Online sign-up for camps hits a snag

The online registration system for county Department of Recreation and Parks crashed early Thursday morning, creating confusion for parents who were using it to sign up their kids for summer camps.

This is the third year that the department has used an online registration system for camp sign-ups. Since the camps are popular and fill quickly, many people sign up at midnight, as soon as the registration opens. This year, registration began at 12:01 on Feb. 2.

The system appears to have crashed about 1:30 a.m., said Gary Arthur, the department's director, but parents noted that it was unusually slow and prone to freezing before that. The cause was not known yesterday, Arthur said. The site was operating again by mid-day yesterday, but Arthur urged anyone who had signed up for summer camps to check and make sure their registration is accurate.

Information: 410-313-7275.