Visit as a customer and as a camp leader
A field may look great in a photo. Visit at the time of day you plan to use it.
Walk from the parking or transit stop to the entrance. Find the toilets, water, shade, exits, and emergency vehicle access.
Check where participants will wait before staff accept them. Check where an upset child or injured adult can rest with suitable supervision.
Look for roads, open water, public paths, hidden corners, and other groups sharing the site.
Get permission for your exact use
A casual booking may not allow a paid commercial camp. A school or club may also have rules about advertising, signs, food, storage, and outside staff.
Ask about these points before paying.
Get the dates, hours, spaces, permitted use, equipment access, setup time, cleanup time, and fees in writing.
Ask what happens if the site is closed by weather, maintenance, a public event, or an emergency. Decide who informs customers and who owes which refunds.
Let the smallest limit set capacity
The field may fit 40 people. The approved indoor shelter may fit only 24. The available trained staff may safely support fewer.
Your bookable capacity must fit the whole day, not just the largest space.
Check limits for each group and activity. Use the lowest applicable limit after legal, venue, sport, staff, and individual support needs are considered.
Do not invent a larger number because sales are strong.
Make the wet-weather plan real
“Go inside” is not a plan unless you have the right to use that space and it suits the group.
Check capacity, access, toilets, ventilation, equipment, safe activities, and travel time to the shelter.
A covered open-sided shelter is not the same as a lightning-safe building. The weather chapter explains this distinction.1
If no safe backup exists, define the conditions in which you will not open or will close early. Set clear lawful customer terms.
Check access from end to end
Think about participants and the adults who bring them.
Can a person using a mobility aid enter? Can they reach a toilet? Can someone with low vision find the right gate? Can a person who is deaf receive an urgent instruction?
Do not wait for a booking problem before asking these questions.
Make a site agreement checklist
Include storage, keys, damage reporting, cleaning, waste, lost property, noise, security, water, medical space, and after-hours contacts.
Agree who checks the site before the day begins. A venue owner and a camp leader may both have duties. Make the daily handoff clear.
Your task: Walk the site with the camp lead. Complete the venue sheet and draw a simple site map for staff.
Sources for this page
- U.S. National Weather Service. Lightning Safety and Outdoor Sports Activities. Safe shelter, thunder, and waiting before resuming outdoor activity. ↩