TNN News — Hundreds of parents were left frustrated this morning after a technical glitch disrupted the highly anticipated launch of the government’s summer camp registration portal. The system, scheduled to go live at 9:30 a.m., appeared to be active minutes earlier, and within moments, many of the most popular camp options were fully booked.
Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport Owen Darrell addressed the issue in an interview with TNN’s Trevor Lindsay, offering an apology to affected families and an explanation of what went wrong.
“Well, Trevor, I’d like to start by, first of all, apologizing,” said Minister Darrell. “I know there was frustration amongst many families, and I’m genuinely sorry for that confusion and any stress that was caused. Clearly, the system did not run at 9:30 as we wanted it to.”
Minister Darrell confirmed that he was made aware of the issue almost immediately and instructed the technical team to investigate and resolve it. By approximately 9:45 a.m., the system appeared to be functioning as intended.
“Obviously, in that 15 minutes, there were some parents that feel they did not get their first choice,” he acknowledged. “There were also some who felt others had an unfair advantage. I’ve looked into that, and there was no evidence of any unfair advantage happening.”
The Minister pointed to an overwhelming surge in demand as one of the primary challenges, noting that while the government has doubled the number of camp spots available—from under 2,000 two years ago to 4,000 this year—the demand has grown just as quickly.
“As much as the government would like to be able to accommodate every single child, unfortunately, that’s not always possible,” he said.
Minister Darrell also explained that while some of the most popular government-supported camps filled up quickly, there are still a few spots available in other programs for those still looking.
Responding to concerns about system overload, he noted that some of the pressure may have come from multiple family members logging in simultaneously to secure a single child’s registration.
“There are some cases where you have ten family members all online at the same time trying to register the exact same kid,” he said. “While that’s understandable, it does clog the system.”
The Minister emphasized that any duplicate entries would be removed during the system’s ongoing maintenance, and parents may be contacted in the coming days if spots open up.
“Many parents may be pleasantly surprised when they get a call to say, ‘Hey, we’ve had some spaces open up, and you were able to get your first choice,’” he said.
Darrell also acknowledged changes in the system this year, which only allowed parents to register one child at a time—unlike last year, when multiple children could be registered simultaneously. However, he said the operational specifics are being reviewed internally and promised further updates once the department completes its analysis.
“We’re doing a deep dive into the processes,” he said. “Once we have more clarity, I’ll issue a more detailed statement.”
Despite the disruption, Minister Darrell stood by the transition to online registration, citing it as a more modern and generally efficient approach compared to previous years, when families were forced to queue for hours in person.
“This approach is a lot smoother for all users than we’ve seen in the past,” he said. “But we acknowledge the issues, and we are committed to improving the system.”
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