Registration Questions

Registration Fee (Per Person)

  • $135/person - Early - Spots added before 02/28/2026
  • $145/person - Regular - Spots added between 03/01-04/30/2026
  • $155/person - Late - Spots added between 05/01-06/30/2026

Hotel Rooms (Price for 2-night stay)

  • $350/room - Double Queen Room (Max 4-person Occupancy)
  • $350/Room - Single King Room (Max 2-person occupancy) limited number available

Individual parishes/schools may charge additional fees for transportation, breakfast, and administrative costs.

We provide Saturday lunch and dinner.  If someone in your group has dietary restrictions, we will only be able to accommodate a vegetarian choice. You may want to bring your own food.  

The registration fee does NOT include:

  • Transportation to and from the Archdiocesan Youth Conference
  • Friday dinner
  • Saturday breakfast
  • Sunday breakfast
  • Parking
  • AYC t-shirt (available for an additional fee of $15/each)

AYC is open to incoming freshmen through outgoing seniors, all who fall in that range are invited to attend.

Only those registered with a group are allowed at the conference activities.

Please note it is the key leader's responsibility to make sure all those 18+ are current on their safe environment training (CMG).

CMG Training 

Individuals must be at least 21 years or older and have been cleared through the Safe Environment/CMG Safe Haven Program to be considered a chaperone for the Archdiocesan Youth Conference.  There must be at least one adult for every ten high school youth in attendance. Please review all Chaperone Policies and Procedures found in the Office of Adolescent Catechesis and Evangelization Archdiocesan Handbook.

catholic-youth-ministry-handbook-4th-edition.pdf (archgh.org) 

Registration fees are non-refundable.  However, substitutions may be made up to the Friday of conference.

The Key Leader can make substitutions at any time by modifying their group registration.

Key Leaders cannot remove group members once they have been added. Please reach out to OACE to have a group member removed.

Please note that Chaperone Modifications cannot be made after July 21, 2026. This is to provide enough time to ensure that all chaperones are current on their safe environment training.

Please note it is the key leader's responsibility to make sure all those 18+ are current on their safe environment training (CMG).

CMG Training

Hotel Questions

Hilton Americas Hotel 

713-739-8000

Website

 

All hotel registration is done through the AYC registration system (Swoogo).

Parish may continue to add rooms if they are available.

  • Room accommodations for youth events are gender specific. Gender is defined as gender at birth. Males are never allowed in female-assigned rooms and females are never allowed in male-assigned rooms without adult supervision.
  • Specific Policies:
    • Adult and his/her children in the same household sharing a room.
    • Two Adult chaperone/leaders sharing a room.
    • Four youth in youth-only rooms without adults allowed with the following stipulations:
      • Systematic check-ins by adult chaperones
      • Clear communication and understanding of parental liability for delinquent actions.
    • Youth who are 18 may not be housed with anyone under the age of 18.
    • Adults may never be in a room alone with a youth.
    • Bag searches must be conducted with parents present before arrival at destination.
    • Additional bag searches may be conducted at destination as needed.

No, all groups must stay overnight at the hotel(s) contracted with the archdiocese.

This preserves the conference experience for participants and allows us to negotiate better hotel rates.

Should it be necessary for a minor to leave to attend another function, please contact OACE in advance of the conference. 

A teen may leave only if accompanied by a parent.

Group Members and Permission/Liability Forms 

Option 1- Add group members during your initial registration

  • When completing the key leader registration there will be a page titled "Add Group Member"
  • You must click the "Add Group Member" button for each person you want to add. This means for a group of 20 people you will complete this process 20 times.
  • When adding a member, you will have the option to add a name and email for them. This will trigger them to receive an email requesting them to complete their digital permission slip, consent, and liability form. 

Option 2- Add members by modifying your registration.

  • if you do not have participant information at the time of registration you can add it later by modifying your group registration.
  • Click on the "Modify Registration" button in the site header and log into your registration.
  • Navigate to the "Add Group Member" page and add or modify the members of your group.

 

We recommend that you add the spots for your expected group size at the time of key leader registration.

This ensures you have the spots that you need and allows you to avoid late registration fees. Any spots added to your group after key deadlines will be subject to the higher rate. 

You may add additional spots at any time, however, to remove spots from your group you will need to contact the OACE staff at oaceevents@archgh.org

A permission slip and liability form is needed for all youth participants and should be submitted by their parent/guardian.

All adult participants (Key Leader/Chaperones) need to have a Medical Consent and Liability form. 

All youth and adult forms will be collected using a digital form.

  • A Key Leader is able to modify their registration and add participants to their group. They will have the option to add a name and email address; the email address will be the parents' email for youth participants.
  • When the Key Leader adds an email address the parent/participant will receive an email with a unique link to complete their form. 
  • This form will update the participant's information in the Swoogo group registration.

When you receive a new form, you should immediately download a copy for your records.

The AYC Team will also receive a digital copy and will have access to them during the event.

It is highly recommended that you print several copies of these forms, one set to leave at the parish and one set to have with the key leader throughout the event.

Additionally, if you are arranging group travel (Bus or carpool) a copy of each form should be with the driver/designated leader in each vehicle.

The most likely cause of this is that one of the required emails was not entered correctly (misspelled or in the wrong format).

This does not mean that the form was not received, just that the automated flow sending the email was not triggered.

 

Email the AYC team to see if the form was completed. Please provide the following information:

  • Key Leader Name
  • Parish Name
  • Participant Name
  • Date the form was submitted

Check-in and Bayou Village

Conference registration will begin at 3 p.m. on the fourth floor of the Hilton Americas Hotel. Conference materials will not be available prior to 3 p.m.

Hote Check-in will begin at 3 p.m. Your patience is needed with the hotel to all time for the proper clean-up and turn-around for our gathering. Every effort will be made to keep rooms for parishes together, but this may not be possible. 

An OACE Staff or AYC Team Member will be present at the hotel to help answer questions.

  • Upon arrival Key Leaders, go directly to the hotel registration desk in the main lobby and check into your rooms.
    • Send your group, with their luggage, to the pre-function area on the 2nd floor. This ensures that the main lobby is not overrun with conference participants.

Bayou Village is a space for your youth and chaperones to gather while the key leader is completing the check-in process. 

Location:

  • Ballroom of the Americas - 2nd Floor, Hilton America Hotel

Includes:

  • Interactive Inflatables
  • Games
  • Vendors
  • Exhibitors
  • Live DJ

Other Questions

  • Yes! Scholarships are available!
  • The maximum scholarship awarded is $105 and will only go toward the registration cost. This does not include housing, travel, or meals not provided by AYC. Full scholarship awards are not guaranteed.
  • Scholarships will be distributed based on an individual need and not on a parish/school need.
  • Scholarship application, and essays must be completed and returned to the Office of Adolescent Catechesis and Evangelization by the program scholarship deadline June 2, 2025. All applicants’ forms must be submitted as one packet by the catechetical leader/campus ministry leader with a cover letter verifying the financial need.
  • Scholarship awards are non-transferable. Late fees or substitution fees are not included in scholarship awards.
  • Participants must apply individually. Refer to application for instructions for submitting and essay 

 AYC Scholarship form

Participants will need extra money for:

  • Meals or snacks not provided by the conference or their parish/organization.
  • Vendors at Bayou Village & throughout the weekend
  • Sunday Mass Collection ($5 recommended to go towards AYC scholarship fund).