All registrations received by March 16, 2025, will be in pending status.

  • If you apply by the lottery deadline, you’ll get notified about your acceptance status around March 18.
  • If the number of registrants for a camp session exceeds capacity, we will hold a lottery on March 17 to determine whether campers are accepted or on a waitlist. 

While we recognize it can be frustrating to wait to find out if you got into camp, we use a lottery system for over-subscribed weeks because a first-come, first-served model does not work well for everyone.  Some folks need a little extra time to get time off of work approved, arrange for camp funding, get access to or assistance with technology, or even find out about CDSS camps for the first time.

For intensive courses, we typically run a course lottery the week before the regular program lottery.

  • If you are applying for an intensive course, the deadline to get applications in before the course lottery this year is March 9, 2025.
  • If you are accepted to the course, you will also be enrolled in its host session. 

After the lottery dates:

  • We process all registrations and applications as first come, first served.
  • The number of open spaces at each session will be posted on this website and on the list of camp weeks you see during registration.

You’re welcome to register for any program with open spaces or join the waitlist for any programs that are full.

  • To join a waitlist, just register yourself for camp.
    • You will be asked to pay a deposit, which will be refunded if space doesn’t become available or you choose to leave the waitlist. 
Lottery Priorities

If a program has more registrations than we have space for, we use a random number generator to assign all campers an order on the acceptance/waitlist. Exceptions to the randomly assigned lottery numbers are below.

  • CDSS Governing Board and Committee members are guaranteed admission to their first choice session along with any dependent children and one adult guest.
  • Up to 8 spaces at any program are reserved for people nominated by CDSS Affiliates.
  • If you registered for the same camp program in the last two years (2023 & 2024), were waitlisted in both years, and did not attend that program either year:
    • You will be guaranteed admission the next time you register for the same program within 2 years (2025 or 2026 but not both), as long as you register before the lottery date. 
    • This policy applies on an individual basis only.
      • If you have other people on your registration who don’t qualify for guaranteed admission under this policy, they are subject to the camp lottery.

Please note that CDSS membership is not required for camp registration and does not affect your chance of getting into camp in 2025.