With a variety of public and private summer camp offerings available throughout the country, clubs are tasked with building an engaging program that stands out.
In a 2013 survey conducted by the American Camp Association, 54% of camp directors said they had added a new activity or program in the past two years, with “adventure programs” taking the top spot. With more than 12,000 camps in America, ranging from highly specialized programming to traditional “marshmallows by the campfire” approaches, kids and their parents have more than enough options to while away the dog days of summer.
Clubs that offer summer-camp programs, often supplementing year-round youth programs, are facing steep competition. But they can have success by creating experiences that are unique to the club’s own recreational facilities while also using available resources to explore the world beyond their gates.
Mixing It UpIn the American Camp Association’s 2013 Emerging Issues survey, 54% of directors reported that they had added a new activity or program in the past two years. The top three areas of expansion were adventure programs (challenge courses, zip lines, backpacking, mountain biking, etc.), at 22%, family camps (19%), and new nature programs (17%). Other increases were seen in gardening (15%), cooking using garden foods produced through the camp (14%), wellness/fitness (12%) and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) programs (12%).Nearly half of the camps that were surveyed reported having community service or good-deed programs incorporated into their curriculums. The top projects conducted at camps in these areas included:• Community clean-ups• Food drives• Recycling programs• Volunteering with senior citizens and hospital patientsSource: American Camp Association |
It Takes Two
Ansley Golf Club includes two campuses. Most members live near the primary facility in downtown Atlanta, called Midtown, which is located on 96 acres and features nine holes of golf, as well as tennis, pool and fitness amenities. That space is landlocked, however, and expanding golf beyond the existing course and practice facility proved to be a challenge.
So in 1999, Ansley bought a golf club in Roswell, Ga., about 28 miles north of the main campus, and named it Settindown. After investing $350,000 into a practice facility to complement the property’s 18 holes of golf, the club shifted its focus a year later to its youth program.
“We’ve always been the youth-centered club in the city,” says General Manager David Sheppard, CCM, noting that the club has 1,500 member families, with 900 kids ages 13 and under. “We expanded on our youth program and have offered summer and year-round camps, which has worked out well for us—the summer camps usually sell out and have a waiting list.”
Ansley utilizes both campuses for its youth offerings, using a dedicated shuttle that takes kids back and forth between the two properties, and also to other spots in the area for field trips. This year, the club will let the kids loose on its state-of-the-art Settindown practice facility, which Sheppard predicts they “will love, because they’re tech-savvy.”
Ansley’s preschool camp takes up to 24 kids ages 3 to 5 and is offered every day during the summer, with a focus on games and tennis. The sports camps, which consist of two groups, one for ages 6 and 7 and the other for ages 8 and up, take up to 20 kids each. The cutoff age, Sheppard notes, is typically around 12 years old, when kids are considered independent and allowed to do things on their own at the club.
The five-hour day for these camps includes an hour each of tennis, golf, swimming, and arts and crafts, with lunch held in the youth space called the Shark’s Den. “Each hour is very structured, so they’re learning technique and strategy, but swimming is free time,” Sheppard explains. “And arts and crafts help them wind down toward the end of the day.”
In fact, Sheppard notes, all of Ansley’s summer camps have become more structured over time, due in part to the involvement of tennis and golf pros like member Jane Park, LPGA. The younger kids have two chaperones and 14-year-olds whe assist the pros in teaching the children and moving them from station to station, while two pros accompany each 10-kid group in the sports camps.
Getting Up to CodeEnsuring that your club meets the standards of organizations like the American Camp Association can help give parents peace of mind about all aspects of your summer camp program—from the facilities and foodservice offered to transportation and safety. Demonstrating adherence to these standards can also have a positive impact on a club’s insurance costs. Follow these standards to keep your summer camp, and staff, up to code:Health
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The club’s campers have also benefited from advances in kid-specific sporting equipment, Sheppard says.
“The way youth tennis and golf equipment performs is much better than it was 10 years ago,” Sheppard says. “Now junior golf has shorter-length clubs that are properly fitted, so you don’t have to saw off adult clubs any more. Along with junior tees, [these help provide] more motivation for kids, because they’re making progress.”
With its junior tennis program growing from 30 players to 130 in the past six years, Ansley GC is planning to add two junior tennis courts (younger kids currently play half-court tennis, Sheppard says). The club’s swim team includes about 300 kids between 5 and 14 years old, and the popularity of that program drives the scheduling of other camps.
“In June, everyone is still in town because of the swim team, so the camps are done in concert [with the team’s schedule], to not conflict with other events,” Sheppard explains. “After swim team ends in early July, pretty much everybody takes their two-week vacation, but we still offer some camps then for the families that stay around.”
Over two-day events in June and July, the club offers the Futures Golf League at Settindown, held from 10:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m., where juniors get a swing analysis at the learning center and are given a personalized CD so they can watch and use the video as a practice aid. Two pros take them to the driving range, and the kids play either nine or 18 holes of golf in a four-junior scramble format, with parents acting as caddies and chaperones.
“In my opinion, the only way to entice people to pay the [club’s] initiation fee is to have something for everyone,” Sheppard says. “You have to have kids involved throughout the year, so they’re getting value from the club as well.” That philosophy, he adds, has been extended through events like field trips for a sleepover at the aquarium, and a ski trip to the mountains for a long weekend, to help keep kids engaged year-round.
While Ansley actively markets its programs to its membership, Sheppard says most parents are already seeking out the camps and activities, wanting their kids to be involved. The only real “challenge” Ansley’s youth programs consistently face, he reports, is keeping up with demand.
“We can’t always accommodate everyone we want,” he says. “We sell out on a lot of events, but that’s kind of what you want—the demand is why people are coming, and it’s building camaraderie around the children.”
Camp For All
Hunter’s Green Country Club in Tampa, Fla., a ClubCorp property, offers an activities camp, tennis camp and golf camp during the summer, and is now offering a combination camp, so kids can pick and choose among all three. “They can do activities or tennis in the morning, and golf in the afternoon,” says Matthew Hilts, Director of Youth Programs.
The club’s diverse offering appeals not only to member families but the public as well; non-member families, Hilts estimates, account for about 20% of camp attendees. Most families in the growing Tampa area send their kids to camp, Hilts says, and the club works to differentiate itself from other options.
“We are always offering new programs and activities,” he says. “Field trips are a big draw—other places aren’t doing that.” Hunter’s Green has also taken advantage of some of its members’ connections with the region’s professional sports teams by hosting trips to a Tampa Bay Rays baseball game, and a tour of the Tampa Bay Lightning hockey facility, where kids got to go out on the ice and check out the locker rooms. A similar activity with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers football organization is likely on the horizon as well, Hilts says.
A million-dollar renovation that will include a putt-putt course, waterslide and splash pad and is set to be complete by Memorial Day will add to the club’s appeal, Hilts notes; activities that make use of the expanded aquatic facilities are then also likely to be incorporated into the club’s camps.
For kids not yet immersed in games, the activities camp at Hunter’s Green offers introductions into a variety of sports, including soccer, basketball, street hockey and archery. A new activity is introduced each week, so kids can come back for each of the eight weeks and experience something new.
“We get about 40 kids a week, and some stay every week while others come and go,” Hilts reports. “The numbers are doubling every year in each of the camps.”
Camps at Hunter’s Green begin June 13 and last through August 9, right up until school starts. Then the after-school program begins, so “there’s always something going on,” Hilts says.
The club does not have a cap on its activities camp and can accommodate up to 90 participants each day, maintaining a ratio of one counselor for every eight kids. A youth building offers a Wii (kids can use technology between 7-8 a.m.), foosball, air hockey, table tennis and books, with a soccer field-sized recreational area nearby, plus basketball and racquetball courts (about 90% of the activities take place outside, Hilts notes). The club also has its own 14-passenger bus to transport campers for field trips.
To keep parents happy, Hunter’s Green offers discounts if multiple kids are signed up from one family, or if kids come multiple weeks in a row. The club reaches out to the community through schools, newspaper notices, and flyers to members. “Our biggest marketing is through families,” Hilts says. “They spread the word, so we get a lot of referrals.”
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