Almost everything that happens at camp is fun, but there is one really boring thing we do at Camp Champions.

It involves binders of documentation, checklists upon checklists, and includes details like the specific way dishes are dried after being washed (which is important!).

I’m talking about…drumroll please…ACA Accreditation.

Will now pause for scattered applause.

ACA stands for American Camp Association, the governing body overseeing more than 2000 camps nationwide. And they create those 200+ standards which cover everything from from how we train our staff to how we store our archery equipment to how we handle healthcare.

Every year, we submit documentation. Every five years, we welcome visitors who inspect every corner of our camp to make sure we’re meeting each standard.

Are we legally required to do this? Nope.

Do we do it anyway? Absolutely.

The “why” is pretty simple. We believe that if you’re trusting us with your child, the bar should be higher than “good enough.”

What You Really Want to Know

When you’re deciding to send your child away to camp (especially a sleepaway camp for multiple weeks), there’s a mental checklist running in the back of your mind:

• Will they be safe?
• Are the counselors well-trained?
• What happens if there’s an emergency?
• How do they handle food allergies?
• What about water safety?

This list is considerably longer and we could be here for hours asking more questions (which is fine by the way, I love answering them all!). Or you can look for a camp that voluntarily holds itself to the highest national standards in the industry.

In a nutshell, that’s what ACA Accreditation is: a pre-checked list of everything you want to know is happening, but don’t want to have to ask about.

And it even includes a number of answers you’d have never thought of anyway, like the required size of an archery range or the number of hours of professional development our full time team should receive each year.

These Standards Matter

But even if some of these standards aren’t the first ones you’d think of, they all matter.

For example:

• Specific lifeguard-to-swimmer ratios at the waterfront
• Safety protocols for activities like archery and the climbing wall
• Healthcare procedures for medication administration
• Emergency response plans for severe weather
• Staff background checks and training requirements

These aren’t suggestions – they’re requirements that we must meet to maintain our accreditation. They’re the foundation of a safe camp experience, and they’re non-negotiable.

And then there are the standards that make us smile (while we still follow them to the letter):

Do we have to verify that we house animals and humans in separate quarters? Yes.

Do we itemize our specific orientation procedures for each activity area? Absolutely.

Do we document that our kitchen does, in fact, use soap while washing dishes? You bet.

Even if they seem obvious, documenting these standards creates an environment where nothing is at all left to chance.

Not Every Camp Does This

A fun stat: There are about 2,000 accredited camps in ACA, compared with 20,000 camps nationwide. Notice the difference? ACA Accreditation is completely voluntary. Not every camp goes through this process.

Some excellent camps choose not to. They’ve been around for decades and have their own ways of doing things. Others simply don’t want the administrative burden.

We don’t jump through these hoops because we have to. We do it because it’s worth it.

It’s worth the paperwork. It’s worth the inspections. It’s worth the occasional eye-roll when confirming that we don’t let the petting zoo goats sleep in the cabin with your campers (even if the campers ask!).

This isn’t about checking boxes. It’s about earning your trust when you make one of the hardest decisions a parent can make: sending your child away from home.

How This Makes Us Better

There’s another benefit to ACA Accreditation that might surprise you: it helps us grow as a camp.

The ACA visitors who inspect our camp are usually directors from other camps. They bring fresh eyes and new perspectives to share with us.

The standards are also updated regularly, so these updates and outside perspectives spark innovation. They help us question our assumptions. They push us to be better.

Camps are unique in that we rarely get to see how others operate. After all, we’re all running at the same time each summer. The accreditation process creates a rare opportunity for cross-pollination of ideas.

Camp is about helping the campers grow, but this process helps us grow as well.

Why This Matters to You

When you drop your child off at the bus, there’s a moment, that goodbye hug, where you’re placing an enormous amount of trust in us.

Standing there, you won’t be thinking about ACA standards or inspection reports. It’s only about your child’s smile, their nervousness, their excitement. And that’s exactly as it should be.

We do all the boring stuff so you don’t have to think about it. We worry about the details so you can focus on the magic of giving your child the gift of independence.

We’ve jumped through all the hoops so you and your child don’t have to worry about a thing.

That’s what those three boring letters ACA really mean. Not just accreditation, but peace of mind.

Happy Friday,

Erec Sir