Summer Blog Post June 29th
The rumors were true: today was not just another day at CGL – it was a Survivor day!
Survivor is a series of games and competitive activities throughout the summer to see who wins the Division of the Year. All seven Divisions – Inter Boys, Inter Girls, Debs, Cadets, Senior Boys, Senior Girls, and Greeks – compete against one another throughout the seven weeks to see which Division comes out on top.
Survivor events are kept secret from campers and staff; you know it’s time to compete when the Survivor song (literally the theme song from the tv show) plays from the loudspeakers throughout camp. As soon as the music starts, all of the campers come running and gather by Division.
Each Division has an identifying color; Inter Boys are yellow, Inter Girls are pink, Debs are orange, Cadets are red, Senior Boys are blue, Senior Girls are purple, and Greeks are black. Today we passed out face paint and bandanas in their Division colors so they could visibly root for their teams.
Today’s event was on the tennis court. There were seven hula hoops set up (one for each division) and on the center of the court were seven poster boards with five balloons attached, each one in a color representing a different Division. Each group had to roll a small ball halfway across the court with the goal of getting it to land in the center of a hula hoop. When someone’s ball made it in, they were allowed to go pop another Division’s balloon. When a Division’s balloons were all popped, they were disqualified. The last Division with balloons still un-popped was the winner.
Today’s winners were the Senior Girls, followed by the Cadets and the Inter Boys! Senior Girls have taken the early lead towards being the Division champions for 2022!
I had always heard about Survivor from Jesse. It’s an event that is near to his heart. He has a headband wrapped with all seven Division colors that he wears on Survivor days, often as a not-so-subtle hint to campers that an event is approaching. For years I have seen it hung on our wall at home, and I’d even seen him wear it during camp zoom events in the summer of 2020. But today, I got to see it in action for the first time.
That’s what I love about camp. You really get the chance to see everyone in their element. Campers, staff, upper staff – every person here gets to be their truest self. And when you gather a bunch of people thriving on being the best version of themselves, you get some pretty amazing memories.
Stay tuned for more Survivor events as the summer continues…