Web resources for camp staff: where to look for answers to your questions.

In the heat of summer camp, questions need quick answers. Do certified staff need extra training? What are some effective rainy day programming ideas? Is this legal? What's the standard? Is that considered a reasonable accommodation? Where can we find vegetarian snack recipes? The list of potential questions goes on and on. Directors like to think (in March) they've planned a well-equipped, well-organized staff resource area with all the answers.

If your staff office (in July) is buried beneath schedules, health records, insurance forms, copies of Camping Magazine, and corn dog crumbs, it's time to ask the world for help - the World Wide Web, that is.

There's so much information on the web it's sometimes hard to know where to look. Getting lost is easy, something no one has time for during a busy camp season. Here are a few places to begin.

Staff certification, training, standards

Every camp director hopes that all staff stay through the summer and that all programs run smoothly within industry standards. In reality, there's often a need to replace staff, hire last-minute staff, or upgrade the certification and training of existing staff. And sometimes programs or facilities need last-minute tweaks, too.

Equestrian

CHA - The Association for Horsemanship Safety and Education's web site includes a standards page (www.cha-ahse.org./standrds.htm) to answer some of your questions.

At the instructor standards page, you'll be reminded that …