The Dick Fosbury Track Camp
November 2021
By Peter Slovenski
After 33 years of operating summer track camps in Maine, the Slovenski family and Dick Fosbury are retiring our track camp.
In the fall of 1988 we organized our first track camp at Bates College. My father, long-time Bates College track Coach Walter Slovenski, and I organized The Bates College Track Camp with the help of Head Coach of Women’s Track & Field, Carolyn Court. We also had terrific help from Beth Whitaker in the Bates Summer Program Office. After three months of advertising the camp, we only had 8 campers. Beth invited me to meet with Dean Jim Carignan in March to talk about the camp. I worried that Beth and the Dean would be sorry to tell me that the camp should be ended before it even began. But instead they brainstormed with me to find out what had been done so far, and what else we could do. I left the meeting motivated to reach out to more high school coaches, and to send out more promotional newspaper releases. When camp opened on June 25, 1989, we had 50 campers including Chris Blades, John MacGregor, Ryan McCallum, Amy Benner, Molly Ware, Joe Welch, Craig Mielcarz, and Adam Verock.
-
1989 Staff:
- Walt Slovenski of Bates (middle and long distance)
- Carolyn Court of Bates (hurdles)
- Paul Slovenski of MIT (long and triple jump)
- Peter Slovenski of Bowdoin (pole vault)
- Gordon Kelley of MIT (sprints and jumps)
- Joe Woodhead of Bates (throws)
The next year in 1990 we attracted 100 campers. For the next 28 years we averaged 110 campers.
There were a lot of campers to coach, so I needed to expand the staff. The event that had the most campers was the hurdles. So I reached out to my favorite world class Track & Field hurdler, Willie Davenport, 1968 Olympic Gold Medal Winner. Willie had served in and competed for the Army for part of his athletic career. Willie agreed to help the camp, and he coached our hurdlers for two summers. Willie was an impressive coach, and ran military style hurdle practices.
Willie was a big hit with the campers, so for 1992 I looked at the second most popular event… the high jump.. and invited my favorite Olympic caliber high jumper of all-time, Dick Fosbury. Dick also agreed to join the camp staff, and came to coach at our camp along with Willie in 1992. What an amazing staff we had. Dick was an engineer, and used his engineering background to help with the scientific education and technical drills involved in learning the Fosbury Flop. And he brought a high level of charisma and an Olympic level sense of humor that helped the teenage jumpers love the two hour sessions in the morning, and the three hour sessions in the afternoon.
After such a great success of getting Gold Medal winners Willie Davenport and Dick Fosbury on the staff, we kept adding world record and Olympic Champion caliber athletes to the staff:
- Willie Davenport – 1968 Olympic Gold Medal 110 High Hurdles
- Dick Fosbury – 1968 Olympic High Jump Champion
- Jim Ryun – World Record in the mile. 1968 Silver medal. (2 summers)
- Billy Mills – 1964 Gold Medal 1964 (1 summer)
- Wyomia Tyus – 2-time Gold Medal winner 100 Meter Dash (3 summers)
- Richmond Flowers – NCAA Hurdle Champion & Super Bowl Football player (1 summer)
- Bob Richards – Two-time gold Medal Winner of Pole Vault (2 summers)
- Lyndy Remigino – Gold Medal in the 100 (1 summer)
- Harrison Dillard – Gold medal in the High Hurdles and the 100 (1 summer)
- Francie Larieu-Smith – 5-time Olympic Team Qualifier from 1500 through 5,000 (5 summers)
- Willie Banks – triple Jump World Record setter, and Olympic Bronze Medal winner. (1 summer)
- Tommie Smith – 200 Meter Gold Medal Winner 1968 (1 summer)
Dick spent the next 28 years helping us lead the camp. He was such a powerful leader of an educational athletic program that we named the camp after him in 2005.
The Bates Track Camp ran 6-days per week with campers arriving on Sunday, and departing on Friday. In 2005 we shifted the camp to the Bowdoin College campus, and renamed it: The Dick Fosbury Track Camp. Campers arrived on Sunday and departed on Thursday. From our 2005 camp flyer:
The Dick Fosbury Track & Field Camp is designed to strengthen athletic skills and build a winning attitude. Top technical coaching is the heart of our program, but we also emphasize discipline and sportsmanship. We have more spirit and character than other camps because our staff spends more time with the campers. Our staff enjoys working with campers in our structured program, and our campers enjoy the discipline of camp life. High quality coaching with one-on-one attention is offered for the following events:
- hurdles
- sprints
- triple jump
- long jump
- high jump
- pole vault
- discus
- javelin
- shot put
- hammer
- middle distance
- long distance
Each athlete receives personal and group coaching from the camp's staff of coaches who have had success at the high school, college, and even Olympic level. Campers will have the opportunity to measure and watch their improvement on videotape throughout the week.
There will be track & field lectures, films, and demonstrations on the latest training techniques. Staff members also teach campers about other aspects of competition such as nutrition, relaxation, visualization, and commitment.
-
2005 Staff:
- DICK FOSBURY, co-Director, 1968 Olympic High Jump Champion
- PETER SLOVENSKI, co-Director, Head Coach, Men's & Women's Track Bowdoin College
- Francie Larrieu-Smith, 5-time Olympian (1500 through marathon), 31 American records, Head Coach, Southwestern University
- SANDRA FORD-CENTONZE, Sprint, Jump & Hurdle Coach, Dartmouth College
- Colin Tory, Head Coach, Rochester Polytechnic Institute
- Jim St. Pierre Throwing Coach, Bowdoin College
- George Mendros, Head Coach, Thornton Academy
- Brian Laurits, Bowdoin College '04 Division III All-American 4x400 Relay
-
What to Bring:
- Training shoes
- Spikes
- Shorts (4)
- T-Shirts (6)
- Long-sleeved shirt
- Sweatshirt
- Sweatpants
- Socks (6)
- Swim suit
- Towels (2)
- Musical instrument for talent show (optional)
We had a string of 29 years with 95 to 130 campers every season.
-
Dorms:
- Adams, Smith, Parker at Bates...
- Chamberlain and Moore at Bowdoin...
-
Special Events:
- Canoe Race on Lake Andrews
- Awards on the final night
- Showing the Richmond Flowers movie followed by a speech given by Richmond Flowers himself
- Swim Relay
- Raft Relay
- Camp Dance Contest
- Speech given by Joan Samuelson followed by speech by Dick Fosbury
- Speech given by Tommie Smith, 1968 Gold Medal winner in the 200 meter dash
- Speech given by 94 year old George Dole, who ran in the first sub-4:00 mile by Roger Bannister
Camp meetings in the apmphitheater behind Adams Hall.
The campers and camp staff participated in triple sessions each day…
morning and afternoon practices followed by evening special events
that exercised our minds, bodies, and hearts. After 30 laps, the camp
has reached the finish line.
Dick Fosbury Track & Field campers
and coaches… Thank you for leaving it all on the track.
... end ...