Day Camps and Swim Lessons

By focusing on personal growth and development, campers are provided with the opportunity to learn new skills, try new things, gain confidence by targeting a number of different learning styles to grow and flourish in ways that will benefit them long-term. Activities emphasize social development, character development, leadership, teamwork and sportsmanship. The goal in each activity is to build self-esteem by encouraging children to feel capable and confident in their abilities. Our Day Camp is an outdoor, beach front experience. We are a tech-free zone and ask campers to leave their devices at home and reconnect with their natural curiosity and playful side. 

Pro tip for registration

Our Day Camp does not automatically include Swim Lessons but campers will get recreational/free swim time supervised by a lifeguard. Swim Lessons are an additional program and must be registered for in addition to Day Camp or as a standalone course. 

Our Day Camps are offered in one-week sessions, whereas our Swim Lessons are offered in a two-week session. If you would like your child to participate in both programs concurrently, please plan ahead to ensure the sessions align.

• Session one of Swim Lessons run concurrently with weeks one and two of Day Camp.
• Session two of Swim Lessons run concurrently with weeks three and four of Day Camp.
• Session three of Swim Lessons run concurrently with weeks five and six of Day Camp.
• Session four of Swim Lessons run con currently with weeks seven and eight of Day Camp.

Dates

• Week One: June 30 - July 4 (no program on July 1st due to the Canada Day Long Weekend)
• Week Two: July 7 - 11
• Week Three: July 14 - 18
• Week Four: July 21 - 25
• Week Five: July 28 - August 1 
• Week Six: August 5 - 8 (no program August 4th due to the Civic Holiday)
• Week Seven: August 11 - 15
• Week Eight: August 18 - 22

Times

• Core hours of Day Camp are 8:00 am - 4:00 pm
• Before care starts at 7:30 am
• After care is available until 5:00 pm

Bus Transportation

Get your camper to the beach in style! To alleviate the tremendous demand at our Sydenham camp location, we're offering a shuttle service to our other day camp locations. The buses will pick up campers at The Point in Sydenham and head for the other camp sites with a return trip in the afternoon. 

• The east bound bus leaves The Point Park, located at 4410 Point Road in Sydenham at 7:30 am, making another pick-up stop at the carpool on North Shore Road at the Perth Road/Rutledge Road intersection at 7:45 am and arrives at Gilmour's Point Day Camp at 8:00 am. In the afternoon, it's all aboard the bus at 4:00 pm, heading back to the carpool at 4:15 pm then to Sydenham Point Park for 4:30 pm.
• The west bound bus leaves The Point Park, located at 4410 Point Road in Sydenham at 7:30 am, making another pick-up stop at Centennial Park in Harrowsmith at 7:45 am and arrives at McMullen Beach Day Camp at 8:00 am. In the afternoon, it's all aboard the bus at 4:00 pm, heading back to Centennial Park at 4:15 pm then on to Sydenham Point Park with parent pick up at 4:30 pm.

Important to updates to our program rate schedule

We are pleased to implement a new rate schedule stating in 2025. This new schedule will ensure our program's sustainability while meeting the needs of the community. Some key changes and updates include:

• Differential registration fees for non-residents and residents of South Frontenac. 
• Cancellation fees for program withdrawals. 

Resident camp rates

For residents of South Frontenac Township, the 2025 rates are as follows:

• $160.00 per participant per week.
• For short weeks with a holiday (weeks one and six), the rate is $130.00 per participant per week.

Non-resident camp rates 

For participants who live outside of South Frontenac Township, the 2025 rates are as follows:

• $175.00 per participant per week.
• For short weeks with a holiday (weeks one and six), the rate is $140.00 per participant per week.

Transportation and before and after care fees

Rates for transportation and before and after care are the same for residents and non-residents.

• Before care - $16.00 per participant per week.
• After care - $16.00 per participant per week.
• Bus transportation - $31.00 per participant per week. 

Cancellation fees

• Advanced notice cancellation fee - Cancellation/ withdrawal of the participant with more than one week prior to the program start date will receive a full refund, less a $15 administrative fee.
• Late notice cancellation fee - Cancellation/ withdrawal of the participant within the week of the program start date will receive a 50% refund of the program registration rate, less a $15 administrative fee.
• In-session cancellation fee - No refunds will be provided if the cancellation/ withdrawal of the participant takes place during the program session.

Payment and withdrawal information 

Payments will not be accepted at the day camp site – all payments must be handled at the Public Services Office located at 2490 Keeley Road, in person or by using our online registration system.

If you need to withdraw your camper, please contact us as soon as you can. This will help ensure the spot can be filled by another eager camper.

Registration for our Day Camp will open at 10:00 am on March 24th, 2025. Swim Lesson registration will open at 10:00 am on April 28th, 2025. Check back then for the link to our online registration platform!

Participant ratios

Our Day Camp program is in high demand and often fills quickly with long waitlists. We want to ensure as many kids as possible get a chance to go to camp, so in 2025, a resident and non-resident camper ratio will be implemented. 

• At The Point Park and McMullen Beach, 20 out 35 camp spaces per week will be initially held for residents.
• At Gilmour's Point, 15 out of 25 camp spaces per week will be initially held for residents. 
• Resident spaces will be held for one month after registration opens. If after one month the spaces are not filled and there is a waitlist for non-residents, the spaces will be filled by non-residents from a first come, first served off the waitlist. 

• The Point Park, 4410 Point Road, Sydenham
• Gilmour's Point Beach, 1763 Wellington Street, Battersea
• McMullen Beach, 6089 Carleton Drive, Verona

Our camps have different themes and activities for each week; Campers and parents will receive a calendar so they know what to expect and what to bring for the planned activities/crafts (eg., a small cardboard box to decorate, a piece of white clothing for tie dye, etc.). Some examples of the themes include STEM, Around the World, Disney Week. The 2025 themes will be developed in June once our summer staff have started.  

Overall, our camp is an outdoor, beachfront experience. We are a tech-free zone and ask campers to leave their devices at home and reconnect with their natural curiosity and playful side. 

If your camper is in both Day Camp and Swim Lessons, they will be pulled from Camp at their lesson time and return to the group when they are done.

Here is a general look what campers will be up to during the day:

• 8:00 am
  • Good morning, campers!
  • Sign-in, put away backpacks and coats, lunches in the fridge, etc.
  • Free time!
• 9:00 am
  • Morning activity/game
  • Daily craft, usually corresponding with the week's theme
• 10:00 am
  • Morning snack
  • Change for swim
  • Morning swim
• 11:00 am
  • Free swim!
• 12:00 pm 
  • Lunch time
  • Free time!
• 1:00 pm 
  • Afternoon activity/game
  • Finish up themed craft
  • Get ready for afternoon swim
• 2:00 pm
  • Free swim!
• 3:30 pm
  • Change out of swim gear
  • Final pack-up/clean-up
  • Afternoon snack (healthy snack provided)
• 4:00 pm 
  • Home time! 
  • Sign-out
  • Any left behind items will be laid out for parents/campers to claim

Our program is suitable for campers ages 4-12.

Please note that we do not have personal support care workers on staff. Therefore, campers need to be able to manage their own toileting and hygiene care independently.

All South Frontenac Swim & Day Camp staff are required to provide a CPIC criminal record check prior to starting. Our staff are also equipped with the following certifications: 

Site Coordinators and Swim Instructors

• National Lifeguard Certification
• Lifesaving Society Swim Instructor Certification
• First Aid & CPR-C

Camp Counsellors

• First Aid and CPR-C

Our camps and swim lessons run regardless of the weather. We simply adjust the location and activities as appropriate.

Outdoor activities can still be enjoyed and sometimes our fondest memories are those rainy days. Please dress your child and pack to be prepared for any weather.

Swim Lessons are offered at Sydenham Point Park, Gilmour's Point Park in Battersea and McMullen Beach in Verona. Check out the timetable below for specific lesson times. 

Regular water quality surveillance at all public beaches in this region is conducted by KFL&A Public Health during the summer months. 

Please note that Swim Lessons are not automatically included in our Day Camp program and vice versa. Parents and guardians have the flexibility to enroll their child in both Swim Lessons and Day Camp, or one or the other. If your child is enrolled in just Swim Lessons, simply bring them to the beach at their lesson time. If they are enrolled in both Swim Lessons and Day Camp, they will pulled from camp activities to do their lesson and return to the group when they are done.

Pro tip for registration 

Our Day Camps are offered in one-week sessions, whereas our Swim Lessons are offered in a two-week session. Of you would like your child to participate in both programs concurrently, please plan ahead to ensure the sessions align.

• Session one of Swim Lessons run concurrently with weeks one and two of Day Camp.
• Session two of Swim Lessons run concurrently with weeks three and four of Day Camp.
• Session three of Swim Lessons run concurrently with weeks five and six of Day Camp.
• Session four of Swim Lessons run con currently with weeks seven and eight of Day Camp.

South Frontenac offers the Lifesaving Society's 6-level Swimmer program. This program makes sure your children learn how to swim before they get in too deep.

Swimmer progressions accommodate children 4-5 years and older including beginners as well as swimmers who want to build on the basics. We stress lots of in-water practice to develop solid swimming strokes and skills. We incorporate Lifesaving Society Water Smart® education in all swimmer levels.

Swimmer 1: These beginners will become comfortable jumping into water with and without a lifejacket. They’ll learn to open their eyes, exhale and hold their breath underwater. They’ll work on floats, glides and kicking through the water on their front and back.

Swimmer 2: These advanced beginners will jump into deeper water, and learn to be comfortable falling sideways into the water wearing a lifejacket. They’ll be able to support themselves at the surface without an aid, learn whip kick, swim 10 m on their front and back, and be introduced to flutter kick interval training (4 x 5 m).

Swimmer 3: These junior swimmers will dive, do in-water front somersaults, and handstands. They’ll work on 15 m of front crawl, back crawl and 10 m of whip kick. Flutter kick interval training increases to 4 x 15 m.

Swimmer 4: These intermediate swimmers will swim 5 m underwater and lengths of front, back crawl, whip kick, and breaststroke arms with breathing. Their new bag of tricks includes the completion of the Canadian Swim to Survive® Standard. They’ll cap it all off with front crawl sprints over 25 m and 4 x 25 m front or back crawl interval training.

Swimmer 5: These swimmers will master shallow dives, cannonball entries, eggbeater kicks, and in-water backward somersaults. They’ll refine their front and back crawl over 50 m swims of each, and breaststroke over 25 m. Then they’ll pick up the pace in 25 m sprints and two interval training bouts: 4 x 50 m front or back crawl; and 4 x 15 m breaststroke.

Swimmer 6: These advanced swimmers will rise to the challenge of sophisticated aquatic skills including stride entries, compact jumps and lifesaving kicks like eggbeater and scissor kick. They’ll develop strength and power in head-up breaststroke sprints over 25 m. They’ll easily swim lengths of front crawl, back crawl, and breaststroke, and they’ll complain about the 300 m workout.

Swimmers 1-2: 30 minutes 

Swimmers 3-6: 45 minutes

Lessons run Monday's through Friday's (excluding holidays).

• Session One: June 30 - July 11 (no program on July 1st due to the Canada Day Long Weekend)
• Session Two: July 14 - 25
• Session Three: July 28 - August 8 (no program on August 4th due to the Civic Holiday)
• Session Four: August 11 - 22

Sydenham Point Park

• Swimmer 5/6: 8:30 am - 9:15 am
• Swimmer 4: 9:15 am - 10:00 am
• Swimmer 3: 10:00 am - 10:45 am
• Swimmer 2: 10:45 am - 11:15 am
• Swimmer 1 - Group A: 11:15 am - 11:45 am
• Swimmer 1 - Group B: 11:45 am - 12:15 pm

Regular water quality surveillance at all public beaches in this region is conducted by KFL&A Public Health during the summer months. In 2023, The Point Beach experienced prolonged closures that resulted in the cancellation of swim lessons. In response, for the 2024 season, the Township is implementing additional geese mitigation activities that is intended to improve the water quality at the beach. However, should the beach close due to poor water quality, caregivers will be contacted directly as soon as possible and will have the option to bring their swimmers to McMullen Beach or Gilmour Point for their lessons until The Point reopens or to get a full refund for the session.

Gilmour's Point Park and McMullen Beach

• Swimmer 1: 1:15 pm – 1:45 pm
• Swimmer 2: 1:45 pm – 2:15 pm
• Swimmer 3/4: 2:15 pm – 3:00 pm
• Swimmer 5/6: 3:00 pm – 3:45 pm

The 2025 rates for Swim Lessons are $68.00 for sessions two and four. Sessions one and three are $55.00 because of the holidays that fall within those sessions. 

Please refer to this chart for registration conversion from the Red Cross Swim Kids program and YMCA Learn to Swim program to the Lifesaving Society's Swimmer program:

Please use the conversion chart if you are switching your child from another swim program (Red Cross or YMCA).

If your child is between the ages of 4, 5 or 6 and has never taken swimming lessons before, we recommend you start them in Swimmer 1. It is a much better experience for everyone to advance them to the next level sooner, rather than needing them to retake the level or drop down to master the skills taught in the lower levels.

Is your child is a bit older, has some skills, but is new to swimming lessons and you're not sure where to begin, contact Staff and to set up an evaluation. 

Our program is suitable for swimmers ages 4-12. 

• Proper swim attire
• Towel
• Drinking water
• Apply water proof sunscreen prior to arrival 
• Goggles are optional 

If other swimming equipment is required, the instructors will provide them for use while in the lesson. 

All of South Frontenac's instructors hold the following certifications:

• National Lifeguard Certification
• Lifesaving Society Swim Instructor Certification
• First Aid and CPR-C

Swim lessons will only be cancelled in cases of thunder/lightning storms or extremely cold water. Lessons will still be held in the rain.

In the event of lesson cancellations, we will do our best to contact you before the lesson start time.

Water sampling of beaches in South Frontenac is conducted by Kingston, Frontenac, Lennox and Addington Health Unit and the results are posted on their website. We'll notify parents of plans if there are beach closures.