The Junior and Senior Takajo Olympics have come to a close and have ended in dramatic fashion. After this morning’s song competition, the scores were so close that it came down to the whacked-up relays. The whacked-up relay is a race in which every member of the team participates. The race is run throughout the camp and events include three-point shooting in basketball, scoring goals in soccer, and serving tennis balls consecutively. But it also includes all of the skills that are taught at camp throughout the summer, including archery, canoeing, rigging a sailboat, putting at golf, and fire-building. Some more obscure events are also included just for humor: the toilet flush (where contestants run into every bunk and flush every toilet on the quad), the lemon suck, and attempting to make Bob Lewis laugh (which I have not been able to do for 35 years). But, it all comes down to the pie-eating contest.
If the race is close, two runners make their way to a roped-off area down by the waterfront where one camper from each team squares off against his opponent in a pie-eating contest. Since this is the last event of the race, the winner symbolizes who wins the Olympics. I watched two Okee campers sitting in their chairs in anticipation of receiving the baton, signaling the moment to start devouring the pie. Surrounding these Okees were their best friends and bunkmates, some of whom were opponents competing in their final Takajo Olympics. So many of these boys have grown up at camp and have participated in many Olympics— but the look on their faces made evident that this one was special.
The winner of the pie-eating contest would create their final legacy and get bragging rights for the rest of their lives.
I have vivid memories of these young men when they were little boys; when their moments in camp were completely care-free and final results didn’t matter. Our Okees can feel the time slipping away— as each special event comes to a close it signifies that they are one step closer to the end of their camp careers. When the pie-eating contest ended and one Okee was declared the winner, he stood up and grabbed his opponent, giving him a massive hug. Both boys, covered in blueberry, embraced— signaling to all of their friends and teammates that there are no losers. In that moment, they helped us put this competition in its proper perspective. Together, they ran down the beach and jumped into the lake in celebration of this milestone.
Once little boys, they are now young men and learning how to become leaders.
