Every session, the most popular free swim spot changes.
For most of the summer, campers have flocked to the new water wall, hoping to acquire the extremely rare water wall swim band.
But in Classic 4, the “web” has reigned supreme.
The octagonal rope course sits on the left-hand corner of the waterfront. The goal is to climb around the rope obstacles and hug the final pole at the finish.
Every free swim this session, campers line up at the start and await their turn to test both their finesse and strength.
I can assure you: The web is no easy task.
For a while, I considered doing a lap or two on the web a day to get a nice full-body workout in. It’s a challenge, and these campers never seem to shy away from the physical battle that just a few wooden posts and some marina rope can present.
While many complete the web and earn the web swim band — the campers this session never seem content with just one lap around the course.
Even campers who’ve been coming to Rockmont for years now seem to endlessly lap around the web, and honestly, I wasn’t entirely sure why at first.
In a lot of ways, the web is a perfect metaphor for the Rockmont experience. There’s variation and challenge, but once you’ve been around the block once, you’ll know what to expect for the next time.
So what brings campers back to the web every free swim? What brings campers back to Rockmont every summer?
The key word is Self-Discovery.
Every time a camper rounds the course, he grows a little stronger, but more importantly, he’s a little wiser.
The secret to the web is efficiency. Every lap a camper gets more proficient at a specific segment of the web, and on the next lap, he’s quicker and wastes less energy trying to solve the puzzle.
Every lap reveals a new method to getting faster and faster.
Every summer in turn helps campers grow whether it be through befriending a new cabinmate from across the country (or world) or maybe just absorbing the wisdom of a new counselor.
Rockmont grows and changes with every year, but what makes camp camp has remained consistent and clear since its founding in 1956.
As the web sits on the waterfront with the same old tricks and puzzles that stump the boys every year — it still holds new wisdom and self-discovery to be gained by a 10th-year and first-year camper alike.
As the summer comes to an always abrupt close and our daily work routines come back into focus, take time to reflect on what the mundane and programmed parts of our lives still have to teach us.
Never grow tired or learning, and remember that maybe the next lap will be the one where you learn even more than ever before!
Luke Vargas
Assistant Marketing Director