We remember a time when camp registration was not panic-filled nor a race where the folks with fastest internet won. We heard from many of you how hard opening day was the last two years (and we felt it too!), so we are making changes. We are so grateful our camps have grown in popularity and we are still committed to serving our community as best we can. So, we are moving to a registration lottery. We hope this helps ease the urgency, and makes it so campers who have come for years still have a chance to attend along-side first-timers.
How will it work?
We will continue to use CampDoc as our registration software and it will look similar as it has in the past. What’s new is that families will apply to the camps in which they are interested and answer a few questions within the application window. We will then run the lottery for each camp. Campers will be selected for no more than 2 camps from the lottery, so we suggest you only apply for your preferred weeks of camp. We will do our best to take siblings into consideration, but we cannot guarantee that siblings will get into the same camp or week (which was true of our old system as well).
Important dates and deadlines
-
You will have between February 15 and March 3 to apply for camps. You can apply any time during this window. You will apply for each camp in which you are interested, for each camper.
-
You can apply for scholarship funding at the same time you apply for camp.
-
Families will be notified of their acceptance into camp on March 8 and will have until March 21st at 11:59pm to secure their camp spot by paying either the deposit (30% tuition) or paying in full.
-
Unclaimed spaces go to campers on the waitlist starting March 22nd.
-
Camp balances must be paid down by April 21st or families forfeit their spot and deposit. If you need more time to pay, please call our office to set up a payment plan. Unpaid camps go to campers on the waitlist.
-
Your application will serve as our waitlist. If you missed the lottery application window, you can still apply to be considered for each camp’s waitlist. With this new system we will not be able to tell you where you are on the waitlist. We will continue to contact families who applied in the event of any camp openings due to cancellations throughout the summer.
-
There are 2 Ecology Day Camps that are exempt from the lottery and will be filled first-come, first-served: Stewards in Training (ages 13-16) and Twilight Adventures- an evening camp from 4pm-9pm (ages 8-12). These camps will open for enrollment on February 15th.
What about February and April Vacation Camps?
They are registration as usual through Camp-Doc! Sign-up for one day or the whole week. Learn more and register here: https://vt.audubon.org/programs/vacation-day-camps
Where can I find more information?
Our Summer Camp Pages are the best place for information. You can view Preschool Nature Camps, Ecology Day Camps, and our FAQ page is being updated with our updated cancellation policy and new questions that are popping up as we all learn this new process.
We appreciate your patience with this new process. We are grateful to other local camps for sharing their wisdom with us! If you have any questions, give our office a call at 802-434-3068.
