Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA)

Registration for RYLA will open in early 2026.
Club, Student and Staff forms will be available at the bottom of this page.

RYLA 2025 | May 9th-11th

What is RYLA?

Established as a Rotary Structured Program in 1971, Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA) is Rotary's leadership training program for young people. The Rotary District 6250 RYLA program is a camp designed to build future leaders and Rotarians who exemplify the four way test:

Is it the Truth?
Is it fair to all concerned?
Will it build good will and better friendships?
Will it be beneficial to all concerned?

Where and when does RYLA happen?

RYLA is held at Upham Woods Outdoor Learning Center located in Wisconsin Dells.
Dates: May 9-11, 2025
Arrival/Departure:
- Students should arrive from 11:30am – 12:00pm on Friday, May 9th
- RYLA will conclude at 11:00am sharp on Sunday.
- Rotarians/Parents, should pick students up at 11:00am on Sunday, May 11th.

Who can participate?

Each year Rotary Clubs can sponsor sophomores from local high schools to attend. We've designed our program for sophomores and one of our top goals is for those students to go back to theirs schools and communities to put what they learn at RYLA to work for their last two years of high school!
Students who have attended RYLA in a previous year are encouraged to apply to come back to RYLA as a "Junior Counselor". More details on the application process are below.
Rotarians are also always welcome and needed to help facilitate the camp, share Rotary stories, and have fun!

What does RYLA cost my Rotary Club?

The cost to sponsor one student to attend the camp is $250. This registration fee is paid by the local Rotary Club.
Many clubs send several students. Please budget for as many students as you are willing to cover. We love to have a full camp!
Transportation is the local Rotary Club’s responsibility (see below).

How do students get to RYLA?

The sponsoring Rotary Club is to coordinate volunteers to drive their students to and from RYLA.
Coordination with other area clubs is highly encouraged, especially if you're sending 1-2 students.
The La Crosse area clubs typically coordinate a bus to send several students.
While we encourage the above options as the preferred method of transportation, parents/guardians are allowed to drive their students if it is the best/only option.
While it may be allowed in very special circumstances, we strongly discourage students from driving themselves.

What should I bring to RYLA?

To be sure that you've got everything you need to have an awesome time at RYLA, check out our RYLA Packing List!

Check out this video to get a feel for what RYLA is all about!

Watch more videos here.

Use the below forms to submit your club information, register your student(s), or apply to be on staff!

Club Application

Registration will open in early 2026

To start the registration process, Rotary Clubs must fill out the form at the link below and let Rotary District 6250 know how many students you're sponsoring to send to RYLA. You'll also provide the name of those students. After submitting this form, students along with their parents/guardians will complete the Student Registration form.

Applications Closed

Student Registration

Registration will open in early 2026

Students along with their parents/guardians must fill out this form completely after being receiving acknowledgement from their local Rotary Club and/or School District that they are being sponsored by that club to attend RYLA. You'll use this form to submit your contact information, acknowledge emergency contact info and event risk, complete our health form and code of conduct.

Registrations Closed

Staff Application/Registration

Registration will open in early 2026

Whether you're applying to be a Junior Counselor, Leadership Guru, or Rotary/Rotaract Counselor, you'll use this form to apply to be on the team! Staff training days will include a virtual training prior to camp and an onsite training session for Leadership Guru's, Junior Counselors and new Rotarians/Rotaractors on the Thursday evening before camp starts.
Please be sure you can commit to the entirety of these dates BEFORE you apply!

Applications Closed

Photo Release

Organizations ask for photo releases so they can use participants' photos with their permission, keeping everything friendly, legal, and respectful of everyone's personal image. Please use the below link to download and complete your form, then upload it here.

ENGLISH

SPANISH

Assumption of Risk Form

Agreement for Assumption of Risk, Indemnification, Release, and Consent for Emergency Treatment.

Please use the appropriate link below for a fillable pdf. Then, upload it here.

ENGLISH

SPANISH

RYLA Coordinator Toolkit

Need help identifying students, selecting students, working with schools, or all the above? Check out these helpful tools to get you started.

RYLA Fact Sheet. Big picture information about our event.
What is Rotary? Helpful when working with school staff that are unfamiliar.
Sample RYLA Candidate Interview Questions. If you or the school needs to conduct interviews for final student selection, these questions may help.
Sample Letter to School Officials. Use this to create interest and to formally ask schools to help select students to attend.
Sample Selection Criteria for RYLA Participants. This too may help you or the school to make final participant selections.

Want all these tools in one pdf? Download the full toolkit here!