BEAR HOLLOW — There were 11 items on the menu at the Utah Olympic Park, all of which were sampled.
And, if there was one in particular that tingled the taste buds, the option now is to go for more — as much as the student wants, all the way to the Olympics.
It's a program called Legacy Camp that is offered nowhere else in the world. And understandably, said Bulent Bulut, manager of sports services at the park, "one that has been extremely popular."
The program ran through the month of July and, with few exceptions, all the available seats this year were filled.
Last year the park started out by offering six camps. This year it offered eight. Next year the park will likely look at additional camps.
Each session runs for five days. Students, between the ages of 8 and 14, are given the opportunity to try 11 different Winter Olympic sports.
"And, if there's a particular event they like, we encourage them to move to the next level, which is to take one of our introductory program," Bulut said.
"The reason we offered the camp in the first place was to provide a safe, playful atmosphere where kids could experience all the Olympic events and maybe choose one."
The 11 events include the biathlon; speedskating, short and long track; figure skating; curling; luge; bobsled; freestyle aerials; skeleton; ski jumping and ice hockey, along with a few fillers such as swimming, soccer, orienteering and hiking.
Classes are limited to between eight and 10 students.
The camps are intended for those individuals who have never participated in a Winter Olympic sport. And, while the summer heat limits the opportunity to actually participate in some sports, there's enough there to entice some youngsters to continue on.
"Which is," said Bulut, "what we're hoping for."
In the biathlon, for example, students will shoot, but instead of skiing the cross-country course, they are introduced to an orienteering program with a compass and map. It's something along the lines of a treasure hunt that takes them over the entire course.
Students can then return to ski the course in the winter, if they choose.
At the Utah Olympic Oval, students put on a pair of speedskates and learn, as Bulut explained, "the basics . . . how to take turns and how to stop. We also do figure skating and ice hockey at the oval. With figure skating we teach the different skating methods — how to make turns, stops and rotations."
The aerial freestyle is a little more involved. The park offers an introductory jumping program where students actually jump into the splash pool. They don helmets and wetsuits, step into ski boots and onto skis and slide off a small ramp into the same pool as Olympic athletes.
In the bobsled and skeleton, with the absence of ice on the track, students work from a specially designed push-start area. For those trying bobsleds, a special track lets them experience pushing and jumping into the sled.
Summer ski jumping is similar to winter jumping, in that students start by sliding down the outrun on the jumping hills, just to make sure they can slide on skis and, once they accomplish this, they move to jump on the small 10-meter hill and eventually, for those who progress fastest, onto the 20-meter hill.
This summer, the park began offering street luge as a learning activity. The street sleds are identical to the ice sleds, except they have wheels, and are steered in exactly the same way — with the legs and body.
Along with all the Olympic events, students will also participate in group soccer and swimming.
According to Bulut, there's usually a balanced mix of both boys and girls in the classes.
What he's discovered over the past two years is that boys tend to lean toward freestyle aerials as a favorite, followed by luge. Girls tend to like figure skating, followed by speedskating.
"We encourage them to go on with any sport they select," he said. "Even if they don't, then at least we know they had a good time.
"It's funny, but we'll ask what their favorite event is, and each day they come back from trying a new one, that one, on that day, always seems to be their favorite."
Cost of the program is $350. All the required equipment is furnished. Also, there are two pickup points — one in Salt Lake City and one in Park City — where kids can be picked up and shuttled to the various locations.
Bulut urged parents to make reservations early for next year "because many of the more popular weeks fill up quickly."
For information call the main park number — 435-658-4200.
E-mail: grass@desnews.com