Mitigating Risk at Camp: A Practical Checklist for Safer Programs
- Isaac Mamaysky
- Apr 4
- 6 min read
As camp professionals, we spend the off-season immersed in the details of planning -- hiring excellent staff, refining schedules, adding new programs, and creating all the unforgettable moments that await our campers. During this process, it's easy to overlook the less glamorous task of risk mitigation, even though it's just as essential as the programming itself.
The checklist below is designed to guide a focused review of your camp’s risk management practices. It starts with a simple but valuable framework: first, identify the risks; then, decide how to manage them. This approach, and some of the questions that follow, are informed by James Moss’ insightful book, Outdoor Recreation Insurance, Risk Management, and Law.
Identifying Risk
It's a useful exercise to periodically sit down with your management team and analyze the following questions to identify risks:
What is the acceptable level of risk in our program? How much risk are we willing to tolerate? When answering this question, keep in mind that parents assume youth-oriented programs are safe. This means the acceptable level of risk in a camp setting is very low. In other recreational areas, such as scuba diving and whitewater rafting, there's a common view that taking away the risk takes away the very point of the experience. Not so with camp. Parents expect low-risk activities, and if you offer a particular program, they assume it’s safe.
What are the non-obvious risks of our program? We might be hyper-focused on the obviously risky activities, such as high ropes or climbing. Yes, these certainly create risk, but they're also subject to extensive safety manuals and dedicated supervisory staff -- they're under the microscope. While focusing on the seemingly risky activities, we may fail to notice the loose septic cover on the way to high ropes or the bathroom at the climbing wall, where cleaning chemicals are stored within easy reach of campers. The activities that seem riskiest can take our attention away from the more basic risks that we see every day but may fail to really notice.
What is the camp industry's commonly-accepted risk level, and are we doing anything that exceeds that risk level? Consider whether you offer a unique, very risky activity that nobody else in the industry offers. If a camper twists their ankle while playing basketball on a well-maintained court, it’s just part of the experience. It’s an inherent risk of a program that most camps offer. If a camper has the same injury in an uncommon activity -- perhaps one that other camps find too risky to offer -- then you’re exposed to liability.
Are you among the only camps that still maintains some tradition that was once common practice but is now phased out? If you’ve ever seen the movie Indian Summer, you likely remember the scene where two campers settle a conflict in the camp’s boxing ring. While that used to be a common practice among camps, it’s obviously unheard of today. But think about this: At some point, after nearly every camp phased out boxing as a conflict-mediation strategy, some camps were still doing it. "We've always done it that way," they reasoned. Make sure you don’t still have your own version of boxing, and if you do, it may be time to rethink the activity.
What is the frequency of risk for a particular activity? Do you offer an activity that consistently leads to injury? A particular camp used to have a very intense game of Capture the Flag on the opening day of each session. It had been a tradition for many years, and it somehow got more and more intense with each passing summer. At some point, the long-time director realized with startling clarity that campers sustained injuries in literally every game -- from twisted ankles to minor concussions. She immediately cut the activity. I’m not suggesting you cut Capture the Flag, which can be perfectly safe in a different camp culture. You should look through your own program for those few activities that cause too many injuries for comfort.
What is our vetting process for staff and volunteers? Hiring great staff is foundational to our programs, but it’s also where some of our most serious risks lie. Every staff member and volunteer should go through a thorough screening process. That means reference checks, annual background checks (even for returning staff), and honest conversations about whether someone is a good fit for camp.
Does your insurance policy allow everything you’re doing? How about your lease? Do all your activities comply with state and local laws? How about ACA standards? Violations of laws, standards, and leases that cause an injury can be challenging to defend. Likewise, you don’t want to be sued for some activity that your insurance policy doesn’t cover.
Do you have a policy for the protection of minors? How about a mandated reporting policy? These are essential components of a camp safety plan. You can read more about both topics at these links: Policy for the Protection of Minors and Our Obligations as Mandated Reporters.
Do we have a clear emergency response plan, including in the event of a lost camper, fire, or dangerous weather event? It's important to have emergency procedures and an organized, systematic response in the event of a lost camper, fire at camp, and dangerous weather. Many camps have also added lockdown procedures and active shooter plans. In these emergency situations, who takes the lead, who communicates with parents, and who keeps the rest of the camp running smoothly?
Do you have a camp safety manual? More on this below.
Managing Risk
Once you identify risks in your program by using the questions above, what should you do next? Here are the ways you can approach risk:
Eliminate the risk. If you don't have a policy for the protection of minors, then the solution is simple: implement one. Likewise, if you've identified an especially-risky program, you can eliminate it. As one consultant put it, "no risk is worth sleepless nights and personal turmoil" -- no matter how essential a program feels to your camp. If a risk feels unpalatable to you, then eliminate it and be done with it.
Reduce the risk and decrease its severity. While you can’t cut swim, you can mandate that everyone who goes swimming in the lake wears a life jacket. Along the same lines, if you must offer some dangerous activities, you can at least take steps to reduce its risks and decrease the severity of a potential injury. Ask how you can modify the activity so it's safer without losing its essential elements.
Manage the risk by teaching safety, providing more supervision, and hiring older and more experienced staff. Going back to our swim example, you can: (1) hire more lifeguards; (2) ensure it's an older group of lifeguards; and (3) run ongoing training for them all summer.
Note that federal prohibitions against age discrimination prevent discrimination against employees over 40 years old. While some states also prohibit discrimination against staff based on a perception that they're too young, that's fairly uncommon. In most states, camps are free to favor older employees in the hiring process, and there's a common view that older employees may run safer programs than younger ones.
Insure against the risk. This is obvious, but make sure all aspects of your program are covered. As noted earlier, don’t just think about the obviously risky activities. Your horseback riding program may be insured, but what about the drive to that program? Is the vehicle listed with your insurance company? Has the driver been approved?
Transfer the risk. Make sure families accept the inherent risks of your program in writing and appreciate that these risks are an unavoidable element of the experience. No matter what safety precautions you take, sports injuries are bound to happen. Likewise, the safest horseback riding program can't account for an unpredictable animal. Think of other risks that might materialize regardless of any safety measures you take, and make sure your families accept those risks in writing. For various considerations about waivers and enrollment agreements, you can read: Please Sign Here: Essential Contract Considerations for Camps
The Role of a Camp Safety Manual and Corresponding Training
Once you’ve identified risks and decided how to manage them, the next step is simple but often skipped: write it all down. A detailed safety manual serves as the backbone of your camp’s risk mitigation strategy. It translates your safety philosophy into clear expectations, rules, and procedures.
When you combine the manual with excellent staff training, it ensures that all members of your team are on the same page and builds a shared language of safety. If everyone understands what’s expected and the reasons why, then it’s much easier to catch and correct problems early. Your manual should be a living document that you update regularly to reflect new policies and lessons learned from past summers.
The overarching idea is that every counselor and staff member, from your kitchen to your maintenance department, is a risk manager. Camp is big and you can’t be everywhere. Your staff should be trained to take action when they see a risk that you don’t know about. If you have strong policies in place, train your staff on them, and regularly involve your team in discussions about risk management, you can stave off many problems before they ever occur.
