Hello! I'm Yoshiki (camp name: Nyos), co-representative of Camphip Academy.Campship Academy will start its third year of winter camps as a company on December 20th, the day this blog is published. This year's program will be held over approximately four weeks, and approximately 270 children will participate in the program.We would like to express our sincere gratitude to all the parents who entrusted us with their precious children. Thank you very much. We will proceed with the program with safety as our top priority.
To begin, I'd like to share a few thoughts we have for the winter camp!
This winter program offers a variety of programs tailored to diverse ages and preferences.
The snow play camp for preschoolers, which starts today, is set for one night and two days to encourage younger children to challenge themselves, and offers various activities centered on snow play such as tubing and sledding.
The Shiga Kogen Ski Camp, which starts tomorrow, December 21st, will be held three times in total, offering a 2-night, 3-day program that is easy for beginners to participate in, and a 3-night, 4-day program that allows for more skiing time. In addition, we have prepared programs with different concepts, such as a ski camp at Zao Onsen Ski Resort in Yamagata, which boasts the largest skiing area in Japan, and a Hokkaido program where participants can enjoy multiple ski resorts with different courses. All of our staff have been preparing with all their hearts until today. We will proceed with the program so that this year's winter camp, which is a once-in-a-lifetime experience for children, will be a memorable growth experience.
A shot from the Nagano/Shiga Kogen program
When it comes to winter camps and ski camps, the focus tends to be on improving skiing skills. However, what we want to achieve is to realize our ideals of "children's independent growth," "development of cooperativeness," and "fostering self-esteem" through group living, with skiing as the core sport. Many children will participate in the program with excitement again this time.The few days spent eating, sleeping, and challenging new things with friends they didn't know before are days of fostering independence and self-esteem gained through their own challenges. We hope that participating in this winter camp will be an experience that, when looked back upon, will be a driving force for them.
Our thoughts on the ski program are also described in the previous blog post by co-representative Akagi (Tom) (here), so please read that as well!
Let me tell you a little bit about the leaders who support our camps.
In this winter program, more than 60 staff members and leaders will participate in the program to support the children's daily lives. The presence of these leaders is one of the greatest attractions of Campship Academy.
For the 2025/2026 winter season, we conducted a total of two winter leader training sessions in December this year. The first session focused on lectures and case studies, and the second session involved visiting the Shiga Kogen ski resort in Nagano Prefecture, where the program will be held, and conducting ski training at different levels, as well as a serious snow play and Campship Party (an evening event held during the program) rehearsal for the leaders.
Leaders certainly play a defensive role in thoroughly managing safety and health during the program, but at Campship Academy, we operate programs with the belief that "leaders also thoroughly enjoy their time with the children."
Even children who are nervous on the first day of the program will see the leaders enjoying the program naturally, just like children, and will feel that they too can enjoy themselves to the fullest, naturally relaxing and smiling more.
At our camps, children casually address leaders by their camp names. We don't use terms like "sensei" (teacher) (if a child calls a leader "sensei," we ask them, "Oh, there's no sensei here! Please call me by my camp name!
Encounters with such leaders are one of the precious experiences we want to provide children through our programs. We believe that interacting with adults of different ages who are close to them will further broaden a child's world.
Leader training in progress. Everyone attempts Capture the Flag.
The winter, long yet short, begins. On an internal note, new staff members joined after summer, and we have been preparing as a strengthened and united organization.
We sincerely hope and expect that this participation will be a few days that lead to your child's future, and we await your participation!
Leader group photo
Campship Academy
Co-representative, Hosoda