THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT CAMP WATITOH

1. LOCATION - Watitoh is located in the heart of the Berkshire Mountains of western Massachusetts in the town of Becket. We are three hours north of New York City, two hours west of greater Boston and less than 90 minutes from Bradley International Airport which serves the Hartford, CT/Springfield, MA region.
2. OWNERSHIP - Watitoh has been owned and directed by the Hoch family since 1960. Sandy, Bill and Suzanne Hoch are the Directors of the camp.
3. ENROLLMENT - The full camp season lasts 50 days, and most campers attend for the whole time. A four-week enrollment, with the option to extend for the full season is also available.
4. ACTIVITY PROGRAM, STRUCTURE VS. CHOICE - The day is organized into five activity periods, each lasting one hour with 15 minutes of change-over time in between. The morning consists of an instructional period at the waterfront where campers are grouped according to swimming ability and receive lessons in swimming and other aquatic activities, and a land activity (sport, etc.) that is scheduled by age group. When one side of the camp (boys or girls) is at the waterfront, the other side is on land. The afternoon begins with a Hobby Elective hour where each camper picks an activity that they would like to specialize in for the week. Hobby period is then followed by General Swim and another land activity scheduled by age group. Every night, from 7:30-9:00 p.m., there is an organized evening activity for the entire camp.
5. FOOD - The entire camp eats together in one sitting, and meals are served family-style. Campers and Counselors sit together by bunk. The Kitchen is staffed by professional chefs and a baker. Mealtime is always a highlight of the day at Watitoh.
6. STAFF - Each side of the camp is led by an experienced professional Head Counselor. Cabin Counselors are college-age students or recent graduates. The department heads are professional educators and coaches. Many members of the staff are former campers or have worked at camp previously.
7. MEDICAL - Every camper must have a current health history completed prior to the start of camp to be kept on file in the Camp Infirmary for the duration of the camp season. The Infirmary is staffed by two full-time registered nurses who are in residence throughout the summer. A physician from Pittsfield, Mass. (20 minutes from camp) overseas the medical staff. The nearest hospital is Berkshire Medical Center in Pittsfield.
8. TRANSPORTATION - Chartered bus transportation is available on the first and last days of the camp season for campers traveling from the New York metropolitan area. Bus transportation is also available for campers from Montreal and for those flying into nearby airports.
9. CLOTHING - Watitoh is not a "uniform" camp, but there is an outfit of T-shirts, shorts and other sportswear that campers need for special occasions. Information about clothing is mailed in January, and the clothing items are available from a well-known camp outfitter. Laundry is done on a weekly basis by a commercial laundry service that picks up and returns within less than two days.
10. TOURS/VISITING - The camp can be seen either in season or out of season, by arranging a tour with the camp office. The directors also meet with interested families at their homes to describe the program in greater detail.