Gymnastics Holiday Camps: How to Fill Every Spot (and Keep the Admin Under Control)
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6 min read
Schools and break, but your festive gymnastics holiday camp is as busy as ever. And whilst it's not the full busy schedule of a normal term week, that doesn't mean the workload is less. In fact the normal issues that you would have during the regular term are compounded as it's a different setup. One parent isn't sure whether she paid. Another mentions, at the door, that her son has a nut allergy. And three families who "definitely booked" aren't on your list, because they booked by Facebook message to a coach who's now on holiday.
Holiday camps are one of the best things a gymnastics club can run. They fill weeks when your gym would otherwise sit empty, they bring in income while regular classes are paused, and they introduce new families to your club. But they also bring a burst of admin that lands at the worst possible time, when you're short-staffed and everyone else is on a break.
This guide covers how to plan, fill and run gymnastics holiday camps that are as smooth behind the scenes as they are fun on the floor, and how gymnastics club management software like Class Manager takes the admin off your hands.
Why Holiday Camps Are Worth Running
A quick bit of maths. A single-day camp for 30 gymnasts at £35 a head brings in £1,050. That could be over £2,000 from a week that usually earns nothing.
The money is only part of it. Camps also:
Give new families a low-risk way in. Plenty of parents won't commit to a full term straight away, but they'll happily book a single camp day. That's a warm lead for your regular classes, when term arrives.
Keep your members connected over the break. Two or three weeks off is a long time for a seven-year-old. A camp day keeps them excited about gymnastics and about your club.
Make use of daytime hours. Most clubs are busiest after school and at weekends. Holiday daytimes are free space you're already paying for.
Give coaches extra hours. Many coaches welcome the extra work over the holidays, which helps you hold on to good staff.
Plan Your Camp Before You Promote It
The clubs that run the smoothest camps decide the details first, then open bookings. Changing times, prices or age groups after families have booked is where the headaches start.
Choose the right format
Format | Works well for | Things to think about |
|---|---|---|
Full day (e.g. 9am to 3pm) | Working parents, ages 6+ | Lunch breaks, quieter activities, more coach hours |
Half day (e.g. 9am to 12pm) | Younger children, families on holiday | Easy to run two sessions in one day |
Preschool mini camp (1 to 2 hours) | Ages 2 to 5 | Parent stays or drop-off, higher coach ratios |
Squad or skills intensive | Competitive gymnasts | Could be invite-only, specific apparatus focus |
You don't need all four. One or two formats, done well, will beat a complicated programme that's hard to staff.
Set capacity by coaches and apparatus, not demand
It's tempting to squeeze in a few extra children when bookings are strong. Don't. Set your limit by how many coaches you'll have, your governing body's ratio guidance, and how many children each piece of apparatus can safely handle in rotation. Our post on organising a growing gymnastics club goes into ratios in more detail.
In Class Manager, each camp day can be set up as its own session with its own capacity, so bookings simply stop when it's full. No more checking a spreadsheet to see whether there's room on the 30th. See how class scheduling works.
Price it simply
Decide on a day rate, a half-day rate if you're offering one, and any discounts before you go live. The most common options:
A sibling discount
A lower rate for current members
An early booking price with a clear end date
Keep it to two or three options. If parents need a calculator to work out what they owe, some won't book at all.
Make Booking a Two-Minute Job
Most parents book holiday camps on their phone, often in a spare few minutes at school pick-up or on the sofa in the evening. If booking means sending a message, waiting for a reply, then doing a bank transfer, a lot of them will put it off and forget.
With online class enrolment, families can see which days have space, choose their dates, and pay in one go. Current families book through the parent portal, where their children's details are already saved. New families fill in your sign-up form once, and you have everything you need for every future booking too.
Give members a head start
Open bookings to your current families a few days before you promote camps publicly. It's a simple way to reward loyalty, and early bookings give you momentum (and social proof) when you start shouting about camps on Facebook and Instagram.
Collect Every Form Before Day One
The camp morning door is the worst place to find out about an allergy, a medical condition, or that Grandma is collecting today. Ask for all of it at the point of booking:
Emergency contact numbers
Medical information and allergies
Who is allowed to collect the child
Photo and video permissions
What they're bringing for lunch, if it's a full day
Class Manager's digital waivers let parents read and sign online, and you can keep important details on each child's record using Notes. Coaches can then check the essentials on their phone or tablet without hunting through a folder.
Take Payment Upfront
With term classes, a late payment is a nuisance. With a one-day camp, it's often money you never see. Take payment when families book, and you won't spend January chasing it.
Automated billing collects payment at checkout and applies any discounts you've set up, like sibling or member rates, without anyone doing the maths by hand. If you do end up with an outstanding balance, our guide to chasing late payments without upsetting families will help.
Answer Parents' Questions Before They Ask
In the week before camp, the same questions roll in: What time is drop-off? What should they wear? Do they need a packed lunch? Can they bring a water bottle?
Answer them once, for everyone, with a simple message plan:
Five days before: a scheduled email with everything families need: times, kit, food, drop-off and collection, and a contact number for the day.
The day before: a short broadcast message in Chats reminding families of the start time. (Broadcasts can't be scheduled, so send this one yourself, or set yourself a reminder.)
During camp: a few photos on Spotlight, Class Manager's in-app feed, so parents can see what their child is up to. Just check photo permissions first.
If a parent does message you with a question, Chats suggests replies for you, so you can answer in seconds between sessions. See more about Class Manager's communication tools.
Example pre-camp email
Subject: Gymnastics Camp: everything you need for Monday
Hi [Parent name],
We can't wait to see [Child name] at Gymnastics Camp on Monday! Here's what you need to know:
Drop-off: 8.45am to 9am at the main entrance
Collection: 3pm (please let us know if someone else is collecting)
Wear: leotard or shorts and a fitted T-shirt, hair tied back, no jewellery
Bring: a packed lunch (nut-free, please), snacks and a named water bottle
If you have any questions, just reply to this email or message us in the app.
See you Monday!
On the Day: Registers, Not Clipboards
Camp days are longer and busier than a normal class, with more children, different collection arrangements, and sometimes coaches who don't usually work together. Knowing exactly who is in the building matters more than ever.
Coaches can take attendance on a phone or tablet at drop-off, and again after lunch if you want a second check. If a child is booked but hasn't arrived, you'll see it straight away and can contact the family. No paper register to lose, and no relying on whoever was on the door to remember.
After Camp: Turn One Day Into a Full Term
This is the step most clubs miss, and it's where camps really pay off.
Every child who came to camp but isn't in a weekly class is a family who has already visited your gym, met your coaches, and (hopefully) gone home buzzing. They're the warmest leads you'll get all year, and the January rush is only days away.
Within a couple of days of camp finishing:
Thank every family and share a photo or two from the day.
Invite non-members to a trial or straight into a January class, with a direct link to book.
Let them know which class suits their child, based on age and what the coaches saw at camp.
Class Manager's automated trial emails can then handle the follow-up for anyone who books a trial, so nobody falls through the gaps. For more on this, read how to turn more trial classes into paying gymnasts.
Your Holiday Camp Checklist
Dates, format and age groups decided
Capacity set by coach numbers, ratios and apparatus
Day rates and discounts set up
Camp sessions live and bookable online
Bookings opened to members first, then promoted publicly
Waitlists switched on for popular days
Waivers, medical details, collection and photo permissions collected at booking
Payment taken at booking
Pre-camp email scheduled
Day-before reminder planned
Coaches briefed on registers and notes
Follow-up message to non-members ready to send
Frequently Asked Questions
How far in advance should I open bookings for a camp? Six to eight weeks ahead works well for most clubs. That means opening to members first and to the public a week or so later. Families start making holiday plans earlier than you'd think.
Should holiday camps be open to non-members? Yes, if you have the space. Camps are one of the best ways to introduce new families to your club. Giving members first pick keeps your current families happy, and opening up afterwards brings in new faces.
How do I stop camps from overfilling? Set a capacity on each camp session in your booking system. Once it's full, bookings stop automatically, and families can join a waitlist instead.
Can I run camps alongside my normal term classes in the same system? Yes. In Class Manager, camps, weekly classes, and one-off events all live in the same place, with the same family records, payments and registers. There's no separate camp booking tool to manage.
What does Class Manager cost? There's no monthly subscription. You pay a payment processing fee on transactions, and that's it. See our prices for the details.
Spend the Holidays Coaching, Not Chasing
Holiday camps should be the fun part of the year. When bookings, forms, payments and parent messages all live in one place, you can focus on the kids in front of you instead of the admin behind you.
Class Manager is gymnastics club management software with no monthly subscription. Book a demo and we'll show you how to set up your first camp, or open your account and get your Christmas dates live this week.
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