This morning is picture day! We are a sea of campers dressed in blue. The task of assembling a camp our size, according to height, requires lots of good listening and patience. They moan and groan a bit, but then I remind them they will be thankful to see their picture lining the lodge walls when they come to visit with their own children or grandchildren one day. That always seems to put things into perspective.

Yesterday the fishing class kept several of the fish Dylan Levine caught. Fishing instructor, Tony Duffeck, filleted and fried them up for campers to taste. Some were very hesitant to taste but were pleasantly surprised once they did.

Tomorrow 49 campers will hit the Bear Skin Trail early for the annual Mike Ross Memorial 5k race. This summer we’ll be sending our biggest group of runners to the event. They have been training and hitting the back roads of Agawak daily in preparation for this 3 mile run. The town organizers have designed special awards specifically for our Agawak runners. I’m glad the humidity has dropped which will allow for better running conditions tomorrow morning.

The past few days at Camp Agawak have been filled with lots of spirit. The girls have started final four and are hyped up about who is going to win! One of the teams this year is Yale with counselor captains Emma Manks, Jenna Spathis, and Logan Weiss. Camper captains Rachel Beck, Ilana Spitz, Courtney Zesser, and Samantha Bernsen. Another team is University of California Santa Barbara with counselor captains Andrea Duncan, Jamie Gorchoff, and Lily Cohen. Camper captains Talia Just, Ellory Shutan, Elyse Goldberg, and Alisa Warsh. There is also Brown University with counselor captains Jenna Lewis, Jen Rosenwasser, and Lainie Kleifield. Camper captains Sydney Garelick, Zoey Kohn, Jaqueline Kaplan, and Emily Abrams. And lastly, there is Vanderbilt with counselor captains Bronnie James, Melanie Pascal, and Lauren Chilow. Camper captians Shaylee Roth, Dani Hammer, Julia Zazove, and Sarah Heilbronner. All captains are super excited and have been showing great leadership.

Final four has been off to a busy start. The past few days have been filled with openings, series, and big games. Everyone prepared a cheer, a skit, a banner, and a song for opening ceremonies. After great performances by all, Brown came in first, followed by UCSB, Vanderbilt, and Yale. Then came the relay races. Everyone ran their hearts out!

After that, we jumped right into Series. Campers from each team signed up to compete in small events such as skiing, swimming, knockout, biking, red girl relay, triathlon, rock art, and singing the National Anthem. There have been new series added to final four this year such as cupcake wars and a pie eating contest. Ashley Morgan was the first camper to finish her pie, leading Brown to a win.

Then came Big Games. Each team competed in softball, basketball and soccer, divided by juniors and seniors. Brown won every game in the first round, putting them in position to take first or second place in each game. Today we played the Big Game finals. Some highlights included the Vanderbilt and Yale senior basketball game for third and fourth place. Vanderbilt had a buzzer shot for the tie. The game went into over time, but after a close game the win went to Yale. In the junior finals, cousins Meredith and Shayna Rudman dominated, leading Brown to a 32-2 win over UCSB. Up at soccer, Lexi Aronin scored a major goal for Vanderbilt.

Tomorrow we have a big day as the games of Final Four will come to a close. We’re starting the morning with the Gonzo relay. Then comes tug-o-war and finally closing ceremonies.

With more fun ahead and the score really close, any team can win this year’s Final Four!


Smile on,
Mary and Staff