Saturdays Are For the Boys
On Saturdays, we take a break from our regular activity schedules and enjoy some weekend fun. Instead of regular morning activities, we enjoy some friendly competition with tournaments. The boys love the opportunity to choose what tournaments they want to participate in, exercising their freedom of choice and building teamwork skills. Boys who are less into competing themselves can also choose to cheer for their friends instead, and be supportive spectators. Plus, since there aren’t any trips out during the weekend, it is a chance for the whole camp to participate in games together, and enjoy a whole day of play.
The tournaments for this Saturday were set up in a rotation, so boys would have a better chance of doing multiple games, rather than signing up for just one or two in the traditional bracket system. There were 6 locations for the tournaments, and each location had more than one tournament going on there. Each of our cabin Lines have been split in half this session to give us 6 groups of half-Lines, and each group rotated through two locations during the morning:
At the Dining Hall, there were ping pong, foosball, and Warrior Ball tournaments. At the courts, boys could play tennis games or wiffle ball, or opt to set out on the disc golf course to challenge each other to a round. On the landsports field, there were ultimate frisbee games, and at archery and riflery, boys were competing to get the highest score. At the swimming docks, there were races in the swimming lanes, as well as contests off the diving boards for best trick and best splash. At the gym, there was basketball on the courts and soccer in the Thunder Dungeon. Outside on the turf field there were flag football games going on, as well as cornhole, chess games, and fencing. Whether boys wanted to challenge their friends or just challenge themselves, it was a great time!
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. For example, chess tournaments are always extremely popular, but they are very quiet matches that require a lot of concentration. Boys have to learn a detailed 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 or supporting your friends during matches.
In the afternoon, we continued playing with a huge all-camp-game of Capture the Flag! This is one of the most popular games we play at camp, splitting into Green vs. Gold colored teams and using the whole camp as a “game map.” What makes this version of Capture the Flag unique is that there aren’t just 2 flags hidden that need to be defended - there are 6! Before the game starts, each side hides their flags somewhere within their boundaries on their side of camp. When the game begins, you have to not only defend your flags, but also find and steal the other team’s flags without getting tagged out! Players can also earn points by finding other hidden items around camp, and 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.
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 with the looser daily schedule, allowing for more time to spend together. I’m sure everyone sleept well last night, dreaming of the Krispy Kreme doughnuts that await them at this morning’s Sunday breakfast!