What’s new for camps in 2011?

• Conditioning – With so many student athletes, some camps are building indoor gyms and employing conditioning directors to give their campers a “leg up” when returning to fall sports. Like never before, activities like Tae Bo, gymnastics, weight training, conditioning, and yoga have become common at camps. There are even summer trips abroad for older teen athletes, combining conditioning (like altitude training), with community service and cultural immersion.
• Animal Care – Whether it is with miniature horses, bunnies or alpacas, many camps now offer animal care as a standard activity. If a child wants more of a focus, there are Junior Vet enrichment courses on college campuses. Most camps, at the very least, have a camp animal, so that kids who are homesick for their family pet can seek the comfort of the camp dog or cat.
• A Camp within a Camp – You can find specialties such as culinary arts, fencing, science, foreign language, circus arts, horseback, tennis or golf within traditional camps. If your child wants to improve his or her tennis backhand or prepare to make the school basketball team, you should know that many camps offer extra sports instruction for a fee.
• Allergies & Food Prep – With the rise in nut allergies, some camps have moved to a peanut-free environment to eliminate the risk completely. In addition, it is not uncommon for camps to offer gluten-free diet options and accomodations for kids with Celiac’s disease or kosher observance.