Before you build your season, it's important to define the non-seasonal structure of your offerings. Session groups, sessions, and optional programs lay the groundwork for how families view, select, and enroll in your camp — and they help you organize pricing, capacity, and reporting year after year.
Every camp is unique. Some offer a single full-summer session, others offer weekly options, and many provide both day and overnight experiences. Campminder’s flexible setup allows you to define:
Session Groups: categories that organize your sessions for smooth parent and cargiver navigation on CampInTouch.
Session: the timeframes campers can attend.
Programs: optional selections within a session, such as activity tracks or specialty focuses.
These definitions not only shape your camper application but also improve internal reporting and communication throughout the season.
Video Tutorial: Non-Seasonal Definitions
Define Session Groups
Session groups are broad categories that organize your sessions. They act like folders for different types of camp experiences.
Session Group Examples:
Resident Camp
Day Camp
Mini Weeks
Specialty Camps
Camp Locations (such as "Boulder" and "Denver" camps)
Each session group appears as a bold header on the camper application. Parents expand a group to view its available sessions.
Note: Every camp needs at least one session group, as they're tied to pricing rules in Financial Administration. If you don’t need multiple groups, you can stick with the default Summer session group.
If there's only one session group, applicants will see just the session or program names.
Reporting is based on sessions and programs, not session groups.
Navigate to Admin > Camper Setup > Season Settings. Hover over Definitions in the upper right corner of the screen, and click Session Groups from the dropdown.
Click the green Define New button at the bottom of the window screen.
Choose a name for your Session Group and provide a (optional) description.
💡Tip: Refrain from including dates in your session and session group names, as these serve as templates to be replicated across different seasons.
Select Active or Inactive under the state column. Inactive session groups will not be displayed to applicants on the application.
Click Save to create one group, or Save + Add to create more.
When you are done creating session groups, click the red Close button at the bottom of the screen.
Define Sessions
In Campminder, sessions represent the time campers attend camp. They're non-seasonal, so you can reuse them each year, and update or add new ones anytime.
Session Examples:
Session 1 (June 10–16)
Full Summer (June 10–August 2)
Weekend Getaway (July 12–14)
Note: Sessions must fit within a specific timeframe. In your application settings, you can choose whether to allow signups for sessions with overlapping dates.
Navigate to Admin > Camper Setup > Season Settings. Hover over Definitions in the upper right corner of the screen, and click Sessions from the dropdown.
Click the green Define New button at the bottom of this screen. Enter the session name, an optional code for internal records, and select the application and session type from the radio buttons.
💡Tip: click on the jpeg below to enlarge.
The Description/Image you enter in these fields will appear on the application —Make sure you word these components well.
💡Tip: We recommend avoiding naming sessions things like "July 2018 Session." Use titles like "Session 1", "Session 2", "Full Summer" that are easily rolled from year to year.
To count a session as an additional year at camp, select Yes under the Increment Years at Camp column. For shorter events like "Rookie Camp Weekend," you might choose No since they don’t count as a full year.
Select the radio buttons under Dates & Rates on whether you will include dates, costs, deposit, and space available information on the application.
Select the Active or Inactive radio button as appropriate from the State column. “Inactive” sessions will not be displayed to applicants as an option on the application.
If this is the only session you wish to add, click the green Save button. If you would like to add more sessions, click the green Save + Add button.
When you are done adding sessions, click the red Close button at the bottom of the screen.
Define Programs
Programs are optional selections within a session that allow campers to choose a focus area, such as Horseback Riding or Performing Arts. Not all camps need programs; only use them if you want parents to make an additional selection beyond the session itself.
Program Examples:
Athletics Camp → Choose Basketball, Soccer, or Tennis
Performing Arts Camp → Choose Theater, Music, or Dance
Note: Campers can select only one program per session. If you want to allow multiple choices, consider using Additional Options instead.
Navigate to Admin > Camper Setup > Season Settings. Hover over Definitions in the upper right corner of the screen, and click Programs from the dropdown.
A window will open; click the green Define New button at the bottom of this screen.
Name your program, an optional code, and a description. Ensure the name and description are well-worded, as they'll appear on the camper application.
Under the State column, select Active or Inactive (as appropriate). “Inactive” programs will not be displayed to parents as an option on the camper application.
If this is the only program you wish to add, click the green Save button. If you would like to add more programs, click the green Save + Add button.
When you are done adding programs, click the red Close button at the bottom of the screen.
After defining your programs, you can add them to the appropriate Sessions.
📖 Related Help Materials: