Lottery Information

Since many of our sessions fill up right away, we use a lottery system for starting camp registration. You can log-in any time between December 10th (noon) and January 7th (noon) and fill out an interest form, letting us know your camper's preferred session and any back up sessions should they not get into their 1st choice. We started this system to better accommodate busy schedules, help families with more than one camper, and to lower stress worrying about factors outside your control like brief loss of internet connectivity during registration. Please read the full details below on how the process works.​

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Lottery Dates

There will be four options when entering the lottery: Family Camp Lottery, Main and Mini Session Lottery, Sailing Camp Lottery and Teen Week Lottery. All lotteries will be open from noon on Wednesday, December 10, 2025 through noon on Wednesday, January 7, 2026. At any time during that window, you can log onto your account with our software system and enter whichever lottery fits your camper or campers. 

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After the lottery window closes on Wednesday, January 7, 2026 at 12:00pm (noon) we will take all entries in a lottery and randomize them. We will then work our way down the list trying our best to offer a spot to every camper in their top preferred session. There is a chance that a session fills before all top preferences for that session have been reached on the list. If a camper’s top preferred session is full, we will add them to the waitlist for that session and offer them a spot in their second preferred session. If the top two sessions are full, we will add them to both waitlists and offer them a spot in their third preference. We will continue this until all campers entered in the lottery are offered a session.

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On Tuesday, January 20, 2026 emails will be sent out with session registration offers for every camper. This registration spot will be held until Tuesday, January 27, 2026. At any point during that time frame you can log into your account and register your camper for the offered session. This will be a similar process to past registrations. We will send out reminder emails during that time to make sure that everyone has the chance to register for the initial spot offered. Once the initial registration period (January 20-27, 2026) has ended, any offered spots that were not registered for will be offered to those on the waitlist. 

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Entering the Lottery

• On the homepage of your account, click the Reservations Tab, New Reservations, and then follow the instructions. 

• Information you will be asked about your camper while entering the lottery will include: biographic information, ranking of session preferences, and cabin mate requests.

• Once all information is complete you can submit the entry. You will not be asked to supply any payment information at this time.

• Once you submit the entry you should receive a confirmation email. If you don't receive a confirmation email within a couple hours of registering, please contact us to confirm your entry.

• Entering the lottery does not guarantee that your camper will be offered a spot in the top preferred session.

• Providing cabinmate requests and your preference of session or cabinmate will be referenced as sessions start to fill. Providing this information does not guarantee that they will all be met. 

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Tips for Large Groups of Cabinmate Requests 

Cabin sizes are typically 8-12 campers depending on cabinmate requests, age, and other dynamics. We consider a large group of cabinmate requests to be groups of 4 or more campers. Please keep in mind that groups that exceed 12 are extremely difficult to keep together due to cabin capacities. Below are a few tips and information to consider when trying to keep large groups together.

• All campers who are hoping to be together should list the same cabinmate requests

• When ranking session preferences, all campers in group should rank sessions in the same order

• Being available for more sessions will increase the likelihood of having a session that everyone can get into

• Being flexible to prioritize cabinmate requests over top preferred session

• Consider splitting large groups into two smaller groups

 

We do our best to accommodate session preferences and cabinmate requests, and while high demand and session capacities can sometimes make it challenging to fulfill both, we’re committed to creating a wonderful camp experience for everyone!

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Questions and Comments​​​​​​​​​​​​​

We understand that one of the key concerns is the likelihood of being selected. We want to assure you that the chance of being selected in the new system is comparable to what you've experienced in past years. The implementation of the lottery system is not intended to alter the overall odds of session selection dramatically. Instead, its primary focus is to provide a less stressful experience for families. 

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In last year's lottery, 90% of campers were offered their top preferred session and all campers who entered the lottery and were flexible on dates had the opportunity to register for a session at some point. Although we cannot guarantee the same results every year, we hope that this information gives you an insight into last year and reassures you for the upcoming summer. 

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Please feel free to contact us at camp@ymca-cv.org or 715-839-4607 with any questions or comments.