From August 8th to August 12th, the Moravian Churches an Staten Island hosted on Olympic Camp for middle-school age youth. It was noticed last summer that there was not a lot of activities for this age group. There were camps for high-school and elementary-age youth, but not the in-betweeners. The campers learned about the values of unity, commitment, courage, love and peace. We experienced different sports each day.
On Monday we had fencing and soccer.. 
On Tuesday we had equestrian events, the rock climbing wall from NYPD 
and martial arts (both empty hand and ancient Okinawan weapons). 
On Wednesday we had 9-Square-in-the-Air (a combination of 4-Square and Volleyball) and cycling. 
Thursday was track and field, basketball and ping-pong. Friday was our closing ceremonies. We had a hip-hop dance group entertain. 
The steel drum band from Vanderbilt Moravian Church provided music during the potluck lunch for Olympians and families. 
During the ceremonies, the Olympians received medals and t-shirts to commemorate their week.
The Campers, youth assistants and adults all enjoyed the week. Even though the temperatures were high, everyone kept a cool mindset. All are looking forward to the next Olympic Camp. Maybe next time we’ll try winter sports!
Thanks goes out to the Moravian congregations for trusting this new experience. This was the first time a camp was put together for this age group. It was the first time for an Olympic-type sports camp. It was also the first time all four congregations came together to work on a project of this type. Thank you Great Kills, New Dorp, Castleton Hills, and Vanderbilt Moravian Churches for trusting in this new endeavor!
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