Use the same words everywhere
Confusing names create confusing bookings.
In this guide, a program is the overall offer, such as Beginner Basketball. An offering is one dated version, such as the July 6–10 week. A session is one meeting within it, such as Monday's camp day. A registration is one person's place in an offering.
Your software may use different words. That is fine. Write your own word key so staff use them the same way.
Choose a format on purpose
| Format | What customers buy | Extra planning question |
|---|---|---|
| Short clinic | One brief block of coaching. | Can the promise fit the time? |
| Half-day camp | Several hours each day. | How will families handle the other half? |
| Full-day camp | A whole camp day. | Who supervises meals, breaks, and transitions? |
| Multi-week course | Repeated sessions over time. | How will missed sessions and progress work? |
| Adult weekend camp | A focused weekend. | What travel and recovery time are needed? |
| Overnight camp | Coaching, care, and accommodation. | Who is responsible every hour, including at night? |
Do not assume that a full day should be filled with hard training. Build time for rest, meals, teaching, play, and moving safely between places.
Check dates before selling
Check local school calendars, public holidays, venue closures, major sport events, and likely travel problems.
Get the venue booking in writing. Check the hours for setup and cleanup, not just the hours participants attend.
Give the season a clear shape. For example, you may offer three separate beginner weeks rather than three skill levels every week.
Too many choices can split a small number of buyers across too many groups. A group that looks full on a season total may be empty on a particular date.
Count the right kind of place
A camper-week means one person attending one full week.
If a camp has 24 weekly places over four weeks, it has 96 camper-weeks to sell. That does not mean 96 different people. One person may attend more than one week.
If you sell day passes, use a daily capacity check. A half-day booking may block a place that could have been sold for a full day. Decide how to handle this before sales open.
Capacity must also work by age group, skill group, room, activity, and staff shift. An empty place in an older group does not automatically create a safe place in a younger group.
Set decision dates
Choose dates for the early interest check, the go/no-go decision, final payments, medical information, staff confirmation, and customer reminders.
Leave enough time to cancel responsibly before customers travel and before major costs become locked in.
Your task: Build a season calendar. Give each offering a clear name, dates, hours, price, capacity, and decision date.