The Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community’s Community Recreational Services (CRS) rolled out their Winter Break Camp December 27-29 and January 2-5, providing opportunities for kids in the Community to stay active while they’re on school vacation.

Many of the camp activities took place at the Way of Life Facility (WOLF), while others were off-site. Activities that the kids looked forward to included hiking, a movie, a trip to a skate park, a maker’s fest, a Pokémon Go Hunt field trip, a WOLF Wonderland, and gym games with the CRS Athletics Division.

O’odham Action News followed CRS Athletics staff as they interacted with camp-goers in a variety of 30-minute group games on the basketball court in the WOLF gym.

Two groups, kids ages 8 to 12 and 13 to 15, took turns playing out on the court with games that included basketball, capture the flag, kickball and a special gym version of Hungry, Hungry Hippos.

For Hungry, Hungry Hippos, the kids met at half-court with carts that had wheels on them to act as the hungry hippo collectors, emulating the classic board game as participants grabbed pretend food items placed out on the court as quickly as they could.

CRS Athletic Manager David Willis said that it’s good for the kids to get out this time of year.

“I know [that] a lot of times after Christmas, they want to be at their house playing video games. But we try to keep them active,” said Willis. “Getting them out here to hang out with their friends, talk about what they got for Christmas and enjoy doing some physical activity is always good for them.”