Another Successful Season for the Scardale Recreation Department Day Camps

Now that the season has wrapped up, we asked the new Supervisor for Scarsdale Parks, Recreation and Conservation Brian Gray a few questions about how the summer camp program went this year.

How many children did the program serve this summer – and what is their age range?

Overall the camp season was a great success with a total of 857 campers enrolled in the program on our busiest weeks. Children range from entering K in the fall to entering 8th in the fall.

How many people did the program employ?

180 for Day Camps, 11 for Sports Camp, 5 for Teen Travel

What is the largest/most popular camp? And why?

Tough to tell why certain camps have higher enrollment then others, however, here is the breakdown of campers per camp:

Sagamore (K) 141
Lenape (1st grade) 145
Wapetuck (2nd grade) 166
Patthunke (3rd – 8th grade) 220
Sports Camp (1st – 8th) 69
Soccer Camp (1st – 8th) 36
Travel Camp (6th – 8th) 2 sessions of 40

What special programs did you offer this summer?

Our elective program at Camp Patthunke was a big hit this summer offering activities such as horseback riding, fashion design and robotics.

How did the teen travel camp go? Any interesting trips to note?

We filled 2 sessions of 40 children each session. Most popular trips are always the amusement parks such as Great Adventure, Lake Compounce and Mountain Creek however we also send the campers to activities such as: deep sea fishing, indoor rock climbing, whitewater rafting and major league baseball games.

What were some of the highlights of this summer?

A very successful Family Carnival held at the Scarsdale Middle School

What were some of the biggest successes? .... Anything you will repeat next summer – or not?

Overall I fell the camp is a success for all age groups. We will continue with our traditional offerings such as performing arts, arts and crafts, sports, and our swimming program. In the off season, camp staff will brainstorm additional offerings for our elective program at Camp Patthunke as well as new ideas for trips.

When does the recreation department begin work on next year's program? Is it a year-round effort?

Unfortunately there is not much down time for a camp of our size and program offerings. Over the next few months we will be wrapping up this season and as early as December we begin reaching out to our returning staff and begin to book trips, order supplies, etc.