Summer Blog Post August 2nd

Can we talk about Rope Burn for a minute?

Last night’s event was another memorable chapter of the signature event. Some of us remember when Rope Burn was held down by the stables a long time ago, so it really is amazing to be able to share it with you at home in real time. Thanks to Mindy Davidoff and her incredible cinematography, the 2022 Rope Burn can be viewed right here on Facebook for all-time.

Congratulations again to the White team’s Jesse Pollock and Jake Steinberg on their victory and great job to Matthew Freedman and Matthew Gurtov!. All four camper captains came into the Dining Hall today with those charred ropes around their shoulders to be recognized for participating in a high-stakes event. For winning Rope Burn, White claimed the first of two envelopes (they won the other in last night’s Acorn Relay).

In both cases, White had to come from behind to win.

Green held a nearly four-minute lead in the Acorn Relay, a relay race that takes place all across camp and includes all campers. But White overcame that lead and still won, thanks to a little luck, and a lot of hard work. Same with Rope Burn. Green lit their fire first, White overcame a wet matchbook, and went on to win.

White took an envelope for each victory.

Envelopes are awarded for the biggest events of the week. While cabin activities are 20-10 point splits across the board, envelope scores are a mystery until the end of Color War, and can often sway the score one way or the other.

We talk about the lessons learned over the course of a sleepaway camp summer all the time. Independence. Friendship. Self-confidence. But this week, it’s hard not to see other lessons being learned in the middle of all the Color War craze.

My son plays Little League at home in the spring. They don’t keep score. Last year was his first Color War, and for the first time in his life, he learned what it was like to win. And what it was like to lose. These are powerful lessons, and I didn’t realize how many campers may be experiencing wins and losses this summer for the first time.

Today featured more competition. The boys had their swim meet and the girls ran track. In the afternoon, there were more come-from-behind wins in cabin activities, like the hockey game I saw that started off 5-1 Green and ended 8-6 White. Incredible.

Later today are divisional relay races, and then the day’s biggest event: the Amazing Race. That’s when the female camper captains take center stage and compete to complete a series of riddles and tasks first. With the whole camp watching.

Marin Pecarsky, Sophia Gurtov, Kaleigh Bender and Lauren Jackson have their work cut out for them.

Another envelope is on the line.