Park district postpones summer-camp registration following website crash

A glitch in the online registration system for popular Wilmette summer camps has caused the Wilmette Park District to postpone registration, according to a message from the district.

Park district officials said the website and registration software crashed Tuesday morning — the first day of resident registration — and they could not re-establish the connection. Registrations that did go through will be honored, the district announced.

Park District Executive Director Steve Wilson told The Record that district leaders believe website traffic was a factor in the crash, but officials must further review the problem and reach back out to the community with a solution later today, Feb. 6.

“We apologize for the frustration and confusion caused by our website and registration software crashing this morning,” a statement reads. “… It is our desire to ensure patrons are able to register for their desired programs in a fair and efficient manner, and we will be working to arrange next steps for summer camp registration which will be announced by the end of today, February 6.”

Wilmette Park District summer camps attract thousands of participants each year. The camps, which have limited capacity, range from community camps, such as Great Gillson and Junior Day Camp, to sports and activity camps, such as sailing, golf, tennis and Broadway Bound, to name a few.

Residents reacted swiftly to the digital struggle, taking to social media to express their criticism.

Multiple users remarked that they have experienced similar problems on the park district’s online registration, and many also complained that the issues place a consistent burden on working parents who set aside part of their day to tackle the registration process.

“We have many who are very interested in the community that all show up to register and we need to do a better job for the community moving forward,” Wilson said.

Wilson added that the park district is hoping to expand this year’s offerings in an effort to make up for the snag.

It is unclear as of press time when resident registration will resume, but it will likely also affect nonresident registration set to begin Tuesday, Feb. 13.

For updates, visit the Wilmette Park District’s website.

The Record is a nonprofit, nonpartisan community newsroom that relies on reader support to fuel its independent local journalism.

Subscribe to The Record to fund responsible news coverage for your community.

Already a subscriber? You can make a tax-deductible donation at any time.