Camp FAQs

Registration for campers is between 3:00 pm and 4:00 pm on Sundays (camps #1-5, 8-9) or 9:00 am to 10:00 am on Wednesday (camp #7 only). You will be greeted by our Coordinator and other program staff. Counselling staff are waiting in the cabins to meet you once you have met with our Coordinator. Camp Bimini clothing and merchandise will be for sale during this time.

At the end of every camp, campers and staff perform a final closing on the back porch which happens at 7:00 pm sharp on Friday. Friends and family are encouraged to join us at 7:00 pm to see what we’ve been up to all week before heading home with their camper.

For Family Camp (camp #6), registration is at 9:30 am on Saturday and departure is after lunch on Monday.

ABSOLUTELY!! Everybody loves receiving mail at camp! Friends and family are welcome to leave letters, postcards or packages at registration to be distributed to campers at lunch time each day of camp. If you would like a letter to be received by your camper on a specific day of camp, just write the day on the envelope and we will sort it accordingly.

Mail can be dropped off in the mail box at the road or mess hall anytime. They are checked regularly.

OR you may mail it remembering sometimes the mail takes a few days. Please address to:
<<camper’s name>>
Camp Bimini
3180 Perth Road 113
RR 1
St. Pauls ON N0K 1V0

Please do not send emails to your children while they are at Bimini. Email is not checked daily.

At Camp Bimini we take special care into ensuring that children with food allergies will not need to worry or miss out on the great food at camp. We strive to provide an alternative to these campers, free of risky foods. As well, we can offer a vegetarian option at all of our meals.

Camp Bimini is a NUT-AWARE ZONE to ensure the safety of all of our campers, visitors and staff with nut allergies. We work hard to be nut free, but we cannot guarantee a nut-free site due to the number of visitors to our site.

We have several campers and staff who come to Bimini with severe anaphylactic allergies. We have two Epi Pens on site and all our staff are trained about Epi Pens and anaphylactic reactions.

If your camper has a very specific food allergy or sensitivity, please contact us prior to your child coming to camp. We will work with you to find a suitable solution for your camper.

We ask that you not call and request to have conversations with your child. We do this because it disrupts the flow of camp for your child. On top of this, we find that phone calls tend to make children miss home or cause other children to miss home and become upset when they learn that their parents have not called.

This same rule applies for cell phones. We ask that you not send your child to camp with a cell phone. Cell phones are not allowed at camp and even our staff members hand in cell phones to the office on the first day of camp. We think it is important for children and youth to unplug and get away from the constant infiltration of technology while they enjoy their time at camp.

Of course, if there is an emergency then we will absolutely call you to let you know and, if the situation requires a conversation with your child, then we will make that judgment call and allow for a phone conversation to occur.

We do not permit calls home to family either. Please do not tell you child that he/she can call home anytime they wish.

All of our staff members go through an application process where they must answer questions on faith, leadership and what they will bring to our camp community along with obtaining two references. Applicants are invited to a group interview where we get to know them individually and also see how they work as a team. Here, applicants have a chance to show us their leadership skills, initiative, ideas and creativity. We have a large rate of return of our staff each year.

All of our staff attend and engage in five days of mandatory training throughout the spring. During training, we take time to learn and recall techniques in working with children and teens through discussion and hands-on experiences. We use this time together to learn together and from each other. We use this time, too, to learn about each other so we can create a strong staff team to ensure the best camping experience for all.

All staff complete a police records check.

All of our staff receive basic First Aid training with many of them holding Standard First Aid certification. Our head lifeguards all hold National Lifeguarding Service certification, with our assistant guards all holding at least Bronze Cross Certification.

Camp Bimini follows the Faithful Footsteps policy of the United Church of Canada.

This is very normal and natural for this to happen. We take time during training to talk about techniques to deal with this.

Parents can help prepare their child for camp. Here are some suggestions:

• Talk about spending time away from home with your child early before summer.
• Talk with them about what the camp experience may be like (what to expect)
• Send items that remind them of home—photographs, stuffed animals.
• Talk with them how excited you are for their experience at camp.
• Send mail throughout the week and envelopes/stamps/paper for them to write back about their day
• Visit Camp Bimini’s Open House so your child is familiar with the site—eliminate the unknown.
• Please do not tell your child they can come home or phone home whenever they want or that you can visit them.

If this is the first time being away from home, then try to have your child spend a night away before coming to camp—spend a night at a friend’s or family member’s home. Practice. If your child is homelonely or homesick, we will talk to your child and try to help them overcome this.

Polar Dip—typically the first thing after wake-up each morning (usually 7:30 am). It is an optional quick swim in the pool. Counselors will gladly go with you if you choose this.

Gophers—each day three cabins are assigned to do gophers. Gophers involves setting up for each meal, washing dishes and loading them into the racks for the dishwasher, wiping tables, putting benches on the tables, sweeping the floor. Working together gets this done quickly

Morning Watch—our first event each day as an entire camp. We gather around our flag pole to greet the day and each other. Songs, stories, exercises to get us ready for Breakfast and the rest of our day.

Evening Game—a great time of all-camp fun! Typically held after supper each evening. If you love games like Flags or Survival or Colours, this is your time!

Campfire—we gather after evening game each night in our campfire pit to begin to end our day. It is a time of classic and new campfire songs and skits. Cabins/counselors take turns each day to lead this. Always a favourite time of campers and staff!

Vespers—a quiet, reflective time after campfire. We think about the day we had together and the day(s) to come held at Vespers (our outdoor chapel area). We gather to listen to stories, sing songs and pray before heading off to bed (bedtime depends on age of campers that week of camp). A special time of our day.

Banquet—each week of camp has a theme attached to it as a way to focus on what we want to do and how we do it. Typically on Thursdays, we will have a Banquet where we can showcase our theme. Often this will invite a costume to be worn. Details about this will be in the letter from the counselor which you will receive in mid-June.