Background

Old Dominion University (ODU) is the Norfolk, Virginia, forward-focused public doctoral research university for high-performing students from around the world who desire a rigorous academic experience in a fast‑paced and profoundly multi-cultural community.

As part of the University’s athletic program, Old Dominion offers Athletic Camps for high school and youth athletes in baseball, basketball, soccer, wrestling, field hockey and many other sports. When Chris Crouch, Director of Athletic Camps for ODU, joined the team in 2006, the camps served approximately 900 athletes each year. Since then, Crouch has worked to set the foundation for growth, including implementing a convenient online registration option for participants, and now the camps serve approximately 3,400 athletes each year.

Challenge

Prior to Crouch coming on board, all camp registrations were mailed in and the data was entered into Excel® by two staff members. In addition to the unnecessary time spent on the inefficient manual mail‑in process, Crouch wanted to alleviate data entry error from staff trying to decipher illegible handwriting.

Crouch notes, “If we were going to grow, we had to establish a foundation to handle the growth. We didn’t want to have a good year and grow our camps and the next year, not have the systems in place to live up to expectations and serve everyone that we wanted to.”

ODU’s athletic department was already in a state of growth and Crouch recognized the potential to capitalize on the success and build a reputation with spectators. An online registration database would give the camp program the capability to exchange emails, send updates and invites to games, expand payment options, and provide confirmation letters immediately upon registration so there was no concern about a registration or payment not going through successfully.

Solution

Crouch was already familiar with the various camp management software solutions on the market coming from a YMCA in Florida. In 2006, ODU Athletic Camps selected Active Network’s CampRegister software because of the improved reporting, registration, customer relationship management, program management, oversight and decision‑making features offered.

“The online registration service offered through CampRegister is not only a huge convenience for our participants, but it also aids our staff in handling payments, as Active automatically processes credit card payments and we don’t have to put in the manpower to handle it internally.”

In addition to the online registration and secure data management, ODU also benefits from CampRegister’s email services to better communicate and stay in touch with families. “The kids that were at our games and coached by our players, were the kids we targeted to come to our camps. The interest was already there and it became an easy sell. In year two, we started hosting camper reunion nights at our games and sent players out into the community to read at their schools, make appearances at little league games, and become more visible in the community. This kept the ODU brand fresh in parents’ minds. At times where parents were looking to cut back their budgets, we had made the kids and families feel as if they were a part of our family so the thought of cutting out camp was not a thought for most. We continue this trend to this day and, as a result, have seen an increase in attendance at our games.”

Results

Crouch believes the biggest benefit ODU has experienced since implementing CampRegister is the improvements in communication and marketing. “The communication saves so much time, alleviates confusion, allows us to extend our reach into the community, and equips us to handle our continued growth. Our retention rates are much higher now than prior to CampRegister because our families know what’s going on and we’re able to better market our programs to our target audiences.” The approximate 27% increase in registrations over the past three years has translated to tens of thousands of dollars in new revenue.

ODU Athletic Camps also utilizes the flexibility of the CampRegister system to accept deposits to hold a camp spot, so parents can pay the remaining balance on the first day of camp. “Parents have peace of mind because they don’t have to mail a check. It’s a real convenience factor.” Because of the time and labor savings internally, Crouch has taken another step with CampRegister system and offers parents a $10 savings when registering online versus mailing in a registration form.

ODU Athletic Camps’ Advice for Successful Camp Management:

1. The kids are not a number; they’re people. “If you’re looking at camp management solely from the standpoint of profiting, you will struggle. Make the kids a part of your family and get them to the games.”
2. Online registration makes everything a lot easier. “I’m sure online registration affects retention and recruitment positively, but I think we would still do a lot of the same things; they would just be a lot harder to do.”
3. Education is key. “I believe a lot of people don’t take all of the capabilities of camp management software into consideration and use them to their full effect. Participate in webinars, educate yourself and know the full capabilities of what you’re paying for. If you’re not using emails and confirmation letters, you’re not getting your money’s worth.”