Sports
Page 12 Thursday, July 16, 1981 The Michigan Daily
Kids hone skills at sports camps
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By SANDRA SMITH
Daily Staff Writer
Baseball hats flung on backwards,
hundreds of youngsters descend on
South Quad struggling with overstuffed
duffel bags and shrugging off parents'
hugs on a sweltering Sunday afternoon.
This is not a batch of young-looking
Freshmen Orientation attenders, nor a
gang of young intellectual geniuses en-
tering college during puberty. This
primarily teen-aged group has instead
arrived for a week of special sports
training at the University.
CLAIMING TO OFFER "the finest in
coaching and facilities," the Univer-
sity's summer sports camps, scheduled
from June 14 through August 14, include
a variety of separate sports for men
and women, as well as four co-
educational sports, according to Sandy
Boyd, of Michigan's Summer Sports
Schooll.
"We offer men's wrestling, basket-
ball, and baseball, women's softball,
field hockey, gymnastics, volleyball,
basketball, and cheerleading, and co-ed
speed swimming, cross country, track
and field, and soccer," Boyd said "all
in sessions from Sunday to Friday."
"The regular Michigan coaches par-
ticipate for baseball and basketball,"
Boyd said "along with their assistants,
guest coaches, and college students.
It's pretty much the same with all of the
sports."
BOYD ADDS that volleyball, soccer
and cheerleading camps bring in their
own staffs and coaches.
Depending upon the rigorousness of
the sport, "each coach has his own
schedule of instruction," Boyd ex-
plained. "For example, speed swim-
ming usually doesn't practice as often
as basketball."
Although the youngest participants
are merely eight years old, the athletes
generally average from 12 to 18 years,
according to Boyd. "The age restric-
tions vary depending again on the par-
ticular sport," says Boyd.
MARY ANTIEAU, Building Director
at South Quad, where the youngsters
are housed, estimates receiving ap-
proximately 900 new athletes per week.
"We'll have about 7,000 over the course
of the summer," she says.
Although most of the children par-
ticipating are from Michigan, Boyd
revealed that many travel from upper
Indiana and Ohio to attend the various
camps. "We even have a few kids from
out West," she added.
According to Boyd, advertising for
the sports school appeared- in major
newspapers in the Ann Arbor area
several high school newspapers, and
about 25,000 brochures were
distributed. "Brochures were also
passed out at the basketball games,"
Boyd adds, "plus we held seminars in
Philadelphia and in the West."
ALTHOUGH SUCH camps existed in
the past, this is only the second year in
which the students are all housed in one
facility, according to Antieau. "Both
the Athletic Office and the Housing Of-
fice feel really good about the progress
of the program," she says.
Two Residential Directors are on
staff in South Quad to coordinate
registering the youngsters, and to
program activities, explains Antieau.
"We provide evening entertainment
such as movies or swimming at the I.M.
Building."
"There are rules, however, just like
any camp," continues Antieau, "such
as turning in their car keys when they
check in, no smoking, no alcohol, and a
building curfew of 10 o'clock."
BOYD SAID that the average price of
the one-week stay at the camp is $130 to
$135, including room and board,
although some sports offer day camps
at a lower rate.
Revenue from the camps is divided
within the Athletic Department, accor-
ding to Boyd.
"The Housing Department also
receives funds," said Antieau. "The
program -allows us to keep our
housekeeping and food staffs on year
around."
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Daily Photo by PAUL ENGSTROM
PARTICIPANTS IN THE baseball camp hosted by the University play touch football in Michigan Stadium while their
coaches take a break. Michigan is holding sports camps throughout the summer for youngsters from 12 to 18.
OWNER SAYS BASEBALL NOT EXEMPT:
Turner testi ies before Congress
WASHINGTON (AP)-Atlanta Braves owner Ted
Turner, often at odds with his major league baseball
partners, told Congress yesterday there is no reason
for the sport to be exempt from the nation's antitrust
laws, a view not held by other baseball owners.
"I know of no reason for different treatment of
baseball from other league sports," Turner told the
House subcommittee on monopolies and commercial
law, a branch of the Judiciary Committee.
BASEBALL'S exemption from the antitrust laws
stems from a 1922 Supreme Court decision ruling that
the sport was not interstate commerce and was
therefore not subject to antitrust laws.
Turner, who also owns Atlanta's Channel 17 "Super
Station" as well as the Atlanta Hawks basketball
team, told the subcommittee that "Congress should
make it clear that the baseball exemption, if retained
at all, does not extend to non-sports activities such as
telecasting games."
"In other words, the telecasting of baseball games
should be subject to the same rules as the telecasting
of the games of other professional league sports," he
said'
THE SUBCOMMITTEE, in its second of three days
of hearings, is compiling a record of current ap-
plications of federal antitrust laws to professional
sports, such as the purchase and sale of franchises,
territorial restrictions, movement of franchises,
player entry and mobility and broadcasting.
The panel also is studying specific legislation
aimed at limiting the movement of franchises, the
distribution of television broadcast revenues among
the teams of a league, and eliminating a team's ex-
clusive territoriality in major cities.
Turner said he would like to see more revenue
sharing of television receipts in baseball and basket-
ball as is done in the National Football League.
"I THINK THAT is what makes the NFL so
viable," he said. "Each of the teams has about the
same amount of money to bid for players. The
leagues could do it now but the wealthy teams don't
want to share."
As an example, he said the New York Yankees
received $5 million for their local broadcast rights
last year while Kansas City, which defeated the
Bronx Bombers in the 1980 World Series-"And that
will be the last time that happens"-got less than $1
million for its local radio and TV rights.
"I think there is a tremendous imbalance," he said.
"Pro sports except for football is in an endangered
position especially in the smaller cities.
"And when pay-TV revenues start coming, New
York and the Los Angeles Dodgers will become
stronger," he said. "Teams like Minnesota, Cincin-
nati and probably Atlanta will not be able to com-
pete."
Turner also told the committee that pay cable or
subscription television will dominate sports broad-
casting, possibly within five years.