Play All Day
He shoots… he scores!
On Saturdays, we take a break from our regular activity schedules and are able to sleep in for an extra hour. Instead of regular morning activities, we enjoy some friendly competition with tournaments. Today, boys could choose to participate in basketball, soccer, chess, Magic the Gathering strategy card games, flag football, and ping pong singles. The boys love the opportunity to choose what tournaments they want to participate in, exercising their freedom of choice and building teamwork skills. Whether you are into active sports or quieter activities, there is something for everyone during these fun tournament free-choice periods. Plus, since all the adventure trips return to camp for the weekend, it is a chance for the whole camp to participate in games together, and enjoy a whole day of play.
To start each Saturday off, everyone is treated to an extra hour of sleep so they can recharge from the busy week. This morning’s breakfast was a favorite: waffles with all the toppings. You could choose to make a sweet waffle breakfast with the syrup, strawberry jam, and butter on the table, or a fruity waffle topped with strawberries and blueberries from the fruit bar. Some people opted for a savory waffle, eating it taco style with sausage inside. No matter what style, everyone left satisfied and fueled up for a big day.
Flag Football had some tight competition today in their tournament!
Competition at camp can be a key time to display your Warrior Spirit (one of the four parts of the Falling Creek Code), but you don’t have to be the biggest or most fearless to show your Warrior Spirit. The Magic card game tournaments are always extremely popular, but they are very quiet matches that require a lot of concentration. Boys have to learn an extensive set of rules and practice lots of strategy to get better at the game, which takes patience and diligence. Ping pong is another game that seems to be slower paced, but it takes lots of practice and focus to hone in your fine motor skills and hand eye coordination at quick speeds. During competition, the rest of the Falling Creek Code is just as important: Positive Attitude is needed for sportsmanship, Moral Compass is necessary for playing by the rules, and Servant’s Heart is used when taking turns during matches.
The competition was tight today, and at lunch the counselor captains announced the winners of all their teams. In ping-pong, Tripp W. won the singles tournament, and was crowned the 2019 2-Week Ping Pong King. Flag Football had some talented teams going against each other, and even went into 4 overtimes. In the end, Team “It’s Sunny!” led by HarryO were the winners. In soccer, Team “Team” was victorious, and in basketball, “The Hustlers” were the undefeated champions. After the Magic tournament, Hunter was the winner, and after Chess, Luke and Xander were the finalists. They’ll play their final match tomorrow to see who is the winner. Finally, the Rock Paper Scissors tournament set the new record for being the fastest played tournament yet, since they made it through their whole bracket in just 3 minutes and 30 seconds. Jack C. was the winner!
Basketball tournament winners!
For lunch today, we enjoyed barbecue sandwiches with coleslaw, potato chips, broccoli and cheddar soup, and of course, a salad bar. Everyone had worked up an appetite all morning, and we were excited to see that ice cream sandwiches were for dessert! Once everyone had finished eating, we enjoyed an extended Rest Hour to catch up on letter writing, reading, and rest before a busy afternoon. We also put away our fresh laundry, which returned to us today so we can start the week off clean!
In the afternoon, we continued playing with a huge all-camp-game of Wild Wild West! This is one of the most popular games we play at camp, splitting into 4 different colored teams and using the whole camp as a “game map.” Boys are hunting for “hidden gold,” but have to watch out for fools-gold, which they might turn in to the bank unknowingly. They can also earn points by finding other hidden items around camp, or by pulling the flag belts of other teams. Boys were having a blast strategizing with teammates, pulling flags, running through the woods, and playing all afternoon.
Foosball during Free-Time
All of the excitement was followed by Free Time and dinner, where we enjoyed chicken and dumplings with mixed vegetables and biscuits, plus oatmeal raisin cookies for dessert. For Evening Program, we split into cabin groups to spend time together as a cabin and reflect on the week. Weekends are a great time for cabin bonding at camp, especially since everyone is back from trips and can share all their stories from the week together.
Additionally, tonight the boys started making cabin signs, something that every alumni who returns to camp looks forward to seeking out on the cabin walls. These signs commemorate the summer and the boys in each cabin, and are nailed onto the cabin for all to look back on with fond memories. I’m sure everyone will sleep well tonight, dreaming of the Krispy Kreme doughnuts that await them at Sunday morning breakfast!
- Annie Pharr
Concentration was key in today’s chess tournament