Youth Camps & Nude

[Macky]

Anyone here ever gone or known anyone has gone to the youth camps or nude u can you tell me if its worth.

Just wandering?

[Macky]

Anyone here ever gone or known anyone has gone to the youth camps or nude u can you tell me if its worth.

Just wandering?

[Trailscout]

Mackey,

No one can tell you if it will be worth your while. Only you can answer that.
Why not just go there and then tell us if it was worth it?

Don't live your whole life waiting on other people to tell you whether something is worth pursuing. Jump in!

Then when you get there, don't sit back and wait for good things to happen. Make good things happen! Your mind and actions can make a bad program tolerable and a tolerable program pretty good.

[PascoDoug]

Seriously Mackey,

The nudist youth camps (the ones that are left) are very positive and fun. One was held here in FL not long ago at my club (Lake Como) and all the kids had a blast.

Of course, if you are under age you will have to have your parent's permissions to attend.

I'm not sure where and when the next camp will be.

[Walt Iliff]

Hi Folks,

Having worked several of the youth camps and being heavily involved in the Youth Leadership Camp program, all I can say is that they are extremely worthwhile. Any young folks, between the age of 11-18 who wishes to attend should have their parents get the necessary information from their local club. There will be several youth camps held this year all over the country, and your club will have the times and dates. Or you could contact the AANR office directly at 1-800-TRY-Nude.

Walt Iliff

[Florida Cracker]

I know several youths who have attended the AANR youth camps, and they say they had a blast! They came away with lots of new friends their own age and an amazing amount of new self confidence in their chosen lifestyle. Two boys who did not tell anyone of their nude recreation experiences no longer hid it from friends and even allowed their pictures to be published in the Bulletin. The real indication of how great these camps are is the fact that the kids return to camp year after year!
Florida Cracker

[Walt Iliff]

Thanks for the comments, FC. Not only do many of the kids return to camp year after year, many of them stay in touch during the year. So many times we hear about how we need to reach the younger generation. This AANR sponsored program is a tremendously successful way to reach out to these terrific kids who are proud of who they are and confident about themselves. I will be working two camps this year and while I know I'm going to be exhausted when I leave, I also know that spending time with these awesome kids is going to be great.

Walt

[ken0254]

Walt,

Is there going to be a youth camp at WTP this year or have the legalities not been hashed out in the courts yet?

ken

[Walt Iliff]

Hi Ken,

There will be an AANR East youth camp, but it won't be at WTP this year. Too much stuff going on with the Nudist Summer Celebration. Check your Bulletin or the AANR office for the dates and location.

Walt

[John P]

Well, uh.

White Tail Park is in Virginia, and Virginia passed a law against nudist youth camps, in response to a news story about them in Florida which the American Association for Nude Recreation encouraged. So no, whatever happens won't happen in Virginia.

[missouriboy]

Eh? I thought that law only stipulated that a parent or legal guardian must be present with the minor child. Didn't the additional law banning the camps outright, fail to pass?

[ken0254]

That's all well and good, but how many parents or legal guardians are able to take the time off to spend summer camp with their kids be it scouts, 4-H, church, or what ever kind of camp?

ken

[Walt Iliff]

Sorry to disagree with you John, but the law in Virginia relating to the Youth Leadership Camp is that a parent, grandparent or legal guardian must be on the grounds while the camp is going on. A more stringent law was proposed, but never made it out of committee. As long as WTP abides by this law, as they did last year, the camp can be held in Virginia. However, this year July 10-16th is set aside for the Nudist Summer Celebration, where we are anticipating upwards of 1,500 people on the grounds of WTP by that weekend. See www.whitetailpark.org (http://www.whitetailpark.org) for more information about this event. It was decided to hold the Youth Leadership Camp elsewhere this year....but not because it couldn't be held in Virginia.

Walt Iliff

[John P]

I apologize for getting that wrong. After a couple of years and the proposal to expand the law, I lost track of what the actual law says.

I suppose the crucial matter for whether a youth camp is viable in Virginia would be how many parents would be on the grounds at the same time as it's taking place. In the past, how many people sent their children there without being present themselves? They're the ones who'll have to do things differently, or whose kids won't be able to attend.

[Walt Iliff]

Last year's Youth Leadership camp was held at WTP, and we had as many kids attending (20) as we have had at camps that don't have the Virginia law to deal with. Interestingly, the health department is charged with enforcing the law, and last year they came, and very apologetically asked to see three parents chosen randomly, asked a couple of questions, then left. Even THEY think the law is stupid. They know WTP already, after all, they are the health department, they do the regular inspections, so even though they had to check up on this, and WTP was in full compliance, it was still a stupid waste of time and taxpayer's dollars.

Walt

[Bob S.]

Just out of curiosity Walt, what is the status of the legal challenge of the VA law? Is there a scheduled court date?

Bob S.

[Walt Iliff]

No court date, the legal challenge was dropped, and we are going to have to live with the law as it is currently written. Talk to me next time you see me at the park and I'll go over the details with you. I'll probably be out next weekend if the weather is nice and definitely will be there for Memorial Day weekend and for the membership meeting.

Walt