The Great DC Race

This week, Camp Doublecreek embarks on the Great DC Race. Movie buffs will wonder if this is Camp Doublecreek’s way of paying homage to the 1965 movie, “The Great Race,” starring Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon, and Natalie Wood.  After all, this is the 50th Anniversary of the release of this above average movie.  I don’t think so!

I don’t remember Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis engaging in drawing each other’s portrait in twenty seconds using ketchup and mustard like we did this week at Sing-Song.  The contest was short, but very intense!  It is hard to capture the essence of a person with condiments better suited for a hamburger, but the eight teams gave it their all.

I have no idea what obstacles and challenges these teams are going to be put through this week, but I have no doubt they will be met with energy and resourcefulness – two traits all Doublecreek counselors must have.

Challenges come in various ways.  Some challenges don’t seem like challenges at all, such as:  getting campers off the bus, getting campers from one activity to another, and handing out snack cards and lunches.  I’d better hold up on saying handing out lunches is not a challenge.  Getting the correct lunches in the hands of 300+ campers every day is no easy task.  But thanks to our fabulous office staff, it goes surprisingly smooth.

Many of our activities have built-in challenges.  Horseback requires our riding staff to keep campers safe while having fun.  This can be challenging since many of the campers have never approached a horse, much less ridden, until they come to Doublecreek.

There are challenges at swimming to help campers feel comfortable in the water.  For many campers, their first experiences of putting their head under water, going off a diving board, and down a 40-ft. waterslide, happens at Doublecreek.

We have challenges at the rockwall.  Again, keeping campers safe while allowing campers to push themselves to reach new heights (literally), is a challenge for both campers and counselors.

It is always a source of satisfaction to see campers succeed at things they are not comfortable with at first or just making the attempt.  It is not always important to succeed – it is important to just try!

So, back to the Great DC Race – unlike the movie version which is full of contrived, challenges, Doublecreek campers and counselors take on very real challenges every day.  This is one of the important core values of Camp Doublecreek!  If you offer children the opportunity to meet challenges, you are giving them the chance to build character.

-- Joe Ray