Hi Folks,
NO ANNOUNCEMENTS TODAY!
It’s UN Day! And what a gorgeous day it is. We awoke to a partly cloudy day with temps in the mid 60s. Throughout the morning it has warmed up a fair amount, and by lunch time we are in the high 70s. When the sun is shining, it feels pretty warm, but we’re getting some nice clouds too, so we get spells of shady relief.
Compared to an average day of camp, UN Day is competitive. The camp is divided into four nations, and the day is spent competing in a wide variety of events. This summer our four nations are Cuba, Grenada, Nicaragua, and Sri Lanka. In spite of the ratchetted up level of excitement, we’re still us, and the day is still about having fun, being good sports, playing your best, and supporting your team. Lots of counselors and campers have worked hard to prepare for the day, and so far it is paying off!
The morning began with our Opening Ceremonies, in which each team does a presentation in front of everyone that is intended to introduce themselves, their leaders, and their reasons for believing they’ll win the day. And, as is customary, the idea is to do it in a humorous way. Each nation did a nice job, involved all of their campers, and made sure everyone had a great time.
Then we had the UN Day marathon, which is really more of an all-camp relay race. There is a route that travels all around camp, and each team assigns kids to run certain legs of the race. Each team has a baton they hand forward to the next runner in the race, and overall the race is organized by Junior, Intermediate, and Senior village runners. The course is designed so that all 3 races finish at the same finish line, so as it was winding down, the entire camp was there to watch the runners of the last leg finish the race. Talk about action and excitement!
Then it was on to 1st Series of Events. This included Basketball, Canoe Race, Floor Hockey, Pentathlon, Riflery, Shuffleboard, Softball, Tennis, Tetherball, Trampball, Volleyball, and Tushball. When that series was over, including the Opening Ceremonies and Marathon, the difference between 1st and 4th places was 22 points. And the difference between 3rd and 4th was only 1 point.
Second Series began after that, including Basketball, Bombardment, Connect-4, Pentathlon, Soccer, Spikeball, Tennis, Tushball, Trampball, and Ultimate Frisbee. And when that was all over, we headed into a much anticipated lunch. As we were awaiting the lunch bell outside the Lodge, with our newly washed hands, you could see a very healthy affect of tired contentment on the kids’ faces. The played hard all morning, and it was truly a fun, glorious time. And although the kids and staff are unaware of which team is in which place, they know it’s close. The difference as of right now between 1st and 4th has widened by one point to 23 points. The difference between 1st and 2nd is only 8 points.
Third Series is underway, and we have it structured to be the most point-rich series of all. We just completed the Camper Relay and Staff Relay in which the 3 fastest runners on each team race in front of the whole camp. It’s always exciting, and this time was no different. After 3rd Series we’ll have the Staff Tug o’ War, and our grand finale will be the Camper Tug o’ War! We’ll fill you in on the final results later tonight. Stay tuned…
UPDATE: And what an afternoon it was!! Wow! First of all, the beautiful weather persisted throughout the afternoon and well into the evening. It made for some sweaty action for sure. After lunch we had camper and staff relays, and it was so fast! It’s always amazing to see the speed some of those kids can muster. Then on to 3rd Series, which included Archery, Checkers, Floor Hockey, Obstacle Course, Pentathlon, Poly-Pong, Pottery, Soccer, Softball, Tennis, Tetherball, Trampball, a Waterfront Triathlon, and the Yachtsman’s Relay. Phew!
All that was left was the Tug o’ War. Sri Lanka, going into the Tug, was in 4th place on the day, 1.5 points behind 3rd, and 5 points behind 2nd. For them, the tugs mattered! They ended up winning both the staff and camper tugs, and that propelled them ahead of 2 of the teams, but just short of the 1st place team. As it all turned out, the results were:
Grenada – 196.5
Sri Lanka – 190
Nicaragua – 186
Cuba – 181.5
You would have been proud and amazed at how well your kids responded to this competitive day. Certainly not all of our counselors are pros at refereeing and umpiring, so there were going to be some calls out there that not everyone agreed with. That’s part of the deal in athletic situations. There were almost no arguments, no complaints, and hardly a frown to be found around camp. The boys understood the idea was to do their best and have fun, and roll with the punches. Here’s the thing…if kids can conduct themselves that way at camp, we know they can do so anywhere. We talk a lot about being classy athletes at camp, and we’re proud to have seen so much of that today. We hope they will carry that with them when camp is over.
Tonight we are chillin’! It’s an Organized Free period with the chance to relax, or if there are some calories left to burn, burn them right off. After the program ends, we’ll gather in the Lodge and celebrate the way one does in the summer time. With fresh watermelon!! Tomorrow we’ll sleep in 30 minutes later and have another excellent day in camp.
Tomorrow’s Trips:
-Namekagon River, WI – 3 days river canoeing
-Brule River, WI – 3 days river canoeing
-Sylvania Nat’l. Recreation Area, MI – 3 days lake canoeing
-Porcupine Mountains, MI – 3 days backpacking
We are fast approaching our change of sessions. It’s a time of mixed emotions for most of us. The kids leaving are excited about seeing their families and getting home, but bummed about camp ending. And those of us staying are sad to see our four-week friends depart, but incredibly excited for the arrival of our 2nd session four-weekers, and for the time we get to spend with our amazing 8-week friends. It’s a busy time for us, for sure. We’ll try to write you once more before changeover, but if we can’t, we’ll be back to you soon after the 2nd Session begins.
Benches up,
Mike & Leslie