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Day camp spots in Waterloo region in high demand

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The end of the school year is fast approaching and that means it’s almost the start of summer camp season.

But finding a spot at a local day camp may be a challenge if you’re not already registered.

“It’s definitely the busiest we’ve ever been,” said Rachel Knight, director of Camp K in Waterloo.

Knight said all of the 560 summer spots, at the camp run at Laurel Creek Conservation Area, were gobbled up fast.

“We launched our registration Feb. 1, we opened at midnight,” Knight said. “I was shocked at the abundance of people who were logged in right at 12 [p.m.], we filled up in the first three days.”

Knight said some weeks have waitlists with up to 120 names.

“A lot of the camps filled up extremely quickly and now a lot of parents are wondering what they are going to do with their kids this summer,” Knight said.

CITY-RUN CAMPS

At local city-run camps, it’s more of the same.

Cambridge said spots in their day camps are 93 per cent filled.

The City of Waterloo said even with increased capacity, nearly all their spaces have been claimed.

In Kitchener, only a few openings remain, including in their ‘Schools Out’ program.

“We have some spots still available at Stanley Park Public School and Meadow Lane Public School,” said Janice Ouellette, supervisor of children and youth services for the City of Kitchener. “And we recently opened spots at the Huron Pak Eco-Discovery Camp, which is for kids ages nine to 13.”

UNIVERSITY OF WATERLOO

Similarly, University of Waterloo Athletics said they’re back to nearly pre-pandemic capacity, but sold out of almost all of their day camp spots shortly after opening registration in February.

However, there are still some spots available in sport-specific camps like hockey, basketball and volleyball, said Ari Grossman, associate director of business operations at University of Waterloo Athletics.

According to organizers, people have rediscovered the value of camp.

“[Camps] allow for the growth that happens indirectly, away from teachers and parents, and I think they see it as very appealing,” Grossman said.

Information on city-run camps can be found at the following links:

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