Father/Child Weekend

Lodging is FULL, day only option is available. Please fill out the registration form and return it with payment to info@ycamp.org.

Father/Child weekend at YMCA of the Pines is officially on, and as expected due to the circumstances, it will look a little different.

Dates & Check-In

Father/Child Weekend is September 19-20, 2020. To allow our property to be thoroughly cleaned and prepared, participants will check-in on Saturday morning rather than the typical Friday evening. Check-in will be from 9 – 11:30 AM Saturday. Meals will be served from Saturday lunch through Sunday lunch.

Families will be required to check-in outside of the Ockanickon Dining Hall and submit to a brief health screening upon arrival. During the health screening, a staff member will conduct a temperature check of all participants, and ask health questions related to out-of-state travel, exposure to folks with COVID-19, and whether anyone in the household is displaying symptoms consistent with COVID-19. After the initial screening, participants will be screened at breakfast on Sunday as well.  Participants shall also self-monitor for the duration of the weekend, report any symptoms and/or fever, and vacate the property immediately should symptoms develop.

Unfortunately, due to COVID-19 mitigation efforts, we are unable to welcome families traveling to or from states on New Jersey’s Travel Advisory List. Please check the list prior to registering. We know that this will impact many of our families who attend these weekends – and we sincerely hope that we are able to welcome you back in 2021.

Accommodations

In an effort to maintain social distancing guidelines, we will only be using approximately half of our rustic cabins on the Ockanickon side of camp. One family may be assigned per cabin. Three cabins in each village will be used, and families will be assigned a specific bathroom/shower house that will be used by a limited number of families.

Lodges will not be offered due to our child care program running on the property.

Meals

Much like we are doing with summer camp, meals will be served family style outdoors at and around the Ockanickon Dining Hall. Tables will be sanitized between meals, consistent with our summer camp cleaning and operating procedures.

Saturday lunch, dinner, and evening s’mores will be provided. On Sunday, we will serve breakfast and lunch.

Program

A number of self-guided programs will be offered to allow families to access our beautiful property while having the opportunity to bond and spend some quality time together. Families will have access to our hiking trails, disc golf course ‘Ocky Acres’, fishing, outdoor basketball courts, field sports, and gaga pits. Note, due to stringent cleaning requirements, families should bring their own athletic and/or fishing gear for self-guided activities (basketball, football, soccer ball, baseball equipment, fishing poles, etc…). YMCA of the Pines will provide equipment for all activities our staff are leading.

Further, we will operate select programming daily with families being given the opportunity to schedule times to participate in offerings such as archery, hatchet throwing, arts and crafts, the climbing wall, the swamp challenge, and more! Finally, we will offer open boating several times during the weekend as well.

Note, the YMCA-run program activities other than the “open” periods must be scheduled in advance, and are limited to a single family group at a time to allow for proper cleaning and sanitizing of program materials and seating areas between groups.

Many activities will require washing hands and using hand sanitizer before and after to lessen the risk of spreading COVID-19.  We will provide soap and hand sanitizer at many strategic locations around the property.  If you prefer to use your own brand of soap or hand sanitizer, please plan to bring it with you.  The CDC recommends that hand sanitizer contain at least 60 percent alcohol to be effective.

COVID Talk & Financial Policies

As we have communicated with our summer camp families, we cannot stop COVID-19 from coming to YMCA of the Pines. Rather, we can merely implement protocols in an effort to mitigate against the spread of the virus if a carrier does come to YMCA of the Pines with it.

With that said, during these uncertain times in which things change frequently, you may register with confidence knowing that YMCA of the Pines will grant a full refund in the event you have to cancel your registration due to a confirmed or possible COVID-19 exposure, or if you or anyone in your family is exhibiting symptoms of COVID-19 (fever, coughing, shortness of breath, body aches, chills, sore throat, etc…).

Should I Plan to Wear a Mask?

Please note that participants will be required to wear a mask when social distancing is not possible. Please bring a fitted mask (not a bandana) for each person in your family. All activities will be conducted outside such that social distancing will be possible for much of the weekend. However, when groups are interacting around the dining hall at mealtimes, during check-in, or passing by one-another on a nature hike, masks shall be donned for the safety of all participants and staff.

Registration

Registration is open at www.ycamp.org (click ‘Register’ on the top right, and then select the “Year Round Camp and Family Programs” for Father/Child Weekend and Mother/Child Weekend). Due to the limited capacity, registrations will be accept on a first-come, first-served basis, so get your registration in soon!  Further, due to limited cabin availability, specific cabin requests will be difficult to accommodate, but we will try our best.