Winters in New England can feel endless, but one thing that doesn’t last long is how quickly it takes summer camp registrations to fill in Wayland. While still in the grip of winter, on Monday, Feb. 24, hundreds of parents logged on to the Wayland Recreation website with the hope of securing a spot for their child in one of Wayland’s most popular camps, Summer Adventure.

Like trying to buy a ticket to a Taylor Swift concert, within minutes, everything was sold out. If parents are unable to sign their child up in time, they are placed on a waitlist. While families still have a chance to spend the summer at the camp, they may have to deal with uncertainty.

“It’s one of those things where you have to make sure it’s on your calendar, you’ve got the alarm set and you’re logged on and ready to go with your finger over the mouse as the clock strikes seven o’clock,” Wayland resident Mavourneen Foley said. “It’s very stressful and your heart is pounding the whole time. It’s a bit nerve wracking.”

The mad rush can frustrate some parents who fail to secure a spot for the weeklong camps that can help provide structure and fun activities for children in Wayland over the summer, and allow working parents to make sure their children are in good hands.

“So many parents are looking for things for their kids to do over the summer because it can be really hard to fill all the weeks with things to do,” Foley said. “Wayland Recreation does a great job and my kids always have a blast when they get in.”

According to Wayland Recreation Director Katherine Brenna, Wayland camps offer 2,100 spots in their summer camps which are normally filled with 700 campers. Based on this information, on average, each camper signs up for three sessions. Many parents found themselves staring at a “sold out” screen under 60 seconds after they opened the website.

“Our staff is carefully selected, screened and trained, and they bring the magic of camp every day,” Brenna said. “We know that the one thing that kids want the most is to be with each other and caring staff [while] simply doing fun and adventurous stuff or learning new skills.”

Although the stressful registration is something not all parents enjoy, Brenna believes Wayland Recreation Department has implemented improvements over the years and continues to look at ways to improve the process. Parents used to line up outside the town building to register before Wayland Recreation adopted the more accessible online model used today.

“We have tweaked the process each year to make it more user-friendly for parents by staggering registration times and moving registration to evenings to accommodate working parents,” Brenna said. “We know our current system is the most fair and equitable way to offer programs with limited resources to the whole community.”

Because of the popularity and limited availability of the camps, some parents find themselves on the waitlist wondering why the camp simply cannot add more spots.

“While we could certainly hire more staff, there are other logistical layers to add more campers,” Brenna said. “If you think about all the parts that go into a summer camp, how many kids can you safely have in the pool at one time? On a bus? We can’t just add one more kid on a bus, we need to add a whole bus.”

Wayland Recreation Department, which adheres to all state requirements for leading a camp, also has to account for space in the event of inclement weather. While the athletic fields where the activities are normally held can accommodate many campers, the indoor space is much more limited.

Summer Adventure offers a wide variety of activities for kids, such as arts and crafts, sports games, swimming, field trips and more. Sophomore Sebastian Guzman was once a regular camper at Summer Adventure, and is now working as a counselor. He experiences first hand why these camps are in high demand.

“I think the camps are so popular because the activities we do are inclusive to all, so everyone can participate no matter what,” Guzman said. “I think most of the counselors that the camp chooses are really fun and have a lot of energy, so I think the campers have a good time.”

Brenna understands why parents are frustrated. The Recreation Department receives many calls, emails and Facebook messages from parents who are looking to get off the waitlist.

“Every year we see the comments on Facebook and we sympathize with the stress of planning an entire summer for a family,” Brenna said. “We aim to strike the right balance between serving as many campers as possible at a reasonable cost and ensuring it’s a good camp experience for everyone.”

While many towns struggle to fill their camps, according to Brenna, Wayland has increased its campership by over 50% in the last few years.

“We know that we have a very special camp culture here in Wayland,” Brenna said. “We work every year to protect our camp culture, as well as expand camper spots whenever possible.”