Day three is an intense day in Color War. This day has the most points on the line for the teams and has historically been a game-changer for many teams with two extremely critical events, Mountain Relay and Rope Burning. These two events are the oldest and most traditional events of Color War that were a part of the very first Color War in 1964.

The Mountain Relay is a giant race that includes 57 challenges and involves over 70 campers from each team. Each participant must complete their obstacle while still holding the baton. These batons were made in 1976 and have been used in every Mountain Relay and Carolina Streak for 48 summers. Campers pass the baton to a teammate at the next obstacle which include shooting five blocks of wood at riflery, promenading your partner down to the gym, carrying a cinder block from the office to the gym, walking like the statue of liberty with toilet paper and a plunger, kayaking around the island on silver lake, blobbing a teammate to swim to the beach, passing a frisbee, saying the alphabet backwards, walking downhill with a book on your head, mini rope burning, driving a nail and many more. This event is so intense because it only takes one hurdle to slow you down and change the fate of the competition.

Both teams got caught up in the pressure and stress at different points during the race, but the Blue Knights were the first to ring the bell and claim the title of Mountain Relay champions until the summer of 2024.

Tonight in Rope Burning, both teams were super prepared and had plenty of wood for the fire. We have been fortunate to have sunny weather all week, so the wood they collected today was dry and ready to burn. “Blue burns hotter than Red,” the Knights were chanting. While the Dragons yelled “Fire it up BIG RED, fire it up!” Each team was working hard to get their fire hot enough and high enough to burn the rope. In just under nine minutes, the rope broke and the Blue Knights are the Rope Burning champions of 2023.

Tomorrow is the last day of Color War, and day four is reserved for the final programs for both teams. The final program includes a play that is written, cast and directed by the staff, but is performed by the campers as a gift to the opposite team. Our theme for Color War this summer is “Even the smallest person can make a big difference.” This quote has been in a few movies and books like The Hobbit, Winnie the Pooh and most recently Barbie. It will be interesting to see which direction each team takes the play for tomorrow. I can’t wait!

This has been an amazing Color War for me mainly because it is such a close race, and I am so proud of all the hard work and effort that has been put into these past 3 days from competitors, coaches and opponents. Usually people think that the war is won in the EP events, but the small events add up to be so much more than the points of a big EP. The work each and every camper puts into their event every day is so critical to the outcome.

Someone today said to me, “I think the Green Giants rig Color War.” “Really,” I responded, “why is that?” “Well, there is just NO WAY that we have an exact tie right now. Just when I think we are winning, the Green Giants announce wins at meals and it is always equal wins for Red and Blue.” I smiled because we do that on purpose. We never want campers to give up, to quit trying, to lose hope. Children often want to quit when things get too hard, but in Color War they are learning to persevere, that hard work is worth the effort and that even when they lose, they win because they gave it their all. We want campers to know that every effort, every event, all of their hard work has value and just might push the team over to a victory. In Color War, nothing is more true… ‘It ain’t over til it’s over.``