UKIAH, Calif. – The Devil Pups Youth Summer Camp tryouts will take place at noon on Sunday, April 24.

The parent/applicant orientation and tryouts will be held at Ukiah Karate Studio, 3001 South State St.

Tryouts are open to boys and girls ages 14 through 17 at the time of this year’s encampment.

Wear running shoes and clothing appropriate for the physical fitness testing that will immediately follow the meeting.

Devil Pups Inc. is sponsoring its 2016 Youth Summer Camp to be held at Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Base. The youth camp will be held from July 21 to 30.

This program was first developed in 1954 and is a youth-citizenship development program where youth will learn leadership and team building skills. Attendees will meet with other youth from all over California and Nevada and learn how to live, work, and have fun with others, in a military setting. 

Under the guidance of Marines who have volunteered to chaperone the youth, boys and girls ages 14 through 17 will experience a variety of exciting activities that are designed to build self-confidence and their ability to work with others.

The local Ukiah Devil Pups Liaison Representative is David Silvers, a former U.S. Marine and instructor/owner of Ukiah Karate Studio.

Silvers said that when he was an active duty Marine he had been assigned as a Devil Pups instructor during one of the youth program’s Camp Pendleton training sessions.

He explained that the Devil Pups adventure can be a very positive influence in shaping a young person’s character.

Applicants must be healthy, non-delinquent boys or girls ages of 14 and 17 at the time they depart for the camp in July.

The tryouts will consist of a competitive physical fitness test and an interview.

At present there are a few openings for Lake and Mendocino county youth. Candidates will be ranked in order of their fitness test scores and their level of involvement in the training process. Most of the costs of food, lodging, and travel are paid for by Devil Pups Inc.

Call David Silvers at 707-463-1347 for more information on the orientation meeting as well as the encampment.