NECK & NECK – COLOR WAR IS INTENSE

It was a glorious morning and a perfect day for more color war games and contests. Everyone was feeling the spirit with their faces painted and their hair sprayed with their team colors. Spirit and team pride runs deep here and everyone feels the excitement. Today our middy girls painted a strip of the opposing teams color down their noses. They did it as an act of respect for their bunkmates and girls in their division that were on the opposite team. This is what it is all about. Friendship trumped competition and no matter what happens in these games, friends are what matters the most. It was a sweet gesture that spoke volumes.

Boy’s side had their track meet today and girls side battled in the pool with their swim meet. The kids had so much fun as they relayed to their finish lines getting cheers praise for their hard work and effort. To sit back and watch the encouragement we all give one another here is life changing. There was an Inter girl in the pool and she fell behind a race she was in.  With every stroke she took, her teammates chanted her name saying, “ You can do it, we believe in you.” That Inter girl got a surge of energy and won her race. As she jumped out of the pool and celebrated her win, she told her teammates that with every stroke she took, she heard them encouraging her and that alone gave her the will to push harder. It’s amazing what you can do when you have a whole team behind you.

It has been three full days of Color War battle and the score before this evening’s event was:

RED 80’s – 1,990 points

Gold 90’s -1,987 points

We have a serious war here with only a 3-point difference. Tonight was a great event as we all headed to see the long-standing camp tradition of Rope Burning and Water Boiling. Counselors for both teams have been collecting wood and preparing for tonight. Their faces are painted with zinc to protect them from the burning fire that they have created and the entire camp, watches with great anticipation as to which team while burn the rope and boil the water first. Tonight’s win went to GOLD 90’s as they burnt their rope in record time of 21 minutes and boiled their water first. Red 80’s followed by burning their rope moments later and followed by boiling their water. Not an easy fete but both teams completed their mission. It’s an awesome Color War event to be a part of and to witness knowing that so many campers before us has sat on that same field, watching ropes burn and water boil. We are all so proud to be part of this long-standing tradition.

Tomorrow is the Apache Relay and we just can’t wait!

Chenny out.