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Boot Camp XXXV will take place from Friday, June 20 – Wednesday morning, June 25, 2025. Member registration opens at noon Pacific time on January 1, 2025, and Guest registration opens at noon Pacific time on February 1, 2025.

There are a number of important changes coming up for our 35th Boot Camp Run!

First off, inflation and getting a handle on the Boot Camp Budget have made several changes necessary. The 15 Association lost a good deal of money during the two years we had to cancel for COVID. Since coming back from the pandemic, we have continued to have financial challenges surrounding Boot Camp, which last year culminated in a substantial loss, due in part to the club having to spend more than $2,000, which was not budgeted, for COVID tests, when we had a number of Boot Campers test positive for COVID. I believe we did the right thing in trying to keep everyone as safe as possible, and fortunately the cases were almost all extremely mild and everyone affected made a full recovery.

This year we are unfortunately going to have to increase Run Fees. We are attempting a balancing act of making sure that Boot Camp pays for itself, while not making it prohibitively expensive to participate. To that end, we are not increasing the cost for camping, which will remain $650 for Members and $750 for Guests. However, we also realize that not everyone, especially those that have to travel long distances and/or fly in, have access to or can bring camping equipment, so we have increased Bunk Room fees for both Members and Guests: $1,000 Bunks for Members, and $1,100 Bunks for Guests.

This means that the bulk of the increase will have to be born by men in private rooms, which we have no choice but to increase to $1,200 for Members and $1,300 for Guests. I know this is a substantial increase, but would ask everyone to keep in mind that our Run Fees are all inclusive.

There are not many vacations where a man can have room, lodging, food, and beverages, etc., all for between $650 and $1,300 for five days. Just getting a hotel room averages about $200 or more a night! Then there is food, possibly car rentals, and entertainment.

I would also like to ask that, considering we are likely to have more demand than ever for assistance for Members through the Siebert-Click Fund, that if you are in a financial position to donate to this fund, please do so and do so as generously as you are able to. You will be able to make a donation as you register for Boot Camp (and/or for our upcoming 45th Anniversary weekend in February). Unfortunately, only 15 Association Members are eligible for these grants, so if you have Guests facing financial difficulty, I encourage guys to get creative and help each other out.

Another way we are addressing these budgetary considerations is by down-sizing the Set Up crew as much as possible. The 15 Association has to pay lodging fees for the Set Up crew, as well as for the Tear Down guys who show up a day early to begin the run—a perk they earn with their hard work. This year Set Up will be by invitation only. Please send an email to me and Mike Walker, the Boot Camp Committee Co-Chairmen, by going to the "Contact Us" section of the website and selecting the "Boot Camp Coordinator" button. Both of us will get these emails. We need everyone on Set Up to be willing and physically able to work hard.

One final cost saving/safety measure we are implementing this year is that as part of your registration, each man will be required to obtain a minimum of 3 COVID tests: one to take just prior to leaving for Boot Camp; one to take before a witness upon arrival at Boot Camp; and one to take 3 days after their arrival at Boot Camp. These tests are available at most drug stores for $15–25 dollars for 3–4 tests, and many healthcare providers will give them to you at little or no cost (Kaiser provides its members several tests per month at no additional cost). We need to keep everyone safe, and by spreading the cost to everyone participating, we save The 15 Association more than $2,000, which we would need to re-coup in even higher Run Fees.

We are also planning on implementing a few changes, which should make it easier on men to sign up for jobs and streamline the check in process. Mike has come up with a plan for everyone to register for their 3 Boot Camp work shifts (unless you are on Set Up or Tear Down) as part of the process of registering for Boot Camp online! We hope this will be more convenient for everyone. We are also going to try to get as many men as possible to be able to do the same job for all 3 shifts and, wherever possible, do all 3 shifts in the same day.

We are also going to have a mandatory training session for each different job. This will make it easier to do the jobs you sign up for properly with a minimum of wasted/extra effort. Those orientations happen at 5:00pm on the first day, so make sure you are in camp and settled by that time.

We hope the pricing changes will not affect anyone too adversely, and we hope that the other changes will actually make your Boot Camp experience better. If you have any questions, concerns or suggestions, please contact Mike and me as described above.

Happy Holidays! We look forward to seeing and playing with as many of you as possible at our play parties in 2025, our 45th year as a club, and especially at Boot Camp XXXV!

Jeff Garner
Mike Walker
Boot Camp Committee Co-Chairman

Please be aware that there is currently no on-site registration.

We used to have a laptop that people who were bringing guests who were not in our system could use to enter their vital information, and the Front Desk could then retrieve it and print a Release Form for them to sign. Unfortunately, we've had three laptops stolen within the past year, and are no longer equipped for doing on-site registration.

So, make sure your guests are registered in our system before coming to an event.

Our apologies, but this is non-negotiable.