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Summer camps 2023

06 April 2021
Summer camps 2023

Summer camps 2022 | Types of camps in the Netherlands, and the impact of the coronavirus. 

It goes without saying that last year was an extraordinary year, for summer camp organisations as well. For a long time there was no certainty if camps could be organised at all, but fortunately things worked out and a record number of children went on summer camp in the Netherlands. How the pandemic will impact the summer camps of 2022 in the Netherlands will be described further on in this blog.

What types of summer camps are organised in the Netherlands?

There are various kinds of summer camps in the Netherlands. But what are the main themes of these camps? Check an overview below, with descriptions of some of the camps.

Summer camps 2021

Adventurous summer camps in 2022

Adventure camps are the most common in the Netherlands. These camps usually focus on real outdoor activities, and children and youths can be active for a whole week. These camps tend to be centred around a certain theme, such as the Bushcraft Camp. Check a few examples of these adventurous camps below, you can click on the ones that are organised by Summer Camps Holland.

Adventurous camps for children and adoslecents from the Netherlands are also organised abroad. Such as climbing camps and adventure camps in the Ardennes in Belgium.

 

Sports Camps in the Netherlands

Aside from adventurous camps, sports camps are also very popular in the Netherlands. A common formula is that adventure activities and sports activities are combined in one camp. A good example is the Outdoor & Bike Camp. As far as the sports element goes: sports camps are often organised with the supervision of professional top trainers in the relevant area of sports. A week is not a long time, so if you want to learn Freerunning within a week you will need a good trainer. Of course, this goes for every sport.

A few examples of sports camps in the Netherlands are:

Water sports camps in 2022

Water sports also partly fall into the sports camp category. Since these camps are so popular in the Netherlands, they deserve to be mentioned separately. Just like with the sports camps, the water sports activities are supervised by professionals. These camps are made for children and adolescents at all levels. After the first lesson, the level of the individual attendees will become clear. The lessons will be adjusted to their level, and the attendees will be divided into groups of the same level. A few examples of these water sports camps are:

Water sports camps are often combined with adventure or sports. There are Hockey and Water Sports Camps, Sailing and Surfing Camps, and Watersports and Adventure Camps, for example.  

Summer camps focused on animals

A lot of children like animals. Some like horses, others like everything on 4 legs, with long whiskers or with scales. There are various camps for children who love animals. Some camps are focused on horse riding, others on animals in general. The camps rarely offer animal activities only, they are often combined with fun outdoor activities. A few examples of animal camps are:

International Camps

In the Netherlands, various international camps are organised as well. These camps all have another purpose or another focus.

  1. These camps focus on teaching English to Dutch children. These camps are generally referred to as Language Camps. There are English lessons at these camps every day. In between these lessons there are fun activities with other attendees. The goal of this camp is that, by the end, the attendees will have gone up at least one level in speaking and understanding English.
  2. International general. There are also international camps where children from different cultures are brought together, where they can experience many fun activities. In the Netherlands, there are a lot of children with parents who speak a different language. These children often speak good English, but hardly any Dutch. In that case it can be a hurdle to go to a Dutch camp, with the risk that there will be no other English-speaking children. An international camp is perfect for these children.

We’ve also noticed that a lot of Dutch children sign up for an International Camp. They like discovering other culture and speaking English for a week.

Game camps during the summer holidays

Game camps (or computer camps) have been gaining popularity in the Netherlands over the past few years. These camps also have two different “types”.

  1. Tech/robot camps. These camps are centred around technology, rather than gaming itself. Children will learn programming, 3D printing, flying a drone, and they will learn about artificial intelligence. This last part is the base for Robot Camps, where attendees learn to make their own mini robot during the camp week!
  2. Gaming camps. These camps are centred around gaming itself. During the summer week, children will play many games on the Computer, X-box, PS4 or the Wii. These camps usually also offer fun outdoor activities, so that the week is more than just “screen time”.

Other types of summer camps

The most common camps are described above, but there are even more camps being organised in the Netherlands in 2021. Seeing as these camps are not as common, they don’t have separate descriptions. Other camps are:

Summer camps of 2022 and the Coronavirus | Expectations and scenarios

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As described in the introduction, it was uncertain for a long time whether or not the summer camps could go ahead. Organisations were busy with writing and continuously adjusting protocols to get approval. In the end, the decline in infections made it possible to organise the camps in 2020 without too many adjustments. Information on this is available on the website of the Rijksoverheid.

How were the summer camps organised in 2020?

Last year, summer camps could be organised for children under the age of 18, without attendees having to keep 1,5 metres distance from each other. Camp leaders did have to maintain this distance from the children. For this reason, a few camps where physical contact was absolutely necessary were cancelled. During a Freerunning camp, for example, trainers have to catch the children during training. But aside from these exceptions, the rest of the camps in the Netherlands could go ahead, and what’s more, they were able to go ahead without the “real camp experience” being reduced. As would have been the case if we had been required to organise “1.5 metres camps”. 

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Expectations summer camps and coronavirus 2021?

Of course, no one really knows that the situation will be this summer. But considering the government’s stance regarding children and youths, and the resulting relaxed measures (so far), we expect that the summer camps in 2021 can be organised without restrictions. However, it seems very likely that camp leaders will still have to keep a distance from each other and from the children. That advantage is that organisation still have the protocols that they wrote for last year’s summer camps. So if restrictions are necessary, they will be able to switch gears with the safety regions quickly, so that the camps can still go ahead.

Financial consequences when summer camps are cancelled?

If the RIVM decides that summer camps will have to be cancelled, summer camp organisations will have to give their customers vouchers, or refund the money they paid. Every organization would decide on their own preferred course of action. A lot of summer camp organisations are affiliated with security funds, that will refund the prepaid travel money in case of financial insolvency. Summer Camps Holland is affiliated with VZR-Garant.

Why book a summer camp in 2022?

In this article, we describe 7 reasons why a summer camp is an unforgettable experience for every child! Children will be active in nature, access to their smartphones will be limited, they will make new friends, they will learn to be independent, and they will experience unexpected things. Interested in a summer camp? See all summer camps from Summer Camps Holland for 2021 here.   

 

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