What we offer

After 77 years of service with summer camps for children the Ontario Camps Association (OCA) has played an important leadership role in promoting and encouraging children and youth camping in Ontario. The OCA is a voluntary, non-profit organization that draws its membership from camps, individuals and like-minded organizations and agencies, all devoted to maintaining high standards for organized camping, and to sharing information and ideas that maintain these standards.

OCA activity takes a number of different forms:

Education

The OCA sponsors and supports a wide range of activities which ensure a vital exchange of information between camping professionals. These include training seminars for camp staff, and events sponsored by the OCA's many standing committees. Perhaps most noteworthy among these events is our Annual Conference, which draws together hundreds of camping professionals from throughout Ontario, Canada, and the world, to meet, listen, learn, and share ideas, stories, advice, and experiences.

For more information or to register for the conference 2009 OCA Conference Hardcopy Registration.

Standards

Camping professionals also exchange information and ideas during OCA Standards visits. These visits, which form the core of the OCA's accreditation program, ensure that high standards of practice are in place at all OCA member camps.

Camp membership in the OCA is not automatic: any camp seeking OCA accreditation must undergo a two-year provisional period, during which time it is visited by OCA representatives each year, and must meet our standards before being accepted for full membership. Once a camp achieves full membership, it receives a visit every four years, or the year following a change of site, ownership or director. Our camps voluntarily adhere to over 400 separate standards dealing with all aspects of a camp's operation: health & safety, leadership, food service and maintenance, staffing, programming, and administration.

The OCA Standards Committee regularly reviews and revises standards when appropriate.

Informing the Public

The OCA is dedicated to informing families, schools, social welfare agencies, and other members of the public about the benefits of camping and the role that the OCA plays in ensuring safe, fun, exciting camping for all of Ontario's children and youth.

We provide information to the public through our brochures, our new website, our search engine and our annual Camping Guide. We also work to provide our public with information and camp connections through our many camp fairs. For information on out upcoming fairs click here. The OCA also advocates on behalf of the public to the camping community, responding to concerns raised by parents and campers.