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During Color War, I am keenly aware of the conversations going on around me…the buzz about who is really winning Color War, conversations about who will compete in the evening event and commentary about how “hard” or “easy” something is in Color War. The opinions are flying all day long, and I honestly find it entertaining.

As a Green Giant, my job is to judge or facilitate different events throughout the day. Today was one of my all time favorite events - Jr. Pentathlon and Intermediate Pentathlon. I LOVE these events because they are a test of athleticism, endurance, intelligence and grit. This is by far one of the most difficult events in Color War that includes swimming, jumping rope, a shuttle run, throwing and running. Every year I am SO impressed with the campers and how they push themselves for their team. Today was no different.

Though I’ve facilitated this event for many years, today I gained a new perspective on why this event and really every event in Color War is so important to the growth of our children. Color War is not just about competition, victory or defeat. Color War is about teaching our campers that they CAN DO HARD THINGS.

One of the campers spectating today yelled out at his teammate who had just finished the first leg of the pentathlon (the swim) as he was putting on his shoes to start jumping rope 50 times, “You’ve got this. This is the easy part.”

While the teammate had good intentions, I thought to myself “the easy part? What is he talking about? There is no easy part!” I looked at the camper putting on his shoes and breathing hard, and I said, “This is hard stuff, but YOU can do hard things. Keep going.”

Everything we do in Color War is hard because the stakes are high and the pressure is on. From the camper plaque to the Old Forge run, your children are doing hard things and not giving up. They are choosing courage over fear and persevering through the hard things. I am just so proud of them, and I am grateful that these days of competition are full of valuable life lessons that will strengthen and grow them in so many ways!

Today was a fantastic day of competition and fun! Fun is at the heart of all that we do during Color War, and your children are loving it! Thank you again for sharing them with us!

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Favorite Details of the Day

  • Meals: Breakfast was Belgian waffles, scrambled eggs, bacon and a fruit bar. For lunch we had meatball subs, tater tots and a salad bar. Dinner was a nod to my Louisiana roots - chicken and sausage jambalaya, hushpuppies and a salad bar. Everyone went crazy when the disco ball was turned on, and we all enjoyed fresh banana pudding with nilla wafers and whipped cream for dessert. It was delicious!
  • Weather: We had a beautiful morning on Old Forge today. It was sunny and hot all morning. We had another pop up shower in our 3:15 event time slot, but all of the activities were able to finish which was awesome! The sun came back out, and we had wonderful weather for the Carolina Streak!
  • EP: Tonight’s Color War EPs were Teen Idol and Harness Pull. Teen Idol is a team talent show with a vocal talent, an instrumental talent, a lip sync performance, a dance routine from campers and an officer’s dance. Tonight, Red won the instrumental talent and the dance performance. Blue won the vocal talent, the lip sync performance and the officer’s dance. In Harness Pull, the Red Dragons won in a 7-4 defeat of the Blue Knights. Tonight at dinner, we also announced the results from yesterday’s Bring it On, our cheerleading competition. The categories of this event are cheer, dance, jump, stunt and tumble. The Red Dragons took the jump and the stunt, while the Blue Knights won the dance, cheer and tumbling routine.

BLUE KNIGHT VICTORIES

  • Jr. Wiffleball
  • Jr. Thread the Needle
  • Jr. Connect Four
  • Int. Pictionary
  • Int. Pentathlon
  • Int. Tic Tac Toe Relay
  • Int/Sr Plaque
  • Int/Sr Kickball
  • Int/Sr Carolina Streak
  • Sr. Eco Challenge
  • Sr. Baggo
  • Sr. Tetherball
  • Old Forge - Overall team win and fastest male time (Jacques G)

RED DRAGON VICTORIES

  • Jr. Pentathlon
  • Jr. Kickball
  • Jr. Word Games
  • Int. Crates
  • Int. Climbing
  • Int/Sr Swim Meet
  • Int/Sr Soccer
  • Sr. Elephantball
  • Sr. Climbing
  • Sr. Pictionary
  • Sr. Bombardment
  • Old Forge - fastest female time (Brooklyn L)