Olympics at Maine Camps

As the world celebrates the Summer Olympics in Paris, we celebrate Olympics at Maine Camps. A time of friendly competition, teamwork, spirit, and grit. Several Maine Camps have these all-camp competitions that bring together all campers for fun and excitement. With a bevy of amazing activities between opening and closing ceremonies, these Olympics events are often campers’ favorite tradition of the summer.

These all-camp competitions are called different names at different camps. Names include: Olympics, Color War, College Days, College League, The League, The Cup, Jamboree, World Games, and beyond. Some divide the camp into two teams, and others have four or even six teams. Some camps use the same colors and names each year, while some use different names and colors each summer. Some camps have the event run throughout the summer while some save it for a few days at the end of camp. At some, campers are on their same team forever (and families through several generations are bonded through this for life) while others have campers change each summer. 

There’s a great range of events! For sports loving campers, there are basketball games and dunk competitions, lacrosse, beach volleyball, soccer, hockey, baseball, and softball games, tennis matches, and dance competitions. Campers who love the lake enjoy competing in sailing, canoeing, paddle boarding, and swimming. There are additional fun events at the lake like bucket brigade. In the arts - campers love designing and decorating plaques (that are often hung in the dining and rec halls for years!). Teams also write and sing songs that reflect the current summer; these anthems are heartfelt, mesmerizing, and unforgettable! Campers dig deep for field day type events like tug-of-war, leapfrog, egg toss, and water balloon catch. There’s often an all-camp relay where campers are at different stations doing everything from eating crackers and whistling songs, to hula hooping, to sorting cereal by color, to cartwheeling, and beyond. Silent dinner where campers cannot laugh or talk or their team loses points is always a fun one as counselors do their best to act ridiculous to try to get campers to laugh. And Rope Burn is a “heated” match to see which team can build a fire fast to be the first to burn the rope suspended above.

Spirit is off the charts!! Campers give it their all during these days. They sing and cheer their hearts out. They wear their team colors with pride - everything from coordinated t-shirts and shorts, to bandanas, tutus, tights, socks, face paint, wigs, glasses, and more. It’s also a nice time for older campers to use their leadership skills as they inspire and lead teams.

It’s an exhilarating time full of love, grit, and spirit that campers will never forget! Win or lose … when it’s over … campers come back together to reunite as one big camp family.

Maine Camp Experience Resources & Tools

Looking for the perfect Maine camp for your child?  Try out our helpful_ tool where you can select a camp by choosing__: type of camp (girls, boys or coed) and session length (1-8 weeks).  It helps to narrow down a few camps to a manageable list that includes rates.  Then you can research these camps in more depth.  _

Next, be sure to contact our Maine Camp Guide, Laurie to discuss these camps as well as for free, year-round advice and assistance on choosing a great Maine summer camp for your child.