SASEBO NAVAL BASE, Japan — Kids participating in Sasebo’s Camp Yujyo this summer will be hard-pressed to get bored.

“Yujyo means friendship in Japanese, so it’s Camp Friendship,” said Tina Sparks, Morale, Welfare and Recreation’s Sasebo youth recreation director. “We’ve worked hard this year, and so are our college interns here for the summer, to create a camp with activities of interest for just about everybody.”

The summer day camp, for grade-school pupils no older than 12, begins June 20 and continues through Aug. 26, with activities planned every weekday except July 4.

“We’ve created two tracks, both having 10 programmed activities, each lasting a week,” Sparks said Tuesday. The camp is divided into the Active and Creative tracks, with programs to accommodate both kids who like physical activities and those who like to express their creative side, she said.

Twice a week, for about 90 minutes per session, supervised camp kids get to splash about the base’s swimming pool.

Otherwise, days are packed with Active Track sessions sporting names such as Trekking It, Pirate Cove, Fear Factor and Wave Runners. For youngsters who are more interested in creative arts, crafts or drama, there are Creative Track activities such as Wild Colors and Funky Forms, Today’s Top Story, Galactic Explorer and Good Eats.

“They may not enjoy being outdoors all day long, every day, running around all the time. So there is plenty of opportunity for them to enjoy summer camp, too,” Sparks said.

Sparks said children can alternate, choosing, for example, an Active Track session one week and a Creative Track the next. In addition, the camp allows kids to attend for just a week or two at any point in the summer.

“No matter which track a child selects, parents can be sure their children will get lots of enjoyment and plenty of exercise before the summer is over,” she said.

Ten interns to help design and implement the activities were selected from colleges participating in the Military Internship Program. The interns were chosen based on grade point averages, personal achievements and other characteristics, Sparks said.

“They are all quite far along in their educations … mostly seniors … and they’re all studying fields dealing with children and the welfare of children,” Sparks said.

One intern, Jennifer Graves, 25, is a senior at Tarleton State University in Stephenville, Texas, majoring in human sciences with emphasis on children and family studies.

“I’ve done some programming (for children) already, but not very much,” Graves said. “This internship offers the type of programming activities that really interest me.”

Parents interested in enrolling their children in the camp can pick up registration packets at the Hario Youth Center in Ume Tower (DSN 252-8866) or the Main Base Youth Center in Building 502 (DSN 252-2989).

A 20 percent discount for the full 10 weeks is offered to parents paying in full by the end of Saturday.

MWR Youth Summer Camp program tracks

Week Active Track Creative Track

June 20-24 Trekking It Wild Colors and Funky Forms

June 27-Jul 1 Race Through Outer Space Today’s Top Story

July 5-8 Sports Galore Uncle Sam’s Stately Salute

July 11-15 Pirate Cove Me, Myself and I

July 18-22 OOH RAH! Galactic Explorer

July 25-29 Fear Factor Once Upon a Time

Aug. 1-5 Wave Runners Gold Rush

Aug. 8-12 Amazing Race Good Eats

Aug. 15-19 Can You Handle It? World Traveler

Aug. 22-26 Flying High Whodunit?

Weekly fees

The Department of Defense determines weekly fees based on total family income, according to MWR officials. The fees apply to all military base summer youth programs of this nature.

Categories (total family income) First child Each additional

Category I ($0-$28,000) $50 $40

Category II ($28,001-$34,000) $59 $47.20

Category III ($34,001-$44,000) $72 $57.60

Category IV ($44,001-$55,000) $82 $65.60

Category V ($55,001-$69,999) $102 $81.60

Category VI ($70,000 or higher) $119 $95.20

Source: MWR Youth Recreation, Sasebo Naval Base