Today was our first full day of Color War, and it was fantastic. The weather couldn’t have been better — sunny and warm all day, with the most beautiful evening we’ve felt all session as the temperature dropped and a gentle breeze floated through the Carolina pines. Team spirit was everywhere on camp today, with campers cheering each other on, chanting from every corner, and pouring their hearts into every event. The competition was fierce, but what stood out most was the friendship woven through every minute of it.

Color War is not like the competition most of our campers already know. At school, on a travel team, in a rec league back home — you play with friends against a rival. Someone from another town, another school, another jersey. You probably don’t know them. You don’t have to think about them again after the final buzzer. But in Color War, the person staring you down in Steal the Bacon is your friend, your cabinmate. Someone you’ve been rooting for all session long. Color War asks our campers to do something school sports never do — compete with everything they have against someone they love, and then love them even harder when the competition ends.

That is not a small thing to ask of a child. It is, frankly, not a small thing to ask of anyone. And yet tonight, over and over, our campers put fun and friendship above winning or losing.

I think that is exactly why Color War matters so much here — not despite the fact that it pits friends against each other, but because of it. When you compete against a stranger, winning and losing don’t ask much of your character. But when you compete against someone you genuinely care about, every single event becomes a small lesson in something much bigger: how to want something badly and still be kind. How to lose and mean it when you say “good game.” How to win and immediately turn around to make sure your friend is okay. That is humility. That is empathy. That is compassion — not a lesson we sat the campers down and taught them, but one they lived all day today,

The real gift hidden inside Color War: even on the nights when your team loses a big EP, there is still a reason to celebrate. Because your friend, someone you love, won. Maybe you’ve watched them work all session to get better at a skill so they could compete. You know exactly how hard they tried. So even in the sting of a loss, there is this other feeling sitting right next to it — pride in someone you care about who just had their moment. I don’t think there’s a version of that in most competitions kids grow up playing. This is something unique to camp, to Highlander, to a community that became a family before it ever became teams divided.

Make no mistake, the scores matter to these kids, and they should — Color War is meant to be fierce, and our campers are playing it with everything they have. But underneath every Red Dragon chant and every Blue Knight cheer, the thing holding this whole mountain together hasn’t moved an inch. Cabinmates are still cabinmates. Best friends are still best friends. The rivalry is real, and so is the love and friendship underneath it — and today, we got to watch both of those things live in the same camper, in the same instant, over and over again.

The highlight of my night was getting to ref Lower Camp’s Steal the Bacon, and through the war-painted faces and competitive glares, something softer kept sneaking through. Right before each match began, I’d catch a quick smile break through all that fierce paint — a smile that said let’s give it our best shot, and no matter what happens, we’re still friends. Little moments of love tucked inside all that competitive fire.Then just as fast, the focus snapped back into place, eyes locked on the win. Watching these competitors give it everything they had, while still choosing kindness over winning, reminded why I love Color War and your children.

Favorite Details of the Day

• Weather: Amazing! Sunny skies all day with a cool breeze tonight!
• Meals: For breakfast we had biscuits and gravy, scrambled eggs, sausage patties, fresh fruit, yogurt and granola. For lunch we had grilled chicken club sandwiches, sweet potato fries, a salad and sandwich bar. Dinner was teriyaki chicken and broccoli stir fry, fried rice and vegetable egg rolls. We also enjoyed a salad bar and a sandwich bar.