Challenge Day
It’s Challenge Day at Greystone, a big deal at camp! Campers delight in the games, relays, matches, and races (all of which were challenges formally made and accepted at today’s Assembly).
Everyone appreciates the slower pace of the day (no classes all morning and a relaxed game show EP). We start the fun as everyone cheers their teams at Volleyball and then spread out around camp to compete for points and cheer on our friends. The morning ends at Softball (when we will hand out cold Shasta cola and Sun Chips) and a Senior Tug-a-War. Challenge Day is appreciated not only for the games but because of the important moment it marks in our camp experience.
This day marks the ten-day mark, that point in the summer when we breathe a collective sigh and settle into camp life with unfettered delight. A day that Dr. Sevier noted during his first summer in 1920. Ten days is when we form a cohesive community that is hard to duplicate in less time. This fact is hard to explain to those who think that a week of sleepaway camp is a very long time, but it is true.
Short camp sessions are fun. It is easy to entertain for a couple of weeks (it is a “sweet spot” for a fun camp experience), but the greatest growth happens when we allow sufficient time for the community to bond completely. Time for campers to let their guard down, to be themselves, and perhaps not be on their best behavior. Time to ask for and extend forgiveness. After ten days, the real camp experience comes out. Campers learn to trust each other, confide in their counselors, and relax in a gloriously nuanced camp experience.
By this point, we appreciate camp in a different way. We are finding our “tribe” (a benefit of larger camp communities is that there are more people forming more groups). We find that we have a surprising capacity in some activities we had not previously experienced. We are surprised to find that we have an eye for art or are really good at tennis. Perhaps we are acknowledged as the “blob queen” of Waterpark class or best shot in riflery. Our abilities are celebrated, and our confidence builds. We find ourselves having long DEEPLY MEANINGFUL Conversations with new friends at surprising moments of the day.
We find ourselves anticipating each moment of camp life in different ways… what’s served at a meal; if we can remember the breakfast club joke punchline; around the world day in tennis; a big wind day at Putt Cove. As we anticipate, we talk, and we find others sharing that interest. We start new fads, we learn new skills, make new friends, and find the hours FLY BY and will be shocked when Closing Vespers arrives in a few weeks. Ten days mark the point when time shifts, and we find life passes in a flash.
Challenge Day traditions include decorating the dining room, team colors worn by all, cheers before breakfast, coin toss, challenges given and accepted, good-natured competition all morning, a big softball game, and tug of war before lunch. We started a new tradition by holding the volleyball game (which the whole camp watches) in the FORT. This was a huge improvement, allowing all a better view of the game, a more comfortable venue, cooler temperatures, and a professional-grade net. We continue to search for a better floor surface (something that will allow us to keep the FORT open-air yet give a good surface for sports that is easy to clean. When we broke up and went outside for the rest of the challenges. The warm temperatures were less noticeable thanks to overcast skies. We will all sleep well at Rest Hour and celebrate the predicted afternoon thunderstorm if it extends sleep time.
The Details:
- Breakfast French Toast Sticks and Sausage
- Bbreakfast Club “Great Day Attitude”
- Joke Ike Pike & Mustard “Brazilian” misunderstanding
- Lunch Spice Rubbed Chicken Tacos, cookie
- Dinner Chicken Sandwiches (Chic-Fil-A Style)
- EP Movie Night
- Weather 80 degrees, overcast, with a chance of showers.
Thank you for reading!