Color War
The Rundown
2 successful days of color war are in the books. Our 3rd and final day is tomorrow, and at the end, a winner will be crowned. Currently, the Warriors are beating the Penguins by 70 points. A close margin with plenty of events left and many points still to be won. Every year, our two color war teams are the winners of the NBA Championship VS the Stanley Cup Champions. The teams are led by 2 of our oldest campers; the senior captains. Their assistants are the younger, professional captains, who help take the lead on controlling the professional division. Then, we assign a counselor captain to each team to help maintain order.
Day 1 – Wednesday
Day 1 was filled with tons of drama. All 3 divisions were split up amongst themselves around camp for different games and events.The day began with Seniors playing an intense game of soccer, while the Rookies played kickball and the Professionals split up between cricket and basketball. From there, there was a rotation of games throughout the day. Handball, Flag Football, Gaga, Wiffle Ball were being played. Kids were having a blast and really getting into it. There was a real competitive nature in the air. We stress to our campers and staff that while it’s fine to be competitive and want to win, the most important parts of color war are sportsmanship & respect. Stay humble when you win, and keep your head up when you lose. Treat your teammates, the referees, and the opposing team with respect. This is something that all of us can continue to work on every single day.
Track & Field
Also during day 1 of color war, we hosted one of my favorite events of the summer; the track & field. Each division had their own event. We set up a track on one of our fields and host races such as the 100 “meter” dash, the 800 “meter” run, the “mile” run, and more. Two of my favorite races are the 4 x 100 “meter” relay and the 4 x 400 “meter” relay. It’s so fun to watch the kids race and pass the baton to their partner. There is also a baseball toss and a football toss. The culmination of the event is an all team, best of 3, tug of war. Check out the website and Facebook for some awesome pictures of the event.
Nighttime – Day 1
As 6pm rolled around, we had our first color war lineup. We went over scores for the day and discussed the importance of sportsmanship and respect. There were some fantastic recaps of the games that were played and some great shoutouts to campers. We ended lineup with a few rock paper scissor challenges for points. It was awesome to see everyone rooting on their teammates in such a simple game. After dinner, we took a break from color war and enjoyed some organized free play activities.
Day 1 – Thursday
The Morning & Hockey
Today we expereinced a bit of rain and some cold weather, so we had to tweak the schedule a little bit. Due to the long and tiring day 1, we had a late wakeup this morning. 8:45am, so just an hour later. After breakfast and cleanup, the entire camp made their way up to the ice hockey rink for our annual color war hockey game. It is always one of the most intense and exciting games of the summer. And today, was no different. The Warriors jumped out to a quick 5-0 lead, but the resilience from the other side was so impressive. The rest of the game was an outright battle. The Penguins fought hard and clawed their way back into the game. With only 4 minutes to go in the game, the score was 7-5. The music was blasting during stoppage and the crowd was going nuts. Everyone in camp was in the arena and cheering on the players on the ice. After a sweet backhand goal that put the Warriors up 8-5, they didn’t look back. They put in 2 more quick ones, and the game was over. It was incredible way to finish the hockey season at camp. Always so proud of all of our hockey majors and seeing how much they improved over the summer.
Top Chef & Dodgeball & Jeopardy
The rest of the day was similar to yesterday. Each age group split up amongst 3 different events and rotated. Again, due to the weather, we had to switch to rainy day schedule. One event was of course, a camp staple…dodgeball! Games are always intense in our gym. The 2nd event that took place was Camp Jeopardy; another camp favorite. Love seeing our campers use their knowledge in order to win points for their team. Our assistant director, Wade, does an amazing job putting this event together. And our 3rd event of the day, was perhaps my most favorite. Year after year, our rookie division leader hosts this event and it is always one of the best. It is BSC’s very own version of Top Chef. Each age group goes one at a time and splits up into 6 different teams. 3 Warrior teams & 3 Penguin teams. Each team is given 3 base ingredients that must be used in the meal. Today’s base ingredients were beef jerkey, string beans, and strawberry frosted cookies. YUM. There is then a table of other ingredients that campers are allowed to come up and select a few to add to their dishes. Some of these include, vanilla pudding, string cheese, apples, pringles, rye bread, jelly, and so much more. Everyone is given 30 minutes to come up with the most creative and unique dish. They are then presented to our counselor judges. They decide the winners based on a bunch of different categories. What an incredible event this was.
The day finished strong with our senior basketball game after dinner. Just like the hockey game, the whole camp was in the gym watching. It was super intense and competitive, and the sportsmanship was the best I’ve seen so far. In the end, the winning team won by 8 points. It was an unbelievable game to witness.
As the sun sets, we go into our final day of color war, and also, our final day of session 1. I can’t believe how quickly these 3 weeks have flown by. Tune in tomorrow for a recap of our whacked up relay!
From Bridgton, Goodnight!!
