The Community Sailing Center is continuing to use a lottery style registration for it’s youth camp registration process for the 2025 season.
Our goals for the lottery are to create more equitable access to registration, allow more time for families to decide on the best camps for their campers, and give new campers, returning families, and previously wait listed campers equal ability to register. Our lottery registration process is randomly sorted in order to meet these goals, across all of our camps.
Entering the lottery will be a simple ONE-step process open January 9 though January 13. During the lottery, we are be limiting campers to requesting 1 or 2 camps. On February 1, general registration will open so families can register for any unfilled spots and/or put them themselves on the wait list for any additional camps.
Stars & Stripes Camps the week of June 30-July 2 & Junior Big Boat (dates TBD) will not be part of the lottery. Registration will open after the lottery on February 1.
Important Dates & Details:
Thursday January 9-Monday January 13: Registration for the Lottery is open! This is NOT a first come, first serve process and there is no benefit to completing the form (linked below) sooner or later, as long as it’s submitted by January 13 @ 11:59pm.
Tuesday, January 21- Thursday, January 30: Camp selections will be sent to families via email on a rolling basis. Please regularly check your email and spam throughout this time. Emails will come from info@communitysailingcenter.org and/or notifications@amilia.com. Once you are offered a space you will have THREE days from receiving the email to accept or turn it down. Registrations can be canceled throughout this period without penalty. If you miss the 3 day window, you will be removed from that camp’s wait list and will need to wait until February 1st to register.
Friday, January 31: Deposits due for camp spaces selected during the lottery. These deposits will be automatically charged using the payment information provided when securing the camp(s). Once the 20% deposit is charged, it is non-refundable & non-transferable.
Saturday, February 1: Remaining spots open for General Registration. Wait lists will be active for any filled camps.
If you miss the lottery registration, you will need to wait until February 1st to register for any camps. Please contact the CSC at info@communitysailingcenter.org with any questions.
What’s changed from last year?
This year the Lottery Registration will be a ONE step process where families will only need to complete the lottery registration form (linked below) and will NOT place campers on the wait lists.
Families will pick their 1st & 2nd choices for camp for each camper in the lottery registration form.
The CSC staff will place families on the wait list based on their 1st and 2nd choices for camp(s).
Families do not need to pay a deposit to secure their camp space(s) until January 31. You will need to enter your payment information when securing the space(s), but you may cancel at any point until January 30 with no penalty.
Over the past few years the demand for spots in our youth camps has grown significantly beyond what we are able to offer.
Having an open registration has led to stress and pressure on families to be the quickest at registration. Timing, technical issues, and connectivity have locked out families from registering for even one camp
Each year we see over 1,000 campers interested in 570 camp spots. By limiting the number of camps during the lottery to a maximum of 2 camps per camper we hope to spread the demand and have more campers out on the water.
In 2024, we trialed the lottery process and were able introduce more new campers to sailing then ever before, while still maintaining our retention rate of returning campers.
The lottery registration will be open from January 9th though the 13th. This is not a first come first serve registration and there is no benefit to completing it earlier or later.
There is a ONE step process to register for the lottery:
Register each camper individually on the lottery form (linked below) by picking one or two camps and answering the lottery questions.
After you have completed the lottery registration form, you can make changes until the form has closed on January 13 at 11:59pm. To make changes please email the CSC at info@communitysailingcenter.org and we will make the change in your account.
Unfortunately because of the demand we receive during the lottery and the priority to let families know their selection placements as soon as possible, we are unable to make changes after the form has closed.
No! There is no fee to enter the lottery. If you are offered a space in camp, you will need to put down your card information to secure the space within 3 days of being offered the spot. You will then be charged the 20% deposit on January 31.
You can cancel at any time between being offered the spot and January 30 with no penalty.
Once the 20% deposit has been charged on January 31, it is non-refundable and non-transferable between camps or campers.
Welcome! If you would like to learn more about our camps and the CSC, please review our Camp Guide- linked here.
Before you are able to complete the lottery registration, you will need to create an account in our registration system, Amilia. You can create an account here. Once you have an account, you can then add your campers to the account as additional account members. Linked here is more information about using Amilia and managing your account. Please contact info@communitysailingcenter.org or call 802-864-2499 with questions.
You may preference 1 or 2 camps per camper in the lottery process.
After the lottery process is complete and we open up registration for remaining spots, there are no restrictions on how many camps you may register or put your camper on the waitlist for.
No, as long as each camper completes the lottery registration, they will be in the lottery. You can request two different weeks of the same camp, or two different camps in the same week or any other combination. If you have any questions about which camp is the best for your child, please contact info@communitysailingcenter.org.
On February 1, we will open registration for any unfilled camp spaces, as well as camps for the week of June 30-July 2 (Stars & Stripes Camps). Stars & Stripes Camps: June 30-July 2 camps will be daily camps and NOT included in the lottery. There are no camps on July 3rd or 4th.
At that point you can also add your child to the waitlist for any other camps, regardless of the lottery.
There is no charge for claiming a camp space offered to you during the lottery. You will need to claim the space within 3 days of being offered and enter your payment information. The 20% deposit will be automatically charged on January 31. You can cancel with no penalty at any point between being offered a space and January 30.
Once the 20% deposit is charged on January 31, it is non-refundable and non-transferable between camps or campers.
The remaining balance is due May 1. You can set up a personalized payment plan with the CSC after you accept your space and pay the deposit. The cost of camp this year is $540 for a sailing camp and $1100 for a two-week camp.
The Scholarship application will be live starting January 9th, the same day we open for lottery registration. Applying for a scholarship will not affect your chances of getting into camp. You’ll be notified about scholarship awards on a rolling basis depending on if/when you are offered a space through the lottery. If you are unable to pay the 20% deposit to secure your spot, please make note of that in your scholarship application and we will reach out about payment plans.
You’ll be notified between January 21 through January 30. Details on how to register and what to look for will be emailed to all lottery applicants prior to placement notification emails.
Emails about registration will come from info@communitysailingcenter.org and/or notifications@amilia.com. Please double check your email setting and add these emails to your contacts to avoid important information being flagged as spam.
Through the lottery process you should be checking your email and spam with regularity. Especially during lottery selection from January 20-31. If you miss the 3 day window to claim your space, you will need to email info@communitysailingcenter.org to be added back at the bottom of the list.
Once you receive the email offering you the space, you will have 3 days to respond.
If you take no action during the 3 days, we will assume you are no longer interested and the space will be offered to the next person. You can always add yourself to the wait list during open registration after February 1 if needed.
The lottery form will ask if you have siblings that you wish to be placed in the same week together. We will do our best to honor these requests, but it is not guaranteed.
The lottery will be sorted into three groups: returning campers and their siblings, previously wait listed campers, and new campers. Although individuals registered for the lottery will be chosen randomly, we will aim to represent each of these groups across camps. Standard age and camp pre-requisites still apply.
The lottery will go through separate processes for families who have either attended or been on the waitlist for camps in previous years and new families.
This does NOT mean your chances as a new family to CSC camps are more limited, because returning families are often registering for intermediate & advanced camps, and new families are registering for beginner camps.
Unfortunately we will not be able to meet the demand for camp spaces in our high demand camps (Little Guppies & Level I), as we are limited by several factors including number of boats, number of instructors, and safety procedures to ensure each camper has a safe and fun time at the CSC. However, there will be spaces in multi-activity camps after the lottery that offer a wonderful experience and introduction to sailing- especially for new sailors.
There is still potential for spaces to open up down the line, whether families cancel or we are able to open more spaces in camp.
Yes! Because of the demand we have seen over the last few years and the switch to the lottery, Little Guppies are now offered as full day camps and you can opt in to the half day. If you would prefer your Little Guppies to be here for the half day, please note on your lottery form if you would prefer AM (9am-12pm) or PM (1pm-4pm) or email info@communitysailingcenter.org.
If you need to cancel please notify us ASAP. If you receive an email offering you a placement, you may ignore the email or select the option to remove the camper from the wait list. After January 31st the 20% deposit it is non-refundable.
Any cancellation up to 1 month prior to the start of the camp will receive a full refund minus the 20% deposit. Cancellation after this date will not receive a refund.
