Over the countless years that I have been involved with Camp Chikopi I have seen many campers pass though the camp, some attend for one year, some of you come back for many years.
Even though times do change the one constant that I see year after year at Chikopi is Teamwork and Friendship.
We thrust total strangers together in a camp setting yet, friendship’s are made quickly, often within the first couple of days upon arrival at camp, and grow stronger as the summer progresses.
These friendships often last a lifetime, as you will always share the common bond of Camp Chikopi, even though you may live at opposite ends of the country or globe and not see each other very often you will always remain friends.
I continue to run into old friends that I went to camp with as long as 25 years ago and enjoy sharing old camp stories with them, seeing if they have been in contact with other old friends and catching up on what they are doing. Talking to former Chikopi alumni is one of the highlights of every visit when I am back at camp.
These friendships are formed year after year at Chikopi and are a very important part of your camp experience.
Today’s technology makes it easier to stay in touch with camp friends, e-mail, facebook, blogging or twitter, so make the effort, stay in touch, some of the best friendships you will ever have will be the ones you made at Chikopi.
One of the spin-offs of the friendships that are made at camp is Teamwork, all of you that come to camp realize that a big part of the camp experience revolves around Teamwork, team comp, team practices, cabin inspection, etc. I have always enjoyed watching how the teamwork improves as the summer moves on. On the first day of camp there are 80 individuals, all with their own personal goals on what they want out of their summer at camp, no one is thinking about teamwork. During the first few days of team competition the teams do not perform very well due to lack of teamwork, but as the friendships grow the teams turn into well oiled machines, they start competing as one rather than individuals which leads to some very exciting competitions.
This holds true in the cabin inspection as well, in the first week we see scores of 6.5 but it is not long before the team aspect kicks in and the scores are 9.5 to 10 on a daily basis. Teamwork is also noticeable when the camp is involved in individual competitions during the summer, the first being the Knoepfli mile swim, most of the campers jump in swim and get out with very little thought about the other campers, but as the summer progresses and we get to the Ahmic Harbor swim and the Triathlon campers are there at the finish line, cheering on their cabin mates asking them how they did and encouraging campers that may never have swam three miles or competed in a triathlon to give it a try and telling them that “they can do it just give it a try”.
Friendship & Teamwork are the two characteristics that stood out when I spent my first week at camp as a Fourteen year old, I was fortunate to be able to spend another summer at Camp Chikopi this past summer and they are still the two characteristics that stand out today.
By Neil Dolman
