About Q Camps

Summer 2026 Q Camps registration opens Friday, Feb. 20 at Noon. More details to come!

Queen's Athletics & Recreation is the leading camp and youth programming provider in the Kingston area! Q-Camps offers a variety of welcoming and inclusive camps for youth ages 5-18 years, ranging from PA Day, Winter Break, March Break, and Summer Q Camp programs. We offer a wide variety of sports, Gaels high performance, themed, and STEAM camps to ensure there is a camp offering that resonates with all types of campers and skill level. We aim to provide experiences that develop friendships, promote a healthy and active lifestyle, improve athletic & physical literacy skills, and most of all, create lasting fun memories.

All Q-Camps & Youth Programs are developed with the Canadian Sport for Life Physical Literacy Model in mind and are instructed by our sport-minded mature university students and Gaels student-athletes. All Counsellors are certified in Emergency First Aid and CPR-C, attend extensive training, and are able to lead an amazing and memorable experience!

Looking for more information on our camps? Check out our FAQs or email queens.camps@queensu.ca.

Camp Descriptions

Camp FAQs

Camp Staff (coming soon)

Summer Camp Schedule By WEEK

Summer Camp Schedule By AGE GROUP

If you are looking for financial assistance, please fill out the Q Camp Bursary Application (link below) to submit your request.

All bursary decisions will be made after February 2nd and before our Camp registration opening day of February 20th.

Bursary Application

Our camps for ages 5 & 6 are designed using the Sport for Life "Active Start" model.
According to the Canadian Sport for Life and Long-Term Athlete Development (LTAD) framework, sport development begins with an Active Start for ages 5 & 6. Learning skills like flexibility, balance, agility, and coordination through fun activity helps prepare your camper for a wide range of sports. Through play and movement, they develop the fundamental movement skills and learn how to link them together. At this stage developmentally appropriate activities will help participants feel competent and comfortable participating in a variety of fun and challenging activities and games.
Key Concepts:
Physical activity should be a fun part of a child's life everyday and is essential for healthy child development.
Active play is key at this stage as it builds important connections within the brain, and between the brain and children's muscles.
Opportunities for exploration of risk and limits in safe environments.
Activities should help children feel competent and comfortable participating in a variety of fun and challenging activities and non-competitive games.
For children with a disability, access to age and disability-appropriate adapted equipment is an important contributor to success been physically active.
Our camps for ages 6 & 8 are designed using the Sport for Life "Active Fun" model.
According to the Canadian Sport for Life and Long-Term Athlete Development (LTAD) framework, sport development for children aged 6-8 is focused on strengthening their fundamental movement skills. In Active FUN, campers begin to develop the ABCs of athleticism (i.e., agility, balance and coordination) while playing sports in a fun environment. In the FUNdamentals stage, participants develop fundamental movement skills in structured and unstructured environments for play. The focus is on providing fun, inclusive, multisport, and developmentally appropriate sport and physical activity. These experiences will result in the participant developing a wide range of movement skill along with the confidence and desire to participate.
Key Concepts:
Target 180 minutes of activity per day, with 60 of those minutes spend in vigorous physical activity.
Activities should be helping children build confidence and competence as they engage in physical activity.
Emphasize the overall development of the child's physical capacities, fundamental movement skills, and the ABCs of athleticism: agility, balance, coordination and speed.
Develop skills by exposing participants to a variety of environments - indoors and outdoors, on land, ice and snow, in the air, and in or on water.
A mixture of structured and unstructured play, with some instruction.
Our camps for ages 9-11 and 12-14 are designed using the Sport for Life "Learn to Train" model.
According to the Canadian Sport for Life and Long-Term Athlete Development (LTAD) framework, sport development for children aged 9-14 is focused on understanding basic rules and strategies in games and using their fundamental movement skills to learn and develop sport specific skills. Once a wide range of fundamental movement skills have been acquired, participants progress into the Learn to Train stage leading to understanding basic rules, tactics, and strategy in games and refinement of sport specific skills. There are opportunities to participate in multiple sports with competitions focused on skill development and retention. Games and activities are inclusive, fun, and skill based. At the end of the Learn to Train stage, participants grow (or progress) towards sport excellence in the Train to Train stage or being Active for Life, either by being Competitive for Life or Fit for Life.
Key Concepts:
Develop foundational sport skills in a range of sports, physical activities, positions, and environments.
Children should continue to be active and engage in a minimum of 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity every day.
Develop strength, endurance, and flexibility through games and fun activities.
This is a period of accelerated development of coordination and fine motor control. It is also a time when children enjoy practicing skills they learn and seeing their own improvement.
Provide opportunities for every child to learn and play. Children are less likely to be included in peer activities if they do not have the same skill level and will have fewer opportunities for practice in the future.
Continue to encourage unstructured free play.
Our camps for ages 13-18 are designed using the Sport for Life "Learn to Train" model.
According to the Canadian Sport for Life and Long-Term Athlete Development (LTAD) framework, sport development for children aged 13-18 is focused on consolidating sport specific skills and building strength and conditioning. There are opportunities to participate in multiple sports with competitions focused on skill development and retention. Athletes enter the Train to Train stage when they have developed proficiency in the athlete development performance components (physical, technical-tactical, mental, and emotional). Rapid physical growth, the development of sporting capability, and commitment occurs in this stage. Athletes will generally specialize in one sport towards the end of the stage.
Key Concepts:
The Train to Train stage provides the gateway for both the Podium Pathway and Active for Life stage.
During this phase there is a tremendous influence on behaviour from peer groups and possibly tension between adults and adolescents.
This is a critical stage for participants to learn and understand the rules of sport, values, and consequences of one’s actions.
Implement a regular, periodized training, and competition plan using single or double periodization. Careful monitoring of athlete growth and response to training will enhance the development of a plan. Use physical literacy movement preparation as part of warm-ups.
Assess and remediate gaps in physical literacy or muscular imbalances.
Introduce athletes with a disability to specialized sport-specific equipment such as racing wheelchairs and athletic prostheses.
Offer programs specifically targeted at participants not engaged in sport/physical activity by providing a safe, developmentally appropriate, and welcoming environments.
Our camps for ages 8-12 are designed using the Sport for Life "Learn to Train" model supplemented by curriculums focused on STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics).
We recognize that the design and creativity are essential for the development of successful scientists, engineers, and mathematicians. This STEAM program focus, coupled with physical literacy give youth ample opportunity to learn a wide variety of skills both mentally and physically. According to the Canadian Sport for Life and Long-Term Athlete Development (LTAD) framework, sport development for children aged 8-12 is focused on understanding basic rules and strategies in games and using their fundamental movement skills to learn and develop sport specific skills. Once a wide range of fundamental movement skills have been acquired, participants progress into the Learn to Train stage leading to understanding basic rules, tactics, and strategy in games and refinement of sport specific skills. There are opportunities to participate in multiple sports with competitions focused on skill development and retention. Games and activities are inclusive, fun, and skill based. At the end of the Learn to Train stage, participants grow (or progress) towards sport excellence in the Train to Train stage or being Active for Life, either by being Competitive for Life or Fit for Life.
Key Concepts:
Foster observation, creativity, innovation, planning, revision and collaboration in youth through STEAM based activities.
Develop foundational sport skills in a range of sports, physical activities, positions, and environments.
Develop strength, endurance, and flexibility through games and fun activities.
This is a period of accelerated development of coordination and fine motor control. It is also a time when children enjoy practicing skills they learn and seeing their own improvement.
Use physical literacy movement preparation as part of warm-ups to support overall development of physical literacy.
Provide opportunities for every child to learn and play. Children are less likely to be included in peer activities if they do not have the same skill level and will have fewer opportunities for practice in the future.
Continue to encourage unstructured free play.