Each year during the summer we evaluate all of our activity areas around camp and analyze how and what we can improve on to give our campers the best summer of their life. The thing about camp is that you only have 6 weeks to live it, get all of the information that you possibly can, make the appropriate notes and then you have the other 46 weeks to take that information and make it happen. As we have grown we have never wanted to sacrifice the amount of participation in our program areas. How do you combat that? Keep building new facilities!

This is the time of year that parents all ask, “So what’s new?” It’s funny because in the months leading up to this article we like to joke around with the kids about what is going to be new this year, like it is a big secret! The reality is we get just as excited as the parents, campers and staff when we add to our camp. There is something very gratifying about creating something that is going to provide so much enjoyment for so many people for so many years. A new building and all of the equipment for a program area isn’t a trend like a pair of the new Jordan throwbacks. When you look at the old circus building (hint hint) you can imagine how many campers have been through it, how many friendships have been made, how many skills have been taught, all under that roof. It’s hard to see and feel this while camp is in session, but when I walk through all of the program areas in the off season it is impossible not to look at them in that way.

This year we have quite a few big projects that are happening that are going to dramatically impact camp. Here you go!

ROCK SHOP

The first additions that we are happy to announce are two new rock shop studios. After adding two studios in 2010 we knew that we would not be stopping there. The program is just way too popular and we want our kids to have every opportunity, rain or shine, to practice. That gives us 5 studios fully equipped and ready for campers to play in. Along with adding the studios we have purchased more equipment so that each studio has its complete set up inside. With the return of Phil and Mikey as department heads, hiring the biggest staff that rock shop has ever had, they have big plans for their activity area. Rock shop is going to have the highest level of instruction that it has ever seen at Lindenmere.

STAFF

The next addition is geared for our staff. One of the biggest mistakes that you can make is not taking care of those that take care of our campers. They are our lifeline at camp so we want to keep them as happy as we can. We are going to be building a new staff lounge for them. It is going to be fully equipped with computers, vending machines, gaming systems, flat screens, an outdoor patio and much more! We moved it to a new location to give them a bit more of a feeling of being “off” camp. A happy staff is a motivated one!

TENNIS

Last year we added new windscreens to our tennis courts. This year we thought we would add more tennis courts too! We will be adding three new courts right next to our lower set of courts. Tennis is one of our most popular sports that we have at camp so why not give our tennis players more space. This will bring our total number of courts up to 8. Since we will be adding more courts we will also be adding more staff. In the past we have had a total of 5 staff working at the courts, this year we have raised it to 7. This is going to give each court an instructor and leave one court open for games. The courts will certainly have tons of action this summer!

CIRCUS AND GYMANSTICS

Last summer we put a lot of focus on improving our circus/gymnastics program. We found out by adding a lot of new equipment that the kids loved it and the program had its biggest year ever. With the success grew the popularity and we started to see that we needed more space. So we decided that we would add a brand new circus pavilion right next to the old one. The new pavilion is about 30% bigger than the old one to provide lots of extra space. We are going to bring all of the circus equipment from the old pavilion that we purchased last year and move it into the new one. We will also be purchasing a whole bunch more to fill all of the extra space! The new building is going to have so much extra space that all of the aerial acts will be able to perform at the same time without any obstruction from the ground acts. There is going to be a ton of action in there this summer!

So you are probably asking what is going to happen with the original circus pavilion. We saw that we have a lot of campers that are really interested in gymnastics. With our previous set up gymnastics really didn’t have all the space and equipment that it needed because of the growing circus program. We are now dedicating the pavilion for gymnastics, floor routines and acrobatics. We have been working with our department head and gymnastics staff to come up with a new floor plan that is going to utilize every inch. The great part is that the two pavilions are going to be connected so campers and staff are going to be able to go freely back and forth on rainy days.

These are some of our major projects for the year. Obviously there will be a ton of smaller improvements that ultimately will add to another great summer at Lindenmere. We can’t wait!