DC Challenge 2018!

Forget the World Cup!  Forget the U.S. Open!  Forget the College World Series!  This week we experienced something even more amazing – it’s the DC Challenge!

What is the DC Challenge, you ask?  Well, I’m glad you asked!  DC Challenge is the DOUBLECREEK Challenge.  I know you’ve never seen anything like it and neither have we, because it’s different every year.

Think “The Amazing Race” combined with parts of “Minute-to-Win-It” and “Fear Factor,” and you have the DC Challenge.  Lots of skills are incorporated into this incredible event.  You have scooterboard races and the WARP wall.  What’s a WARP wall?  It’s a warped wall, Silly!  Then they do something with bean bags followed by the always thrilling “Fill the Bucket with Water” in a way that takes too long to explain.  Next, campers throw hula hoops over at a tree (or the world’s largest tree stump).

Now it gets really strange, I mean interesting!  At the pool, one camper swims and another chugs a Gatorade!  Then it is on to gun safety where campers shoot at spoons.  This is followed by a trip to horseback riding to tie a lead rope to the gate (who thought of that one?).  But wait!  There’s more!  Campers have a three-legged race at the Gaga Ball Pit and then throw balls into the trash!

Okay, try to visualize this next one!  One camper is on one side of a seven foot wall and another camper is on the other side.  One camper throws an apple over the wall while the other tries to catch it with a 5-gallon bucket.  Raise your hand if you’ve done that one.  Next up is the Shuffleboard Court where campers try to knock down bowling pins with a shuffleboard puck.  Do they do that on cruise ships?

When the team gets to Low Ropes, they have to pass through the ropes without touching a rope.  (I’m about thirty years and fifty pounds from being able to do that one!)  The team then has to balance on a log, then sprint to Archery where they shoot at a target. (This is the only standard activity in the whole course).

Then on to the Mud Pit where as many campers as possible must negotiate the Mud Slip-N-Slide in a minute.  They then have to find Starbursts in the Kickball Field. (I’m not sure if they eat them or not). 

Sprinting through the mister/sprinkler is the last part of the challenge.  When the final camper goes through the mister, time stops.  Oh, did I tell you that all this is against the clock?  The lowest time wins.

You have to see it to believe it.  I saw it and I still don’t believe it.  But, I really appreciate it.  It was wild and crazy and a whole lot of fun!  The DC Challenge incorporates basic skills and ones you don’t use every day.  When the groups finish the course, there is lots of laughter and “high-fives,” which is the whole reason behind the DOUBLECREEK CHALLENGE!

 -- Joe Ray

The Making of a Superhero

This was Superhero Week at Camp Doublecreek.  The word “superhero” dates back to at least 1917, which means we’re celebrating a 100th anniversary.  I’m not a superhero expert.  When researching this article, I took a superhero quiz.  I scored around sixteen --- so I know very little about superheroes.  I was surprised to learn that by definition, you don’t need supernatural or superhuman powers to be called a superhero, although almost all superheroes today have extraordinary or superhuman powers.  It also helps to be rich.  The main purpose of superheroes is to fight crime or save the world from imminent destruction.

Remember, you don’t have to have x-ray vision, superhuman strength, or the ability to fly to be a superhero.  Superheroes don’t start their superhero careers conquering arch villains or forces of nature.  They start small and realize they can do greater things. 

I see superheroes begin by letting go of their parent’s hand and getting on a bus.  That has to be intimidating for them.  Some superhero careers begin by getting on a horse – the biggest animal they have ever been on or by shooting a bow and arrows – which isn’t as easy as it looks.  Some channel their inner superhero by taking their first strokes in the pool without someone helping them, by climbing a tower or going down a waterslide.  I’ve seen many fledgling superheroes discover the thrill of flight when they launch themselves from the top of a 40-foot tower and sail down a zipline. 

I’ve seen superhero movies with elaborate set pieces which go on and on and on.  In reality, campers discover that they have the stuff of superheroes in the blink of an eye.  At Doublecreek, we’re fortunate to be there when it happens. 

-- Joe Ray

Summer 2018 is Here!

Summer 2018 has begun and there’s only one problem...I’m not there.  There are times when my school schedule doesn’t align with Camp’s schedule.   I miss the way we do the pledge at Doublecreek by traditionally singing “You’re a Grand Old Flag,” but with new faces.

The beginning of summer at Doublecreek always blends the old and the new.  This year we will have a new surface to the basketball court, a new surface at the pool, and a new play structure in Central Park.  There’s lots of new paint and freshly mown play areas.  We have old counselors, (let’s use a different term -- we have returning counselors), mixed in with new counselors.  I always enjoy counselor training because I have a chance to catch up with what’s going on with our veteran staff and becoming acquainted with our new staff.

During this past off season I’ve spent time going through old pictures.  I noticed that except for hair styles and attire, campers and counselors who come to Doublecreek really don’t seem to look different from one year to the next.  Now, I don’t mean they look the same in a rigid manner.  But I see campers and staff enjoying themselves at Doublecreek.  Characteristics of great counselors don’t change from one generation to the next. What made a counselor great in the 70’s still applies today.  Campers still respond to counselors who show respect and love.  Campers have fun at Doublecreek.  Why? It is due to the counselors.  When you compare the Doublecreek campus on opening day 1971 to Doublecreek 2018, there’s no comparison.  When you compare the atmosphere of Doublecreek 1971 to the 2018 atmosphere, it’s identical!  Doublecreek has always been a magical place.  Starting with Uncle Carter and Aunt Trudy and continuing through Scott Kirtley and now Dan Neal, it’s a special place because of the campers and counselors who choose to spend their summer here. 

So, I have to miss the first eight days of camp.  I’ll survive somehow! It helps to know that until school’s out Doublecreek will be there.  That is something that makes me smile.

 -- Joe Ray

For the Kids (F.T.K.)

I have a bunch of calendars at home and school.  The calendars at home I may or may not remember to flip over at the appropriate time.  According to some calendars in my house, it’s still January.  Now school is a different story.  On the first day of each month, I ceremoniously change from one month to the next.  Why?  I suppose changing the calendar means there’s one less month to go before Doublecreek is here.  You notice I didn’t say “summer,” because in my universe, Doublecreek and summer are synonymous.

I’m looking over the school calendar for May.  It’s amazing how much is going on... I feel like kids, parents and teachers are pulled in many directions during this month.  On a side note, it is nice to have teacher appreciation during this month. 

Now, when the month is over, cue Alice Cooper’s “School’s Out for Summer!”  Tutorials are replaced with the laughter of campers, the loud singing camp songs and high fives from your favorite counselors.    May means summer is coming. 

For Camp Doublecreek, May means campers are coming. Doublecreek has morphed into hyper-drive to get ready for the summer.  During May, you’ll see cleaning, landscaping, building and planning (lots of planning) happening.  What’s behind all this activity?  F.T.K. is the motivation for all our improvements. To us, F.T.K. means “For the Kids.”

F.T.K. is the driving force behind what we do at Doublecreek: games played, procedures put in place, new activities adopted and improvements made.  The new staff we add to the Doublecreek Family because we see in their desire to give campers treasured and lasting memories.

Summer, the Doublecreek season, is right around the corner.  So get excited about the F.T.K. experiences for your camper because making terrific memories is what we do!

 Joe Ray