In The News - What The Press Has To Say About Summer Camps & Trip Resources

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Canoe Find a Summer Camp?
By Anna Mulrine
U.S. News & World Report

Hello Mudduh, hello Fadduh, how come you didn't get me in Camp Grenada? That's the question procrastinating parents fear as they try to find a summer camp for their kids at what seems to be the last minute.

Don't despair. "It's not too late," says Peg Smith, executive director of the American Camping Association. Even though she predicts a 10 percent bump in camp attendance from last year's 9 million, she says "there are still tons of camps out there."

"No vacancy" signs aren't the final word. "A lot of camps lie about how full they are to appear more competitive," says Peter Kerns, director of Camp Waziyatah in Waterford, Maine, where the Disney Channel filmed Bug Juice. "Go to the camp director to make sure," he says. "That way you avoid locker-room-type jockeying."

Other camp myths are ripe for debunking. First and foremost: Money needn't be an obstacle, even though many private camps now charge over $5,000 for eight weeks and specialty day camps can run $450 for two weeks. "Most parents don't realize that 65 percent of camps offer some financial assistance, and you don't have to be destitute to qualify," says Judy Levine, a camp consultant who runs Summer Camp & Trip Resources® (800-362-2267). Consultants, who help families choose camps and find aid, are free if they're reputable, earning commissions from the camps they represent.

Send money. Parents don't ask about aid nearly enough, agrees Rob Grabill, director of Camp Pemigewassett in Wentworth, N.H. "When they do, we have them write a letter--we hear everything from 'My ex is a jerk and the sucker's lawyer has our assets tied up' to 'My wife and I are starving educators.' We usually come up with something for them." Although many camps require financial statements, even middle-class families can get a 10 or 20 percent break. "Camp costs are never set in stone," says Levine. Neither are aid deadlines. "We reserve funds until the program starts for last-minute arrivals," says Matt DeMoss, a staffer at Camp Tecumseh, a YMCA camp in Brookston, Ind.

Other camps run an informal barter system. Last summer, Dora DeLeon of Framingham, Mass., paid $300 toward an overnight camp for her daughter Caroline, 13. A "campership" covered the rest of the $2,000 fee. In turn, Caroline used her Spanish skills to translate for Spanish and Mexican campers. "One girl--she'd eat bugs," recalls Caroline, who will attend Camp Quinebarge again this year. "They needed someone to tell her not to."

The savvy camp shopper also asks pointed questions. A high retention rate is good--but at sleepover camps, an 80 percent figure may make it tough for new kids to fit in. Sixty percent would be better, some camp directors say. The ACA likes 80 percent of counselors to be age 18 or over (maturity counts for something, although it doesn't guarantee good counselor skills) and recommends roughly a 1-to-10 counselor-camper ratio.

Let's see. Camps have space and aid money--is there anything else to worry about? Oh yes, what kind of camp is best? The ACA has a directory (800-428-2267, www.acacamps.org), but the array is overwhelming. Specialty programs range from a Claymation camp at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry, which hosts 4,000 kids from 20 states each year (503-797-4662, www.omsi.edu) to a roller-coaster-design day camp, offered nationally through Science Adventures (800-472-4362). To compete, three quarters of the 2,200 traditional camps are adding exotic fare this year, like rocketry and glass blowing.

But don't be too obsessed about matching child and skills. "Kids use camp to reinvent themselves," says Bruce Muchnick, a self-described "camp psychologist" in Glenside, Pa. Who knows? Maybe a computer jock would prefer a volleyball net to the Internet--at least for four weeks.