From Rope Burning to Fire Brigade, day 3 and 4 turned up the heat!!!  Here are some highlights from the Judgies in black.

On Day 3, the Boys had their showdown on the track at record speeds, culminating in a classic Judgies vs. Generals race for the record-books. Two heats of Judgies from four different eras competed against the Zombie and Clone Generals.  Casper joined in the race, helping the Judgies win by a “nose” as the Blue General, Diego “Day La Fuente” took one for the team at the finish line!  It was the perfect way to end our morning at the track.

The Girls headed to the waterfront in the afternoon to swim like fishies at the Swim Meet.  Excellent efforts, cheering and spirit.  After the one lap kickboard race, one camper said “THAT WAS SO FUN…I didn’t know I was so good at kickboarding!”

From the Judgies point of view, the campers have really tried SO hard.  They left nothing on the field.  They pushed themselves to do their absolute best.  They participated in EVERYTHING…even if it was a little outside their comfort zone.  It’s all for the team.

By Day 3 dinner time, you could feel the electricity in the air.  A shift in energy.  The camp was getting pumped up.  The song “LIGHT EM UP” by Fall Out Boy played over the loud speakers as the teams entered line up.  At dinner, the Red and Blue teams took turns, pumping up their team for ROPE BURNING! Everyone participated in Rope Burning, even if they are on the sidelines.  The cheering section is equally important to those who are geared up to help “build that fire, higher higher”.  When the Judgies arrived at Skyview Field, you could hear a pin drop.  The Blue and Red Ropeburning teams sat in the ceremonial circle in absolute silence.  Their Generals and Ropeburning coaches gave inspirational pep talks, helping them understand they will remember tonight for the rest of their lives.  For the Alumni Judgies, this tradition evokes incredible memories and nostalgia.

It is so hard to explain how Rope Burning is the best night of camp…but it is true.  It holds special significance for the Club boys building the fire, but the whole camp really comes together.  It is epic.

The rope burning teams were incredibly focused and determined, from the wood gatherers to the runners to the sorters to the stackers to the feeders to the firebuilders.  When Blue lit their fire first and burned the first rope, it looked like a sure thing.  But their fire started to shift away from the top rope, and Red came back to burn their second rope in under 13 minutes.  Blue burned their top rope just a minute later.

After it was done and the fires extinguished, the emotions were indescribable.  Dorm and Club uniting under the firey sky.  All ages, boys and girls, congratulating, crying, hugging (lots of hugging), smiling, all exhausted and energized at the same time.  This is when camp comes together.  Camp brothers and sisters leaning on each other.

There was no slowing down on Day 4 of Olympics.  A morning of activities, some beef-a-roni for lunch (to which the whole mess hall was cheering “Beef-a-Roni”!!!), and then the Great Apache Relay (did you follow the live social media feed from the race course?).

The Apache consists of over 200 events that end in the Fire Brigade at the waterfront.  Events include athletic challenges, crazy tasks and silly fun.  You could have a Deb in a potato sack hopping across girls camp against an Upper Camp boy! Anything goes in Apache.  And the lead often changes MANY times.

We encountered a 10 minute rain shower…okay, downpour, but that did NOT slow down the relay.  The baton changed hands over 200 times.  There was a lot of running.  Kyle Manes and Jonathan Penner, two incredible staff, ran alongside the campers during the entire race which finished in under 2 hours.  Other Judgies followed on a golf cart, Generals on bicycles, campers and fans on foot.  It was incredibly organized and smooth! Everyone contributed to the outcome.  In the end, Red filled their water jug first in Fire Brigade and they were declared the winner by a small margin.

Last night was silent BBQ (yes, this is a judged event) and knockout.  We cannot believe Olympics is coming to a close tonight and look forward to the much-anticipated Olympic Sing and skits.

Good luck Red Team. Good luck Blue Team.

A big thank you to all the Alumni and Guest Judgies who helped make this Olympics such a success.