This guide helps serious high school rowers and their families evaluate camp options by understanding the landscape, identifying what matters for their goals, and asking the right questions. We run camps — programs across seven countries, serving 500-600 athletes annually — but this framework applies to evaluating any program, including ours. Full disclosure is the only way to maintain credibility in a space where everyone claims to be the answer.

The appeal is clear: train at elevation, come home faster. But the physiology is more nuanced than the marketing. This article explains what altitude training actually does, what the research says about who benefits, how long it takes, and how to evaluate altitude camp options based on science rather than claims.

This framework is designed to help you evaluate any running camp systematically. We run camps too — international programs in Switzerland and Italy — but the criteria below apply equally to a local cross-country retreat in Ohio and a two-week altitude program in the Alps. The goal is an informed decision, not a specific one.

This guide covers the practical considerations families need to understand, how to evaluate international program safety and quality, and what different destinations offer. Whether you're considering Sparks or another international program, these are the questions worth asking.