Meet Our Summer Camp Director
February 12, 2019
For the past 23 summers, campers have enjoyed word-class facilities, expert instruction and the most unique sports curriculum available without ever leaving NYC. With various sports for children of all ages and experience levels, there's a camp for every child and every schedule.
We want to give families an inside look into what Chelsea Piers Summer Camp is all about, so we sat down with Craig Woodcock, the Summer Camp Director for the past 13 years and asked him everything families need to know about camp.
Interviewer: Some children are interested in more than one sport. Can you tell us the types of sports camps that Chelsea Piers offers?
Craig: Chelsea Piers Summer Camp offers 16 unique sports camps for children ages 3 – 17. We have everything from basketball, soccer, gymnastics, ice skating, ice hockey, golf, Ninja + Parkour and even a Sports Academy camp that includes a variety of sports for the child that wants to experience more than one sport in week. In addition to all of the sports camps that we offer at Chelsea Piers you can enroll in gymnastics camp one week and then soccer the next. Families have the flexibility to try a new sports camp each week.
Interviewer: That’s awesome; campers really get to experience a well-rounded sports education. Does each camp also offer recreational periods?
Craig: Yes! That’s another great thing about our camps, each camp has a daily recreational period that includes ice skating, bowling, rock climbing, waterslides, and even a Spirit Cruise lunch where campers and their counselors eat lunch on the Hudson River Spirit Cruise line with a DJ and fun games on board.
Interviewer: That sounds like so much fun! Many parents might think that because Chelsea Piers Summer Camp offers so many different camps and is such a large facility, campers may not get the intimate summer camp experience. What would you say to those parents?
Craig: I think families do tend to think that because the facility is large and offers so many different activities that our camp is factory-like. However, that couldn’t be further from the truth. Each camp has its own intimate summer camp experience. We have set capacities for each camp that way there is always a small camper to coach ratio. We pride ourselves on providing each camper with individualized instruction. We also cultivate the summer camp culture in each camp by providing various spirit weeks and game days and we also put on weekly camp gymnastics shows, ice skating shows, hockey tournaments, golf outings and more so that campers can come together to showcase everything that they’ve learned to their other friends and families who can come and watch each Friday afternoon.
Interviewer: Do you provide transportation and/or aftercare for those families who need additional support throughout the summer?
Craig: Absolutely! We have a partnership with Selby Bus Transportation who provides bus transportation for all full-day campers throughout major neighborhoods in Manhattan and Brooklyn. We actually just added an additional Downtown Brooklyn bus stop near our Chelsea Piers Fitness Brooklyn location. We also offer an aftercare program for all full-day campers until 6:00pm in the Field House where campers participate in a variety of activities.
Interviewer: That sounds great. Does Chelsea Piers also provide lunch?
Craig: Chelsea Piers does provide hot lunch for full-day campers. We partner with lunch providers including fresh&co, Abigail Kirsch and Piers Pizza Company. Lunches include healthy and vegetarian options as well.
Interviewer: It sounds like Chelsea Piers has thought of everything from transportation to hot lunch. What else makes Chelsea Piers Summer Camp the camp to go to this summer?
Craig: Besides having a variety of different sports camps and activities to choose from, we really are NYC’s most flexible summer camp. Our camps run from June 17 – August 30 and families can enroll in one, two or up to eleven weeks of camp. We’ve also added short-week and combo week options for the first few weeks of summer to accommodate the different school schedules as well as the July 4 holiday week. In addition, we are also offering Early Bird pricing through May 17.
Interviewer: You’ve been a part of Chelsea Piers Summer Camp for 15 years, what is your favorite part of your job?
Craig: For the past 15 years I have seen campers grow up at the Piers. I’ve seen campers begin at three years old and then grow up to become camp counselors and coaches. The best part is seeing all of the campers have fun year-after-year and make so many life-long friends and memories along the way. The entire camp staff and coaches are professional and so much fun to work with; they all dedicate their lives to these kids and love what they do. There’s no other camp that has the same passion that we do.
Interviewer: Chelsea Piers Summer Camp sounds like so much fun that I want to come this summer! Thank you for taking us through the summer camp experience.
Craig: We cannot wait for another great summer! Families can enroll online at chelseapiers.com/camp and can call or email us for more information or assistance at camps@chelseapiers.com or 212-336-6846.