One great aspect of many Maine Camp Experience (MCE) camps, is they give kids ample opportunities to engage in healthy competition. And while intercamp games and intracamp leagues are great ways to foster this competition, for many MCE camps there is one competitive event that holds a particular esteem on the hearts of campers – Color War.
Color War is an all-camp competition that is unlike any other. Different camps have many different approaches to Color War – some may have a summer-long or session-long Color War where teams compete against each other over the course of several weeks, while others “break” Color War toward the end of a session or summer and have an intense, immersive competition that spans the course of several days. Some camps even have a different name, and the event may be called “Olympics,” “College Days,” or “Spirit Days.” No matter what you call it, this event gives campers the opportunity to compete with and against their peers towards an ultimate goal – helping their team end that session or that summer with a victory.
A Color War will generally include many events – some of them will be traditional sports competitions like basketball or baseball games and traditional camp events like tug of war. Others will be special lake events like sink the canoe, bucket brigade, swim meets and regattas. At some camps, Color War extends to the Dining Hall with silent meals – where campers often wear their sweatshirts backwards so they can bury their faces into their hoods to stifle the laughter caused by costumed counselor judges trying to make them laugh. And, one major aspect of many MCE Color Wars is “Sing,” an event where each team re-writes and performs one or more songs in front of the camp. Sing is generally a camper-driven event – oftentimes the older campers take the lead in writing and teaching the songs – and it is always wonderful to see just how capable they are of putting together a stellar performance. And, of course, at some MCE camps the entire event culminates in a camp-wide Apache Relay that can hold enough sway to determine the outcome of the whole competition. I vividly remember jumping into the lake with my team in celebration one summer after I completed the final event of the relay, the pie-eating contest, just seconds before my opponent.
Of course, while competition is an integral aspect of Color War, that does not mean Color War is solely about die-hard competition. MCE camps do a great job of ensuring that competitive energy does not overshadow camp values. Sportsmanship is still held in the highest regard, and some campers will place as much emphasis on dressing up in their teams’ colors and cheering on their compatriots. In fact, at the MCE camp I work at, each team will do a cheer specifically for their rivals, and each team’s captains constantly applaud their counterparts and their co-captains for their dedication to making Color War all that it can be. It’s also a fun way to get to meet and bond with campers from different cabins and age groups.
There is perhaps no event that says summer camp quite like Color War, and many MCE campers are grateful every summer to experience the joy of a hard-fought friendly battle with their peers. These rivalries are part of the spirit of camp, and can add a truly dynamic aspect to the summer – it really is no wonder that Color War is such a hit at MCE camps!
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Maine Camp Experience Resources & Tools
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