Junior Camp entries have now closed. It is extremely unlikely that additional participants will be added to the camp as we received 98 registrations. Should a number of individuals withdraw, new places will be offered based on the order late applications are received. Applications for late entries can be made here.

Change of date
The recent move by NZQA to move back NCEA examinations has forced ONZ to move both the Junior and U23 Camp dates.  The Junior Camp will now take place between Wed 15th and Mon 20th December.

Because there is no limit on the number of participants able to attend the camp, there are two very different options on how the camp will run. These options are based on attendance numbers. For this reason, we ask parents to not book travel for the camp until numbers are confirmed.

Ninety or fewer participants
The camp will follow the format or past years if the camp has ninety or fewer participants. This will mean the camp will run between Wednesday 15th and finish and Monday 20th December. Participants will arrive on Wednesday 15th throughout the day, with the first full day of scheduled activities taking place on Thursday 16th December.

More than ninety participants
The maximum participants (excluding parents and staff) that can be accommodated at any time is ninety. If this number is exceeded, the camp will be split into two camps divided by participant school year levels. This would mean two camps of between 2 ½ and 3 days each. To make this option work, participants will all have to all be at the camp by a set time. 

Please note that if participant numbers necessitate this option, families will be responsible for any additional costs required to ensure their child is at the camp on time. Orienteering New Zealand and hosts Orienteering Wellington will not be responsible for the supervision or travel arrangements of camp participants who are in the area prior to the day they attend the camp.

Cost of the camp
The cost for the Camp has been budgeted based on ninety paying participants attending for a week. Over the last two years the camp has been catered and volunteers have not been responsible for meals – ONZ is very keen for this to be the case again this year.  Negotiations about the food component of the camp are still in progress and have taken longer than anticipated. Until such time as we can confirm this key element of the camp’s overall cost, a final cost of the camp can not be confirmed.  As an indicator, the current cost per participant currently sits at approximately $600 – something we are working extremely hard to reduce. ONZ will share final costs as soon as negotiations are concluded.

If participant numbers exceed ninety, the cost per participant is expected to decrease and parents will be advised on the reduced camp fee once numbers and food cost have been confirmed.   

Participants will be invoiced after registrations are closed and clubs substantiate applicant information.  This is scheduled to happen by 17th October.  Camp fees will need to be paid by Tue 30 November.

The overall budget for the Junior Camp is in excess of $60,000. Orienteering New Zealand contributes approximately $10,000 towards the camp. Key costs for the camp include accommodation, food, transport, a koha towards travel costs for the volunteer coaches who come from around New Zealand to help with the camp, and a contribution to the host club to help cover expenses incurred from organising and running the camp.  

Although the camp is run by a group of experienced individuals who between them have taken New Zealand teams overseas and run previous Junior Camp, they are never-the-less all volunteers who allow us to keep costs considerably lower that would otherwise be the case.

Parent Support
The Junior Camp can not take place without parent support. While ONZ works behind the scenes to ensure that the camp has great leadership and trained coaches, we do need the support of parents to ensure that we have effective supervision ratios. We are asking for expressions of interest from any parents interested in attending the camp. Because parent supervision is an essential element of safely running our camp, accommodation and food costs for parents are factored into the Camp budget.

Projected timeline
1) Registrations open – Wed 1 September

2) Registrations close – Thu 30 September

3) Applicants notified of 1 or 2 camp option – Mon 4 October

4) Clubs substantiate applicant information, acceptance of registration notified & consent/travel arrangement form sent out – by Sun 17 October

5) Participants invoiced – by Sun 17 October

6) Consent/travel forms processed and list of participants published – 31 October

7) All payments due – Tue 30 November

8) NECA exams finish – Tue 14 December

9) Junior Camp starts – Wed 15 December

REGISTER FOR JUNIOR CAMP

Please use this link to register for this year’s junior camp.