Author: Jason Stone

Another great day here in Bridgton, Maine as today was the first day of color war!

In the morning, campers went to their majors where they played different skill-based games for points. Every major was out of 21 points which were given out based on who won the competitions as well solid displays of sportsmanship. Sportsmanship is one of the five values that are on each camper’s bandana along with loyalty, kindness, teamwork and friendship. Here at BSC, we do our best to teach campers to live by these values in their everyday lives.

In the afternoon, the three age groups rotated between different sports. The sports were basketball, soccer, handball and cricket. The highlight of the day was the senior basketball game. After a back and forth game, the Capitals were down one with five seconds remaining. They were inbounding from under their own basket where they rolled the ball to one of their players who then ran the length of the court and drilled a game winning, buzzer beating 3 pointer! It was one of the best games of any sport I’ve seen all summer.

At the end of day one, the Warriors hold a 191-152 lead over the Capitals. Color war continues until Friday where many more points are still up for grabs. Keep on checking back for more updates!

Until next time,

Ethan

Color War Has Been Broken!! – The pros and seniors experienced this last night and the rookies early this morning. Here’s a little recap of how it all went down….

The Midnight Surprise

For the professional and senior divisions, we woke the campers up at midnight and ushered them up to the turf fields. Tiki Torches lit the pathway up to the field where counselors were waiting. Spotlights shined on the 50 yard line as all the kids gathered around. After a few minutes of discussing color war and what it means at camp, we decided to have some fun…We then told them that it was a “fake break” and said they had to go back to bed.

Just as everyone began to head down the hill, there was a big commotion amongst the counselors. A fake argument occurred between an admin and a counselor about waking the campers up so late. There was absolute silence before we yelled we were kidding. And as that happened, the spotlights went back on and color war banners were dropped from the top of the tower for all to see. The campers went nuts and started yelling. Campers and counselors then headed to the gym for a game of dodgeball for the first points of color war! After going down early, the Capitals staged an unbelievable comeback and ended up taking the first event of color war before going back to their dorms for the night.

Munchkins’ & Gaga

For the rookie division, campers were awakened at 8 a.m. to music being played by the color war captains! Every morning, Marty, the rookie division leader odes a room buddy check before heading to breakfast. This morning he added one room at the end and that’s when the captains came running out. Everyone then sprinted out of the dorm and followed the captains to everyone’s favorite place on campus; The Gaga-Pit. Before the game began, each camper was given some Munchkins by Koop. Then , the 2 teams took to the pit to play a best of five series. In the end, the Warriors took the series by a score of 3-2. After dodgeball from last night, and gaga this morning, we begin the day all tied up!

The competitive spirit is in the air here at BSC now more than ever! Stay tuned for much more to come.

Until next time,

Ethan

A great day here at BSC as today was our last day following a normal schedule. (Color War begins tonight)

Throughout the day, campers went to their major and minor periods. Today, I had the opportunity to be on the wakeboard and waterskiing boat as well as on the archery field. On the archery field, there were only a few campers but one had never tried it before. After struggling with the first few attempts, he finally hit the target and was able to do so for the remainder of the period. I challenged another camper at archery to hit a bullseye. This is obviously not an easy task as the bullseye target is quite small. That being said, he managed to hit the target and earned a shout out at lineup!

During choose up, we had our first night of the BSL playoffs! The rookie division played dodgeball in the basketball gym for their semifinals. The professionals and seniors on the other hand played capture the flag in the quarterfinals of their bracket.

After dinner, we had a magician come to camp! All age groups were able to see Norman the Magician perform at the chapel as tonight’s evening activity. It was pretty cool and I was really impressed.

Tomorrow we’ll fill you in on how we just broke color war (literally just a few minutes ago), so be sure to keep reading for daily recaps!

Until next time,

Ethan

A beautiful day up here in Bridgton, Maine!

The theme of Monday was intercamp as we had four different games take place throughout the day. The first was a 15U baseball game held on our baseball field against West End House Camp. After going down 2-0 early, the guys rallied together and ended up blowing West End out by a final score of 14-2.

Campers also participated in a 13U soccer game and a 13U basketball game. The soccer game was at Wigwam where everyone played hard to earn a 6-3 victory. On the other hand, the basketball game didn’t go in our favor but after going down early, the boys played the other team even for the rest of the game.

Back at camp, at choose up, campers and counselors played in a camper v. counselor soccer game! It was great to see everyone running around and having fun as the counselors ended up winning (again) the game by a score of 6-4.

Finally, at night, BSC played host to the highly-anticipated Bridgton v. Micah Bridgton Basketball Classic. Everyone in the stands from BSC wore white as the bleachers were packed with campers from both Bridgton and Micah. BSC took an early lead in the game and held onto it going into halftime. However, after halftime, Micah began to make a comeback and cut the lead to five. BSC then began to pull away and ended up winning the game 41-27. Every year, this game is one of most hyped-up events of the session and, once again, it did not disappoint.

As always, thanks for reading. Next up…COLOR WAR!

Until next time,

Ethan

It’s hard to believe this, but today was already our last Lazy Bones Sunday of the session! Campers and counselors had the chance to sleep in as breakfast was held at the dining hall from 9-10 before a brief lineup at 10:30.

After lineup, we held a camper v. counselor lacrosse game up on the turf field! From hockey players to lacrosse players, anyone who wanted to play put on gear. Unfortunately (for the campers), the counselors ended up winning the game by a score of 5-4. That being said, it was great to see campers using what they’ve learned in major against the counselors who taught them those skills!

In the afternoon, the three age groups rotated between three different activities. The activities were swimming at the waterfront, a slip and slide on the fields, and handball and kickball up on the fields as well.

At night, we had another night of the regular season of BSL. The rookie teams played four square above the tennis courts while the professionals and seniors played kickball, newcomb, and handball.

Anticipation is in the air here at BSC as the BSL playoffs and color war are right around the corner!

Until next time,

Ethan

Friday was the last trip day of the summer here at BSC!

After eating breakfast, the rookie and professional age groups went to Funtown Splashtown for the day. While there, campers were in different groups with 2 counselors in each group. The groups had to stay together and explore the park.

When we got to the park, we had lunch. Our amazing dining hall staff packed us sandwiches, chips, fruit and some other good stuff. When everyone finished eating, campers and their groups were free to roam the park until 3:30 which was their next check-in time. After checking in at 3:30 and then again at 5:30, campers and counselors were given meal tickets where they could choose from a cheese pizza, hamburger, chicken fingers, or a salad.

Once dinner ended, we headed back on the buses for the trip back to BSC. Overall, it was another successful trip to Funtown Splashtown!

While the professionals and rookies enjoyed their day at the amusement park, the senior campers woke up at 5:30am to go white-water rafting. This trip is sort of a right of passage here at camp. Only the seniors get to go rafting. It’s an amazing experience for them. Not only is it a great time, it is also a tremendous opportunity for them to bind with one another and reflect back on the summer and their years at camp. Some of them will be CIT’s next summer, while the rest still have one more summer as a camper.

Still many more exciting events to come as color war will start sometime this week!

Until next time,

Ethan

A bit of a humid day here at BSC. Thankfully though, the rain stayed away for the majority of the day so we were able to run a normal schedule.

The CITs went to Boston today to go to a Red Sox game! Unfortunately, the Red Sox ended up losing the game but the guys on the trip said they had a lot of fun! It was most of their first times being in Fenway as well as a fist for some to explore the city of Boston.

After dinner, we announced to campers that it was casino night! Casino night is where we turn the Wolverine Den into a casino. The campers bet fake money on games such as black jack, poker, war, and rock-paper-scissors. All the campers and counselors get dressed up for the night and everyone has a lot of fun. You can see pictures from casino night on Camp Minder.

Tomorrow, the seniors will be heading on a white-water rafting trip while the professionals and rookies will go to Funtown Splashtown. All the campers are excited as both of these destinations are always a big hit!

Until next time,

Ethan

The rain stayed away as it turned out to be a great day here in Bridgton, Maine!

Today we had a ton of intercamp going on throughout the afternoon from two basketball games to a street hockey game as well. The first basketball game took place in the gym against Wigwam. The boys fought hard but ended up losing by a score of 57-55 in the end. The second game also happened here at BSC against Wildwood. Lastly, the street hockey intercamp game took place at Wigwam. Again, our guys fought hard and were able to pull out a 3-2 victory!

At choose up, the whole camp participated in another night of BSL. The rookies played handball on the lacrosse field while the professionals and seniors played ultimate frisbee in the baseball outfield.

After dinner, we had another social for rising 8^th and 9^th graders. Campers once again skated around the ice with girls from an all-girls camp while music played in the background.

Trip day is right around the corner at BSC!

Until next time,

Ethan

Partly cloudy here but still a great full day at camp. After breakfast, campers went to their majors and minors throughout the day.

This afternoon I got the chance to be on the ice rink and skate with both the younger and older campers for the first time this summer. While everyone skated by me, it was awesome to see how much time and effort our hockey players put in each and every day. Campers who are hockey majors get on the ice at least two times a day. Once in the morning and once in the afternoon. They also have the opportunity to be on the ice during choose up which is an hour-long period right before dinner. During choose up they can get some one-on-one time with our coaches and work on specific skills they want to improve.

I was incredibly impressed with how much work they put in on the ice today. As I mentioned before, it was my first period on the ice this year and I was absolutely exhausted by the end. These campers deserve a ton of credit for the work they put in. And that goes for all of our campers in the other 4 majors as well!

After dinner, the professional age group had a social at the ice rink! Boys and girls skated around in circles while music played. Social’s are always fun to watch and the kids always have a blast.

We are hoping that the rain stays away in the coming days and Mother Nature gives us some of that beautiful Maine weather!

Until next time,

Ethan

Today was our first lazy bones Sunday of the session! Campers and counselors were able to sleep in after an exhausting week of running around. The dining hall opened for breakfast at 9 where donuts from Dunkin’ Donuts were served.

In the morning, campers had free play until lunch. The wolverine den, fields, gaga, and basketball gym were all open.

After lunch and rest hour, due to some rain, we modified the schedule a bit. All three age groups rotated between three different activities throughout the afternoon. The activities were karaoke in the humanities center, free skate in the ice rink, and a carnival in the gym. The carnival consisted of a bouncy house boxing ring, a mini obstacle course, laser tag and a life-sized foosball game. The life-sized foosball game was definitely the biggest hit. Campers held onto a rope where, in different rows, they were only able to move left and right while also trying to kick a dodgeball into the opposing team’s net. Karaoke was also popular as campers displayed their “singing” skills. Overall, the afternoon was a huge success.

After a dinner of ravioli, meatballs and garlic bread, campers received their phones for the evening before bedtime.

Many exciting events to come this week here at BSC as Thursday/Friday are our big trip days. The professionals and rookies will head to Funtown Splashtown, the seniors will go rafting and the CITs will depart for Boston to see a Red Sox game.

Until next time,

Ethan