The Southern Zone Age Group Swimming Championships, which start today at the Triangle Aquatic Center in Cary, are just one of the many recreational sports events you'll find listed below in the expanded version of the Play! recreational sports calendar.

A week into July already! How summer flies.

The season's summer sports camps are flying by, too, but a few spots remain in camps offered by colleges, professional teams, pro athletes, high schools, grade schools, churches, parks and recreation departments, nonprofit organizations and for-profit enterprises around the area.

The camps cover a variety of sports, including baseball, basketball, football, golf, hockey, jump rope, sailing, soccer, softball, tennis, volleyball and wrestling. Multi-sport camps give participants a chance to try a variety of sports without having to pay for several camps.

The Bouncing Bulldogs have done it again.

The internationally known rope-skipping team from the Triangle is
heading back to the USA Jump Rope National Championships to try to win
their seventh consecutive national championship.

Forty Bulldogs in 15 events qualified for nationals during a USA Jump
Rope Region 2 qualifying tournament against other teams from the
Carolinas on Saturday at Green Hope High School in Cary.

Summer is winding down and the start of the traditional school year is
approaching, so recreational athletes around the Triangle are taking
advantage of their final summer sports camp opportunities.

Among the camps are the annual Bouncing Bulldogs Jump Rope Camps
conducted by the Chapel Hill-based organization that has won numerous
national and international championships. The Bulldogs recently
returned from a 17-day tour of England, Denmark and Sweden.

The quick-footed Bulldogs' final camps of the summer run Aug. 10-14 and
Aug. 17-21. Would-be rope-skippers can participate for a day ($40) or
for a full week ($200). Call 919-493-7992 or go to
www.bouncingbulldogs.org.