July 16, 2010

All of FCA continues to grieve today over the accidental drowning of two FCA campers Wednesday night, July 14 in Pella, Iowa.  The two young men who died were ages 14 and 15 and both were from the Kansas City area. They were attending the annual FCA summer Multi-Sport camp being held this week at Central College in Pella, Iowa. 

At the time of this tragedy, they were offsite with 173 other young male FCA campers for an evening at a local Pella pool. It is a horrible and unimaginable tragedy that these young men would drown in a Pella city-owned facility that had at least 10 lifeguards, 20 FCA Huddle leaders and 21 staff observing the people in and around the pool as well as all the other young people there.

They were discovered at the bottom of the pool of the Pella Aquatic Center at approximately 9:50 pm CDST on Wednesday (July 14).  Lifeguards at the Aquatic Center immediately administered CPR to the boys and at the same time a 911 call was placed to the Pella Police Department. When emergency personnel arrived on the scene, they continued to try to save them.  Both of the juveniles were declared dead on arrival at the local Pella hospital.  Autopsies are being scheduled and the police investigation is ongoing.

Trained counselors were already on site and others were brought in to work closely with those young men and women at the Pella camp who desired some counseling for the duration of the planned week’s activities. 

FCA President and CEO, Les Steckel stated of this tragedy, “It’s with a heavy heart that I offer my deepest sympathies to the families of the two young men who lost their lives in a devastating drowning accident at the Fellowship of Christian Athletes camp in Pella, Iowa.  There are few words to offer that could anyway lighten their spirits or the heartbreak of their loss, but the entire FCA family wishes to extend our prayers and condolences to all those whose lives will be forever changed by this tragedy.

“FCA camp is a place where young people are encouraged and strengthened by the message of Christ. It’s an experience that since 1956 has brought memorable and positive changes in the lives of thousands of young people who have embraced the understanding of God’s love for them.  We are deeply saddened that in this environment of hope, we’ve experienced this horrific loss.”

The Pella Aquatic Center had been rented by the Central Western Iowa Des Moines Chapter of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes for last evening’s event.  The Fellowship of Christian Athletes is headquartered in Kansas City.  The organization’s National Support Center is located across from the Truman Sports Complex. 

The Pella camp is one of more than 325 being held across the nation and in several other countries by FCA this summer.  More than 50,000 student athletes and coaches are expected to attend these camps. In the FCA camps like the one at Pella, boys and girls can receive instruction from high school and college coaches in different sports such as basketball, wrestling, football, tennis, soccer and track.