This year Troop 24′s annual summer camp will be at Camp Tesomas, north of Rhinelander, Wisconsin (about 6 hours from Riverside). This is the same camp we attended last year, but we’re attending a week earlier and we’ll be in a different campsite. Traditionally, almost all of our scouts attend summer camp, and we highly recommend that new scouts attend camp. The dates for this year’s camp are July 13 – 19. More information about the camp is available here: http://www.tesomas.com/.

Younger scouts (current 5th, 6th, 7th graders) will take merit badge classes. For our 5th grade scouts particularly, our leaders will discuss their options with them and make recommendations.

For scouts who are 1st Class and above, and who are at least 13 or have graduated from 8th grade, and who have earned the Swimming Merit Badge, there are two other options: Scuba (open water and advanced – advanced for those who were already PADI certified in 2012 or 2013) and Microtreks.

Scouts who take the scuba class can earn the Scuba Merit Badge, and will be PADI-certified by the end of the week. Scuba is an all-day program, and participants will not have time to take other merit badge classes. We have reserved 4 open water and 8 advanced scuba spots, and registration will be taken on a first-come, first-served basis. The additional cost for Scuba is $170, which includes all equipment.

Scouts in Microtrek will participate in a different high adventure activity each day. Microtrek is available in the morning or the afternoon. Scouts who sign up for the afternoon Microtreks can also take up to 3 merit badge classes in the morning. Scouts who sign up for morning Microtrek can take one afternoon merit badge class. Microtrek spots are also limited and will be available on a first-come, first-served basis. There is an additional $35 fee for Microtrek 101 designed for 13 – 14 year olds and an additional $45 fee for Microtrek 200 designed for 15 years and up. To reserve your spot, you must pay for it on Constant Contact.

As in the past, we will charter a bus to take our scouts to camp. We anticipate the cost to be $100 (which is in addition to the cost of the camp). More information about the bus will be available later. The bus will leave from Hauser’s parking lot about 7:00 a.m. on Sunday morning, July 13, and will return mid-day on Saturday, July 19.

The cost for camp is $290. Because many scouts have popcorn credits, the camp fee will be paid by check made out to Troop 24. Checks can be turned in at a Troop meeting or delivered to Liz Gomorczak’s house. Scouts with popcorn credit will receive an e-mail with the amount. If it will be a hardship to pay everything at once, you can pay $150 now, with the remainder due by May 15. Scouts who are interested in either Scuba or Microtrek must pay the additional fee online. Additionally, Tesomas offers a confidential “campership.” The application for this financial assistance is due to Tesomas by April 1 and can be found here: http://clsr.samoset.org/resources/CampershipApplication.pdf

Please make it easy for us–don’t wait until the last minute to register! First, register for camp here: http://troop24riverside.com/2014/03/camp-tesomas-form-2014/

Payments for microtreks & scuba can be made here: https://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/eventReg?oeidk=a07e92kz1870791e38c&oseq=&c=&ch=

General questions about camp can be directed to our Summer Camp Coordinator, Liz Gomorczak at jecggomo@gmail.com