Making Friend Requests

Friendships are at the heart of a Camp Ouareau experience!

At Camp Ouareau, we’re all about making new friends—and sometimes the best ones come from meeting someone new at camp. But if your camper feels more comfortable knowing they’ve got a friend from home around, we totally get it! It’s always nice to have someone familiar in the cabin, especially if it’s their first year. Or maybe they’ve made a camp bestie and can’t wait to be reunited!

So, if your camper has a friend they’d like to be paired with, here’s what you need to know!

Why Make a Friend Request?

Campers and families make friend requests for a couple of main reasons:

  • New Campers: First-timers might feel more comfortable bunking with someone they know, which helps make the transition easier.

  • Camp Friends: Returning campers often want to reunite with camp friends they’ve met over the years.

In fact, around 40% of campers choose to make a friend request, while 60% leave it up to us to introduce them to new friends. Either way, the Ouareau experience is all about making connections!

Different Types of Friend Requests

There are a few ways campers can make friend requests. Here’s a quick breakdown:

  • Group Request: This is when you ask to live in the same cabin or tent as your friend. You’ll be bunkmates, sharing sleeping space.

  • Co-Group Request: For campers who want to be nearby but don’t mind being in separate cabins. You’ll still share the same counsellors and activities—but snoozing separately.

  • Activity Request: Campers can also request to do specific activities with a friend, like archery or rock climbing. We do our best to make sure friends can have fun together, regardless of age or sibling status.

  • Meal Request: For siblings or friends who want to eat together, you can request to sit at the same table. Just note that this depends on age, but we’ll try to make it happen!

The Fine Print: Request Limitations

To make friend requests go smoothly, here are a few important points:

  • Same Session: Your camper’s friend needs to be signed up for the same session to room or be grouped together.

  • Same Age Group: To keep things comfortable, friend requests work best within similar age groups. Campers should be within one school grade and birth year of each other. We can’t pair up campers from very different age groups for living spaces.

  • No Family Members in the Same Cabin: To encourage independence, siblings or cousins won’t share a cabin. But they can still enjoy meals and activities together if requested!

Mutual Requests – Both Friends Need to Request Each Other

For a friend request to be approved, it must be mutual—both campers need to request each other in the same category (group, co-group, etc.).

Multiple Requests?

What if you request to bunk with multiple people? Here’s how it works:

  • You can list more than one friend, but we’ll only consider the request fulfilled once your camper is placed with **one** of those friends.

Example:

  • Kermit requests to be with Gonzo and Miss Piggy.

  • Miss Piggy requests Kermit and Fozzie Bear.

  • Gonzo requests to be with Kermit.

  • Fozzie Bear requests to be with Miss Piggy.

    In this case, Kermit and Gonzo would likely end up together, while Miss Piggy and Fozzie Bear might be in the co-group and living nearby.

How to Make a Friend Request

Making a friend request is easy!

  • During Registration: There’s a section to make requests in all four categories when you fill out the application form.

  • After Registration: If you missed it during registration, simply email us at info@ouareau.com, and we’ll add it to your camper’s file.

While we can’t guarantee all requests will be fulfilled, we promise to do our best! If we can’t make it happen, we’ll let you know before camp starts so you can prepare your camper.

Got Questions?

If you’re still wondering how friend requests work or want some guidance, feel free to reach out at info@ouareau.com or call us at 819-424-2662.