Bradford just added more opportunities for residents to become happy campers.
On Monday, June 12, the town announced an additional 550 spots opened in their summer camps, for a total of 1,700 spots.
“Our Leisure Centre staff have been working very hard to ensure we have a summer staff complement that can serve the needs of our local residents,” Victoria Simoes, community relations officer for the town, said via email.
Despite those efforts, BradfordToday reported in March that parents experienced frustration after they were unable to enrol their children in the camps.
The town acknowledged there was more demand than they could accommodate and that there was an incident in which some spots were booked prematurely. At the time, the town said it apologized to residents who were impacted.
When registration first opened, there were about 1,200 people on a waiting list, but the town confirmed that number is now sitting at fewer than 500.
“We are conscious of the challenges that municipal leisure services have experienced and continue to experience when it comes to recruiting qualified staff. Although we have shared in these challenges, our summer camp programming has actually increased in comparison to last year,” Simoes said.
That increase was accomplished in part through hiring extra staff to oversee more campers, and the town said recreation staff began recruiting camp counsellors in fall of 2022 to give them a head start on the 2023 season.
As of Tuesday morning there were still some spots available in some summer camp programs.
The town offers eight different summer camps, with two at the Lions Park, three at the BWG Leisure Centre and three at the Bradford and District Community Centre.
In other programming, the town is still struggling to meet the growing demands of residents.
“Like many other municipalities, aquatics and swimming lessons has been a challenge for us to find qualified instructors,” Simoes said.
However, the town said they are close to having as many instructors as last season, and hope to delivering enough spots for the summer programs.
According to the town, there are usually about 1,500 swim-lesson spots available for the summer, but it varies depending on demand and fluctuating availability.
“We are targeting to match or better the usage figures from summer 2022,” Simoes said.
Registration for summer aquatics programs begins this week.
To register for town programs, visit their website anc.ca.apm.activecommunities.com/townofbwg
With files from Kristen Brownell
