Johnson Township announces holiday rec programs

NEWS RELEASE

JOHNSON TOWNSHIP

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Township of Johnson Announces New Recreational Programs for the Holidays

Algoma – Looking for activities for you and your children during the Holiday School Break? The Township of Johnson Recreation has organized some programs that might interest you.

On Boxing Day, December 26th, Take Heart Algoma will sponsor a Free Skate at the Johnson Township Community Arena in Desbarats from 2PM to 4PM. Take Heart Algoma is part of the Ontario Heart Health Project which promotes healthy lifestyle choices and opportunities to help prevent chronic diseases in Algoma. Take Heart Algoma is sponsoring free skates in communities across the district of Algoma. (www.hearthealthalgoma.com). There will be another Free Skate on New Year’s Day, January 1, 2008 also from 2PM to 4PM, sponsored by the Township of Johnson itself.

From Wednesday, January 2 to Friday, January 4, there will be several activities for children of all ages. Each day the Arena will be open for Public Skating from 1PM to 2:30 PM, $2/person or $5/family. After Public Skating on Wednesday, January 2, there will be a Come&Try Gymnastics/Tumbling program for children ages 7 to 12 in the Community Hall above the Arena. Cost is $5 and this includes Public Skating. The instructor will be Tannis McMillan, a certified Level 3 coach with Gymnastics Ontario and the National Coaching Certification Program. She has successfully trained gymnasts to qualify in both Provincial Championships and Canadian National Championships. If there is enough interest a full winter/spring session will be organized.

Later on Wednesday, January 2, starting at 6:30 PM, the arena will be the site of a Children/Parents Recreational Shinny Round Robin. Fun and participation will be emphasized and there will be some rule changes to reflect this. Games will be short and only ages 12 and under can score. Teams will be decided by lottery and the numbers of games will be decided by registration so please call the Township office and speak with Pat O’Gorman to register. Cost is $5/person or $10/family.

On Friday, January 4, from 3PM to 5PM after Public Skating, there will be a Come&Try Curling clinic for children 10 and up. The cost is $5 and again this includes public skating for that day. Interest will determine whether the Township will run a full season program.

Teens will have their own evening to get out and have some fun. On Thursday, January 3, Johnson Township is holding a Teen Activity Night at the Arena and Community Hall from 7 PM to 10 PM. Skating will be followed by some pick-up Sponge Hockey. Spongee, as it is known, is like road hockey on ice with players wearing shoes not skates. It is played with a sponge puck and there some rules borrowed from soccer (advantage play, not face-offs) and basketball (a 3-second key in front of the net). Players must bring their own sticks and helmets, which are compulsory. Upstairs in the Community Hall, there will be cards, board games and a lounge for playing Mafia (a fun game sweeping the country). An acoustic jam session will be encouraged so bring your guitars. Cost for the evening is $5 per person.

So, if your kids need to work off some of that holiday energy, Johnson Township Community Centre is the place to be! For more information, to register for these programs or if you are interested in winter/spring session for any of these activities, please call Pat O’Gorman at 782 6601, ext 205.

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