Lou,

The 2017 Camp at Harris Hill had 22+ Juniors; one or two came from California and another came from as far away as Alaska.

12 Juniors flew single-seaters (many completing their first contest), while the others flew 2-seaters (K-21's & Duo's) with experienced mentor/instructor pilots. It was a resounding success!

To answer your question: we anticipate most of the campers will come back again this year, and we're hoping to pick-up a few more from the midwest and elsewhere. I'm hopeful we'll see some new faces from the Chicago, Minneapolis, Quad Cities, Indianapolis, and Dayton/Cincinnati areas. I'm hopeful that despite the distance we'll pick up a few from Region 5 too (it's a straight shot up I-75 from FL and GA). The target this year is 25-30.

Anything you can do to promote the Juniors Camp/Contest would be greatly appreciated by both the organizers and the SSA. We really need to get the word out to clubs and to Juniors (ages 14-25) so we get as many Juniors as possible to sign up early enough we can recruit volunteers to meet demand. There's nowhere in the world a Junior is going to get to fly a contest with world-class level pilot or fly a sailplane solo in a contest for $200/week. Heck, my kids' summer day camp tuition costs more than that!

Our hope is to plant the seed (of experience) in these young men and women so they stick with it after college or return to the sport as highly engaged, enthusiastic club members in their mid to late 30's. XC and racing is the gift that keep giving. The more experience you have the more you realize there is to learn and do in the sport. FWIW, I'm a product of the 2005 Camp at Harris Hill that was organized by Tim Welles, Sean Murphy, and Justin McMaster, among others, so I know it works.

All the best,

Chris Schrader