A Day in the Life of an SGA Camper

If you’ve ever wondered what your child’s day looks like at Seattle Gymnastics Academy camp, imagine a place where kids spend the day moving, laughing, learning new skills, and making friends.

From the moment campers walk through the doors to the time they head home happily exhausted, every part of the day is designed to keep kids active, engaged, and confident.

Here’s what a typical day at SGA Camp looks like!

Morning Arrival:

Morning and full-day campers arrive at 8:30am, and the gym quickly fills with energy. Coaches greet campers at check-in and help them get settled, and feeling excited at-ease. Some kids immediately start chatting with friends they met earlier in the week, while others are eager to jump into the first activity of the day.

Campers are grouped so that everyone can participate in activities that are just right for them. The goal is to get kids moving, laughing, and ready for the day’s adventures.

Warm-Up: Getting Ready to Move

Before the gymnastics fun begins, campers start with a group warm-up led by their coaches, to help kids get their bodies ready for the day. The warm-up usually includes cardio movement and stretching and a game, or we listen to and move songs, or relay races and group challenges.

Gymnastics Rotations: The Heart of Camp

After warm-ups, campers rotate through different gymnastics stations throughout the gym. Each station gives kids a chance to work on new skills and improve on skills they’ve already learned.

Some of the favorite stations include:

Trampoline & TumblTrak

Campers practice shapes and body control, while learning things like seat drops, star jump / ski jumps, and safely exploring movement in the air.

Bars

Here campers work on things like swings (big swings over the foam pit!), pullovers and casts – building strength and confidence while trying something new.

Floor

Campers practice skills like rolls, cartwheels and handstands, and back walkovers with coaches encouraging every attempt. Plus, we get strong (and brave!) while practicing climbing the rope!

Our coaches focus on helping kids try new things, celebrating progress, and feeling proud of what they accomplish. No gymnastics experience is needed to come to camp because skills are broken down into attainable progressions for any ability, and those that are familiar with gymnastics work on the progression that is right for them!

Snack Breaks & Lunch: Time to Recharge

After a busy day of movement, campers take a breaks for snacks around 10am and 2pm. Kids gather with their groups to enjoy snacks from home and talk about their favorite moments so far. And for our full-day campers, lunch around noon – which is also when we say goodbye to our morning half-day campers and hello to our afternoon half-day campers!

Some conversations you might overhear during these breaks include things like: “Did you see my jump on the trampoline?” or “I finally did a cartwheel!” These break gives campers a chance to rest, recharge, and connect with their new friends.

Games, Crafts, and Creative Play

Gymnastics is a big part of camp, but it’s not the only fun campers have. Throughout the day, kids also enjoy group games and creative activities such as:

• Some favorite games include are ship wreck, the floor is lava, sharks and minos, hide and seek in the dark, and night at the museum!
• Team challenges like design and build large scale obstacle courses
• Crafts can be a huge variety of things, and it’s a great time for the campers to meet and talk with new friends and build relationships, and also to engage their minds while resting their bodies.

These activities help campers build teamwork, creativity, and friendships. Some campers discover that their favorite part of the day isn’t just learning a new skill, it’s the laughter and fun that come with playing together – just kids being kids, offline.

What Kids Gain From Camp

By the end of the day, campers have done much more than just burn energy. They’ve also built important skills like:

• Strength and coordination
• Confidence trying new things
• Teamwork and encouragement
• Perseverance when learning something challenging

Many campers surprise themselves with what they can accomplish in just one day.

The End of the Day: Proud and Happy

As the day winds down, campers wrap up their last gymnastics rotations. Coaches often take a moment to celebrate something special from the day, like a camper trying a new skill, someone helping a teammate, or a big moment of bravery.

These small victories are part of what makes camp so meaningful.