation supervisor at the pool, said that she expects close to 800 people to visit the pool on Tuesday and Wednesday.

"We are looking forward to the first day of the real hot summer," she said. "We expect to be busy, but we are prepared and ready to go."

Visitors to the pool will need to have a Harrison recreation identification card. Guest passes cost $20 for adults and $10 for young children.

Campers and visitors alike were at the pool early Tuesday afternoon, enjoying water slides, sprinklers and a chance to cool off.

"We have plenty of lifeguards, snack bars, refreshments, food and drinks," said Ciafone. "It's a fun day."