School Holiday Programmes
& Wainui Y Camp

Something for Everyone

Here at the Christchurch YMCA we work hard to provide great school holiday programmes that will ensure that your children stay entertained throughout their holidays. We offer a range of activities from arts and crafts, to sports, to outdoor activities. Our programmes are designed to cater for different ages, genders and cultural backgrounds.

Whether you want day trips, week long programmes, or camps we will have something to suit you and your child.

All our programmes are run by talented and responsible staff who are trained to provide a safe and stimulating environment. Ensuring your child is safe and having a great time is at the top of our priority list.

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Day Programmes

Our daily school holiday programmes operate Monday to Friday 9am – 5pm and offer your child the chance to experience independence, self reliance, and an opportunity to make great friends. You can choose to register for individual days or for the whole week.

In our quest to provide a higher level of service and to better cater for the needs of the children on our Holiday Programmes, we have split our programmes into age groups. This enables us to offer age group specific activities and outings, accompanied by authorised supervisors and leaders.

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Fees and Details

Full details on our fees and daily age specific programmes

Riccarton 5–7 year olds – based at Middleton Grange School

Activities can include climbing wall, movies, magic shows, Antarctic Centre, Science Alive, gymnastics, circus school, arts and crafts, basketball, swimming, Orana Park, Willowbank, bowling, archery, cooking, mini golf, Tothills Maze and many more!

Christ’s College 8–9 year olds – based at Christ’s College

Activities can include climbing wall, ice-skating, Court Theatre, movies, magic shows, Antarctic Centre, Science Alive, gymnastics, circus school, arts and crafts, basketball, swimming, Orana Park, Willowbank, bowling, archery, cooking, mini golf, Tothills Maze and many more!

Bishopdale 10–12 year olds – based at YMCA Bishopdale Rec Centre

City 5–10 year olds – based at City YMCA

City Y activities are designed specifically to meet a wider age range. The limited spaces available in this programme means it is great for those who are here for their first time in a Holiday Programme. It is also a great option for those people with children with a range of ages that don’t want to be split into the specific age groups and would be more comfortable if they can stay together.

Day Programme Costs

Daily registration is $45
Full week registration is $195

Children can either be dropped off directly at their specific age group location (as above), or at the City YMCA, where transport will be arranged to take them to and bring them back from their programme. We also offer Morning Crew (for parents who wish to drop their children off between 8am and 8:30am) at $4 per day. *This is only available at the City YMCA.

Week Long Programmes

Our specialised weekly school holiday programmes operate Monday to Friday 9am – 5pm and offer your child the chance to experience independence, self reliance, and an opportunity to make great friends.

Each of these week long programmes have a focus for those individuals who would like to hone and develop their skills, while having a great time! They include performing arts, creative arts, leadership and active programmes, and can only be booked for the full week.

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Fees and Details

Full details on our fees and week long programmes

Creative Arts 9–15 year olds – based at City YMCA

This programme focuses on acquiring new skills to express themselves as individual and as part of a group. The activities can contain a mix of dance, musical theatre, drama, arts and crafts and an outing

Frontrunners 13–15 year olds – based at the YMCA Adventure Centre (pick up & drop off at City Y)

This is a young leadership programme, which is socially driven and runs less like a holiday programme and more like a stepping stone into leadership. Daily activities will be used to build leadership and confidence, and there will be an opportunity to lead other younger aged group programmes. This programme will be strictly limited to Full Week registrations as this is a continuous programme which builds on skills throughout the week.

Performing Arts 9–15 year olds – based at City YMCA

Participants in this programme will acquire new skills in the areas of dance, drama and music and will be given a chance to showcase these new skills through performance. This programme is designed to encourage everybody to express themselves creatively in a safe environment without judgement.

Activ8 Youth 12–15 year olds – based at YMCA Bishopdale Rec Centre (pick up & drop off at City Y)

This is our most popular programme with a strong outdoor focus. The activities could include paddleboarding, laser strike, paintball, climbing and an overnight camp (weather and group dynamics dependent).

Activ8 Junior 9–11 year olds – based at YMCA Bishopdale Rec Centre (pick up & drop off at City Y)

This programme is aimed at 9-11 year olds with the same focus as the older Activ8 programme.

Week Long Programme Costs

Creative Arts – Full week registration $195
Performing Arts – Full week registration $195
Frontrunners – Full week registration $195
Activ8 Junior & Youth – Full week registration $195

Y Camp at Wainui Park

Y Camp is a very popular week long school holiday camp. From the age of 9 years, children can come and participate in the vast array of fun activities led by our outstanding local and international volunteer instructors.

A strong focus is on social interaction and as the children grow into teenagers, leadership development and goal setting is incorporated into the programmes.

Three camps run through the summer holidays, one in the April holidays and one in the October holidays.

Fees and Details

Full details on our Y Camp fees and programmes

Sandhoppers Camp 7–9 year olds

Sandhoppers is an introductory camp for younger campers that takes place when Y Camp isn’t running. It is a shorter 3 day residential camp with lots of opportunities to participate in many fun activities.

Fantails 9–10 year olds

This programme is designed for primary school aged children, and activities may include fishing, kayaking, streamsteering, low ropes, arts and crafts, archery, bivvy building, swimming, sneak outs and much more.

Penguins 11–12 year olds

The focus of this programme is on building social interactions while having fun! It is designed specifically for intermediate aged children, and activities may include kayaking, rock climbing, coasteering, abseiling, outdoor cooking, grass skiing, swimming, archery, campfire and much more!

Dolphins 13–14 year olds

This programme is designed to meet the needs of the teenaged youth. The focus is both on social interactions as well as the outdoors, and activities may include kayaking, coasteering, orienteering, archery, rock climbing, high ropes, raft building, leadership development and much more.

Orcas 15 year olds+

With a maximum of nine participants, this programme is designed around individuals’ own goals and developing leadership skills. Activities may include overnight camps or trips, a solo camping trip and a wide range of outdoor pursuits and journeys.

Y Camp Costs

6 day residential Y Camp – $290
3 day residential Sandhoppers Camp – $160

Children are dropped off at the City YMCA, and will then be transported by coach to Wainui Park.

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Ski Camp

Every winter the Christchurch YMCA runs two 5-day school holiday residential ski camps for 9-15 year olds. These camps are a great way to gain skills and confidence in skiing and snowboarding and also provide an opportunity to make new friends.

We have highly qualified and talented instructors who lead ski camp and work alongside the equally skilled staff on the ski fields – Mt Hutt and Porter Heights. The staff are able to provide a programme for all levels of skiing/snowboarding ability. Accommodation is provided at Pudding Hill Lodge in Methven, and transport is provided daily up to Porters or Mt Hutt.

Ski camp is always a highlight of the winter school holidays and spaces are limited so it is important to get in quick!

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