Camp Administration 101: Managing Risk
Anyone running a camp must consider the exposure to risk and ensure that any space the camp occupies is safe. This is especially true for activities like ropes courses, archery, canoeing, swimming, and adventure programming.
Technologically Savvy Risk Management
Traditionally, camps have provided a refuge from technology—a place where campers can unplug and enjoy the outdoors. In today’s world, however, some camps use technology as part of their programming
Contract Clarification
As the soggy ground turns to green grass once again, it’s natural to get excited about the start of a new camp season. Campers will soon be climbing ropes courses, perfecting their archery skills,
For The Record
How wonderful would it be for a summer camp program if there were few stormy days, no serious injuries and no severe equipment or facility breakdowns? How about counselors who
Safe Sailing
Sailing-related injuries at camp—and in junior sailing in general—are rare; however, when accidents do occur, the results can be serious and even deadly. Too often, camps invest heavily in lifeguard training for sailing staff members, but neglect the type of training needed to prepare instructors to operate powerboats in close quarters to kids in sailboats.
Cover All The Bases
For many children, one of the joys of going away to camp or attending a specialty sports camp is the opportunity to participate in games with peers. These physical activities, which are often the essence of a camp curriculum, bring with them potential liabilities for the camp owner or operator in the form of personal-injury lawsuits.
Managing Risk
Managing risk—these are perhaps two of the most dreaded words in a camp director’s dictionary, rivaled only by the nickname, “Fun-Sucker.” From the onset, the very phrase seems
Caring For The Canopy
Trees—they’re everywhere! And that’s good thing! Unfortunately, just as water, snow, mud, critters, and plants provide both benefits and threats, trees pose the same to camps and their patrons.
Rules To Blob By
We camp people are a strange lot. We involve ourselves in discussions using terms such as blob, blobbing, blobber, blobbee, and then expect people to take us seriously.
Smooth Sailing At The Beach
It's another spectacular New Hampshire afternoon at Camp Birchmont as I sit alongside Lake Wentworth, enjoying a moment of quiet.
Summer Staff Medical Claims
While the country wrestles over health-care reform and the Affordable Care Act, camps around the country are beginning to feel the front-line impact of the “not-so-well-known” reforms that have already taken place.
Operation CleanSweep
Visit any camp website and you’ll see evidence of the fun and excitement that children experience all summer long. There is no greater joy as a parent than to see pictures of a child hanging out with camp friends, skiing behind a boat, or climbing a rock wall.
Red Alert!
Lost campers. Tornadoes. Vehicle crashes. Boating accidents. Food poisoning. Wildfires. These are emergencies that summer camps anywhere in the country may have to contend with. Your camp likely has
The Cement Pond
I recently watched one of the early episodes of the Beverly Hillbillies, where Jethro schemes to put an alligator in the cement pond to scare away all of Ellie Mae’s “critters.”
Up In Smoke!
Camp fire—two words that initiate almost a physiological response that causes mouths to water, faces to smile, ears to listen, and palms to sweat while dreaming of s’mores, smoke, singing, and laughter.
Untangling The Knot
Ask any camp owner to name the biggest headaches in camp management, and workers’ compensation (“work comp”) will undoubtedly be in the top 10. Under the category of items
When to Say When
Safety can be a boring word. "Bundle up now. It's cold outside," or, "Be careful. We don't want you to have too much fun."
PRM -- Prevention, Recognition and Management
Since water and pool safety is such a huge issue for camps that provide aquatic recreation for their campers it's important to understand that the primary responsibilities of management and lifeguards are:
Eye On The Storm
Like miniature hurricanes, thunderstorms swirl and broil their way across the landscape, often leaving a path of destruction in their wake. At their worst, they spawn tornadoes and flooding.
Off-Season Risk Management
No one would argue that every camp doesn't need to have an inclusive insurance policy to guard against all kinds of catastrophe. This is a given.