We want Gauntlet to be a distraction-free week for students, and few things distract students as much as their phones. Over the years, we’ve found that taking students out of their regular routine opens them up to hear from Jesus in ways they haven’t before.

Yes. Every year, we make changes to Gauntlet so each year is better than the last. As a result, there are new details every year that you’ll need to know.

You can request a group leader or roommate on the Gauntlet sign-up form. We do our best to accommodate roommate and group leader requests, but we cannot guarantee students will be in a room with the people they requested.

Students will learn who their group leader is on the bus ride to Gauntlet. We do this for two reasons: 

1. We are often finalizing rooming assignments right up until we leave. (For example, if a student wakes up sick on departure day and can’t make the trip, that might change rooming assignments for that campus.) 
2. We don’t want students to say no to Gauntlet because they didn’t get a certain group leader. We’ve seen so many great friendships start with, “We met when we were in the same group at Gauntlet...” 

Every room will have no more than four students in a room. All students will sleep in single beds and leaders will sleep in rooms nearby. Campus Safety will monitor dorms at all hours of day and night, plus dorms will be separated by gender. We’re doing our best to keep campuses together, so (hopefully) your student will be hallmates with some familiar faces.

Students are responsible for bringing lunch to eat on the bus on Monday. We will provide all other breakfasts, lunches, and dinners. If your student has food allergies, be sure to note that on their sign-up form.

Gauntlet students, volunteers, and staff will stay on site at Clemson University in dorm rooms.

No. Students should never be alone. Students’ group leaders are to be with them at all times.

Yes! NewSpring medics and Campus Safety teams travel with us to Gauntlet. In an emergency, Campus Safety will get in touch with you.

Yes, if you’re comfortable with your student taking medicine themselves, you can send it with them. If your student needs assistance with their medication, or if they take a controlled substance (such as an ADHD drug or prescription pain pill), medics traveling with us will assist them. If your student is taking a controlled substance, they’ll need to bring their medicine in the bottle from the pharmacy. This lets our medics verify the prescription and dose your student is supposed to take.

The dress code, along with a packing list, is included in the packet you’ll receive at the parent meeting.

We’ll provide breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day in Clemson. We also encourage students to pack snacks. The primary reason your student would need money is for shopping during free time. Lots of students like to get souvenirs from the Gauntlet Store or a coffee run and snacks throughout the day.

We use a bus transportation company called Champion.

All volunteers going to Gauntlet must pass a federal background check, Awareness Training, and an interview. Once volunteers are approved, they go through training before going to Gauntlet.

Only approved Gauntlet volunteers can be on site with students in Clemson. This is due to the fact that all volunteers must pass a federal background check, Awareness Training, and an interview. Safety is our top priority, so we want to make all our students are safe at all times. Because of this, we ask that students are dropped at their campus to travel together to Clemson and that you wait until your student returns back to their home campus to see them again.