Rising Stars Camp returns as day camp to cut costs, boost attendance

Rising Stars Camp came back to Navajo Preparatory School in Farmington this year as a day camp, a change organizers made after overnight fees pushed the program out of reach for too many families. The camp had been canceled for several years because of Covid, returned in 2024, and then did not run in 2025 after enrollment fell too low once costs climbed.

Lead organizer Rainy Crisp cited the rising price of everything as the reason for the shift away from the overnight format. In 2026, campers paid either $30 per day or $80 for three days and went home each night instead of staying on the Navajo Prep campus. For San Juan County families, that change cut the cost and logistics that can keep young athletes from signing up, especially when transportation, supervision and time away from home all have to be worked out around summer jobs and other obligations.

It gives local athletes a place to meet collegiate coaches and older players and get a structured summer activity. In 2018, the girls’ camp was already in its 24th year and had expanded to include five other camps over time. The program was established in memory of the late Shiprock High School coach Jerry Richardson, along with Earl Crisp and Betty Ojaye, and has been aimed at helping local athletes return to their schools better prepared. In 2017, it had 45 campers, 10 more than usual, and organizers had to open another dormitory.

In 2019, the boys camp drew 27 participants from sixth grade through incoming high school seniors, with returning campers helping newer ones learn the expectations. Navajo Prep’s June 2026 calendar also listed a volleyball youth camp June 1-2 and a basketball camp June 8-10.