Wednesday, July 9, 2014

ELLENSBURG, Wash. - Just more than two weeks ago, the Darrington High School football team was gifted with free participation at Central Washington University football team camp. This week, the Darrington volleyball team travelled to Ellensburg to participate, free of charge, in the three-day CWU volleyball summer camp.
 
CWU filed a waiver with the NCAA to allow the Loggers to take part in the Wildcat summer camps gratis, following the Oso mudslides that took more than 40 lives and ruined many homes. 
 
Darrington head volleyball coach Greg Powell couldn't be more grateful.
 
"In order for us to come to a camp like this we have to fund raise, and that means leaning on our community, which is already impoverished," Powell said. "With the help of CWU and the NCAA, we didn't have to worry about relying on our community to come up with money that they probably don't currently have."
 
Darrington is located just outside the mudslide area, and every player and coach knows families and individuals who were affected by the tragedy. Being at volleyball camp this week is helping bring the girls back to a normal routine.
 
"The girls are really humbled right now," Darrington assistant volleyball coach Linne Haywood said. "This is a time where everyone of us has felt powerless, where things are out of our control. This gesture of someone saying 'here, we can control this for you' brings us back to a place of normalcy in a sense."
 
In addition to waiving camp fees for DHS sports programs, CWU will offer free tuition for the upcoming 2014-15 school year to 2014 graduates from Darrington.
 
A tearful Haywood had a hard time coming up with words to express how she felt about the generosity of CWU.
 
"It's very heartfelt for people to say 'we know Darrington, what can we do to help?' I think the call to action is very powerful," Haywood added. 

"It is one thing to say you know someone there (Darrington), but to actually step up and do something is very powerful. For CWU to go through the loops of getting a waiver from the NCAA, it means there was some purposeful thought on behalf of the coaches and administration, and we thank them for that."
 
The DHS volleyball team wanted show their appreciation, and signed a DHS volleyball shirt for CWU head volleyball coach Mario Andaya and presented him and his team with cards thanking them for the opportunity.
 
"It wouldn't have been the same without Darrington in the camp since they have been coming here for the past several years," Andaya said. 

 "It is a special circumstance this summer, but we wanted to make it feel as normal as any other year. They have had a great camp and they have shown the same Darrington spirit throughout the past few days and we wish their team, their school and their community the best of luck in the upcoming year."