Kids invade the campus

4/24/2010
By Patrick Lilja
Staff Writer

Children from the Superior area swarmed to the Marcovich Wellness Center on the campus of the University of Wisconsin-Superior on Saturday afternoon, April 24 for Kids’ Day Out.  

For the whole afternoon, UWS students assisted the children in various activities such as basketball, climbing and swimming while giving the kids’ parents some much needed free time. There were representatives from most UWS athletic teams at the event, whether operating registration or physically helping the kids with activities. 

About 80 kids came to the event; many of them could have been found at the climbing wall in Thering Fieldhouse. The climbing wall was clearly the most popular attraction for the kids during their time at Kids’ Day Out, with long lines forming at the wall right after the start of Kids’ Day Out and continuing until the conclusion of the event. 

As for the popularity of the wall, “It’s something you can see from the whole fieldhouse, and kids like to climb. And it’s a lot of fun,” said freshman Julia Johnson, who helped kids get in and out of harnesses as well as belaying for kids as they climbed at the wall. 

Elsewhere, UWS men’s basketball players played a few games of basketball with youngsters in Mortorelli Gymnasium. Junior center Greg Roeder, who also teaches kids physical education off the court and outside the classroom, was more than happy to be working with the kids.  

“Just from an athletic stance it’s good to have some of the kids know that the athletes are people just like they are, and that they can play college athletics too,” Roeder said after he was done playing basketball for the day.