SSCCHHOOOOLL EEDDUUCCAATTIIOONN DDEEPPAARRTTMMEENNTT,, HHAARRYYAANNAA

SSTTAARRTTSS AADDVVEENNTTUURREE CCAAMMPPSS

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DDeeppaarrttmmeenntt aa nnuummbbeerr ooff aaddvveennttuurree ccaammppss wweerree

hheelldd iinn JJuunnee,, 22001111 aatt MMaannaallii,, HHiimmaacchhaall

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wweerree sseelleecctteedd ttoo ppaarrttiicciippaattee iinn tthhee ccaammppss.. Thheeyy

wweerree eexxppoosseedd ttoo ttrreekkkkiinngg,, rroocckk cclliimmbbiinngg rriivveerr

ccrroossssiinngg aanndd ootthheerr tteeaamm aaccttiivviittiieess.. WWee hhooppee

tthhaatt llaarrggeerr nnuummbbeerr ooff cchhiillddrreenn ooff GGoovveerrnnmmeenntt

sscchhoooollss sshhaallll ccoonnttiinnuuee ttoo ppaarrttiicciippaattee iinn ssuucchh

aaccttiivviittiieess iinn ccoommmmuunniioonn wwiitthh nnaattuurree..

WHAT IS CAMPING?

Camping is a form of outdoor activity where the campers spend

some time ranging from a couple of hours to several nights

outdoors in a relatively rural atmosphere. The campers are

required to use tents or portable structures which is much

different from the comforts of a house to use as shelters.

Camping is a recreational activity. Summer camps differ from

camping in many ways. Summer Camps is not only undertaken

as a recreational activity but also

as educational. The entertainment

factor of the summer camps

complements the camps which is

prominently based on principles to

help young children grow into

responsible and law abiding

adults.

SUMMER CAMPS can be classified into many categories. There

are some camps that provide activities that help develop

adventure spirit in children while there are others that provide

training in performance arts like music and drama. Educational

programmes in summer camps have also been one of the sought

after programmes to help children learn more and stay ahead of

their peers in the present environment of cut-throat competition.

Based on the needs of children and the mentality of their parents

children are sent to the respective summer camps accordingly. A

person who wants to hone his skills in music will go for a

summer camp that provides training in music while a kid that

loves adventure will opt for a programme that assures adventure.

Summer camps have come in vogue in India in the recent years

and is catching up at an amazing pace prominently in the cities.

Camps have been more popular in the West and have now

entered almost all the developing countries in Asia. The trend of

summer camps in India has been welcomed by nuclear families

that have double incomes who cannot spend much time with

their children and would love to see that their children are doing

something productive rather than just watching television,

going online or playing video games. The best part about the

summer camps is that though, the campers are on their own,

they are under constant vigilance of the counselors or

supervisors who guide and provide help in every way.

TYPES OF CAMPS IN INDIA

ACADEMIC/EDUCATION CAMPS

Academic Camps, though not so popular in India is sought after

by campers who are conducive to studies. People with technical

and scientific bent of mind have more inclination towards

academic camps. Mathematics camps, science camps and

language camps have been popular in this category.

Environmental studies camp is also climbing up the popularity

charts.

TECHNOLOGY CAMPS

Technology camps as the name suggests is more to do with

technocrats. With India becoming a computer super power,

technology camps have been exponential in spreading computer

awareness by creating a

platform for children to learn

more about computers and

programming. Some of the

courses offered are related to

programming, animations,

gaming, flash and

Photoshop.

ART CAMPS

Art camps stress mainly on areas related to arts and performing

arts. Art camps could comprise of theatre camps, performing arts

camps, visual arts camps, dance camps, music camps and film

camps. Some camps provide specific training to help the campers

specialise in a particular subject while there are others that

provide training in a wide range of subjects under one training

programme. Photography has also been a popular subject when it

comes to pursuing photography as a hobby. Even circus and

magic have been included under this category.

SPORTS CAMPS

Sports camps have seen a

stupendous rise in popularity in

India. The recent impressive

and unprecedented haul of

medals by Indian athletes at the

Commonwealth Games 2010

and Asian Games 2010 have

seen more and more Indians

looking at sports as a lucrative career option. Sportspersons of

India have instilled hope and pride in the hearts and minds of

Indians. The rise in the number of sports camps and the number

of children that have been enrolling is a sure sign of increasing

popularity of sports in India. Moreover, this would definitely bring

up the standard of sports in every game in the years to come.

Cricket has undoubtedly, been the most popular sport in India

but football, badminton, tennis, boxing and athletics are catching

up with cricket. It is only through sports that a person can

realise his competitive spirit and the value of participation. It has

also been proved scientifically that the mind works better if it

plays any sport. Sports is

also a great tool to enhance

leadership skills. It is also

promising to see many

schools making it

mandatory for every student

to participate in at

least one game or sport. There are still very few sports camps in

India that provide campers to choose from a wide variety of

sports disciplines. Many sports camps have only one or two

disciplines which they focus on. One can witness a string of

camps that concentrate exclusively on the game of cricket in

India. Football camps too form a huge number. There are other

few camps for disciplines like boxing, tennis, badminton and

athletics but they amount to a very small number. Other

camping activities like canoeing, equestrian and lacrosse are not

too popular in India.

ADVENTURE CAMPS

Adventure camps, also known as wilderness camps could be

anything related to adventure. Adventure could be in water, on

land or air. Adventure camps are helpful to children and

students who are timid and are easily bullied. Adventure camps

help them to face the world and not be afraid of inconsequential

activities. These camps focus on building team spirit, developing

courage and overcoming obstacles. It trains them to stand up to

the challenge brought forward to them and develop a 'never give

up' attitude. Trekking, outdoor camping, scuba diving, bungee

jumping, river rafting, kayaking, hiking, mountaineering and

travelling are some of the adventure sports that people indulge

in. India still has a long way to go in terms of adventure camping

as this kind of camping is mostly popular in developed countries.

TOUR AND TRAVEL CAMPS

Tour and travel camping requires one to go to a foreign country

and experience the atmosphere of camping. It could be a camp

full of learning and enrichment

for a person that loves to know

about different countries and

communities. There are certain

camps that focus on inter-

cultural programmes and even

offer language courses. What an

experience it would be to spend some days with people you have

met for the first time in a completely different environment than

you grew up in. Tour and travel camping is relatively new as

compared to other camps.

SPECIAL NEEDS CAMPS

Camps focussing on particular medical ailments has also become

the order of the day in a few countries, though, not a huge

crowdpuller in India yet. People with problems like asthma,

cancer, epilepsy, obesity and physical disabilities participate in

special needs camps.

YOGA CAMPS

Though, not popular everywhere yoga camps are surely on the

rise in India. With so many religious gurus coming up in the

forefront with various religious views, the most popular of them

all have been the ones that have and practise yoga. People of all

shapes and sizes have benefited from yoga and is known to be

effective for every ailment this world has to offer. Yoga camps

have been established and have had record-breaking attendance

in the recent years. One of the most prominent reasons is the

sedentary and solitary life style that is led by the people of today

which includes young as well as the old. People seem to have

forgotten the importance of society and companionship. The

western influence in the family system, culture and food habits

has led to maladies that have been too powerful for the

conservative Indian society. The popularity of yoga camps have

been on the rise in western countries too.

SUMMARY OF PARTICIPANTS IN MANALI CAMP STUDENTS PARTICIPANTS

TEACHER'S Sr No District

VIII IX X XI XII TOTAL Grand Total B G B G B G B G B G B G Male Female Total

1 Sirsa 3 10 6 19 0 19 1 1

2 Karnal 1 5 1 7 0 7 1 1

3 Mahendergarh 3 5 4 12 0 12 1 1

4 Jind 6 14 13 33 0 33 1 1

5 Fatehabad 1 8 7 5 21 0 21 1 1

6 Panipat 1 2 3 1 3 1 1 8 4 12 1 1

7 Gurgaon 2 2 4 0 4 1 1

8 Rewari 4 3 7 0 7 1 1

9 Mewat 1 1 0 1 0

10 Hisar 1 6 2 15 11 9 42 2 44 3 3

11 Bhiwani 2 2 6 8 37 12 1 8 7 2 53 32 85 4 2 6

12 Sonepat 1 2 2 2 6 1 7 1 1

13 Kurukshetra 2 1 2 1 5 3 1 7 8 15 1 1

14 Rohtak 2 2 5 9 0 9 1 1

Grand Total 6 5 26 13 97 18 48 8 52 3 229 47 276 17 3 20