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Camp style: Kids' summer getaways impose dress codes

By: Katherine Dow

Posted: 06/24/2012 1:00 AM | Comments: 0

(BRUCE STOTESBURY / VICTORIA TIMES COLONIST)

As school comes to an end and temperatures heat up, many kids across Manitoba are gearing up for camp. But in an age of string bikinis, belly tops and booty shorts, dressing for a week at camp in the hot sun can be tricky.

"Obviously it's hot out. We want kids to be comfortable but still dressed appropriately for their activities. But overall, we rarely have any problems with kids not following dress codes," said Bryan Ezako, executive director of the Manitoba Camping Association (MCA).

In a recent online survey by the American Camping Association, 71 per cent of the 361 camps that responded said they implement some form of dress code. All but two of the MCA's 31 accredited residential camps have some sort of dress code in place.

YMCA-YWCA Camp Stephens' dress code bans bikini tops, spaghetti straps, halter tops, short-shorts, midriff-baring tops or clothing with inappropriate language.

Similarly, Camp Arnes doesn't allow bikinis and midriff-baring tops, and swimwear must be worn in swim areas only.

Brennan Cattani, camp director at Camp Cedarwood, said he feels the conversation about dress codes is important.

"It's about self-worth and self-image. When you're in your teen years, that's an incredibly fragile time, and sometimes you express yourself in the ways you dress," Cattani said. "We ask our campers to dress comfortably and with modesty. Because we're a camp that has only junior high and high school kids, quite often they come with the ability to express themselves. But we don't ask kids to fundamentally change how they dress. We just ask for self-respect."

Still, Cattani recognizes the difficulty of dressing for the weather.

"Last summer, man, it got hot. And the truth is if you go shopping for clothes, there's only so much you can choose from. So we understand that, too."

Leona Fontaine's daughter Sage, 8, is going to Camp Arnes on Lake Winnipeg for a week in July.

Fontaine says even in the Grade 3, Sage goes to school with kids who dress in provocative clothes.

"It's nice that they have a dress code, 'cause it kind of curbs all that. Sage doesn't feel pressured to dress inappropriately, but she sometimes wants to look older than she is. At camp, she shouldn't have to worry about that," Fontaine said.

But Fontaine wants the discussion about dressing appropriately to be an open one with her daughter.

"When the time comes, and she wants to start dressing older and more maturely, I will allow her, even at camp. But it's important to have a discussion about it, so she knows the kind of attention it could attract. I'd want to make sure she's truly comfortable with herself and her appearance. It's all about education."

One camp director in upstate New York said unlike Fontaine, parents can sometimes be more of a problem than campers in adhering to dress codes and other restrictions.

"Two years ago on parents' day, I did have a young lady walk out of the cabin in a tube top," said Scott Ralls, the founder, owner and director of Southwoods, a camp in the Adirondacks. When he asked the girl to change, she said OK.

Where'd the camper get the tube top to begin with?

"Her mom brought it," Ralls said. "Do you know how many things parents send in the mail that aren't allowed?"

Mom Annette Entin, is on board now but did have some doubts when she sent her oldest daughter, Jordan, now 22, to Southwoods.

"My first impression was really, you can't wear a bathing suit, and it can't have a tie even, but I was happy about the no makeup," the mother said. "They're there to have fun and to be themselves. I mean, who are you making yourself up for?"

-- with files from MCT

katherine.dow@freepress.mb.ca

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition June 24, 2012 A2

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