Girls Cookout, Boys Cookout, & Night Team Comp at Summer Camp!

Today on the Camp Balcones Springs blog, we are going to talk about Boys and Girls Cookouts and our epic Night Team Comp event!

For the past two blogs, we’ve discussed two of our favorite summer camp traditions – Women’s Dinner and Men’s Dinner. You may be wondering, then – what exactly do girl campers and boy campers do when those respective events are taking place? Well, we have your answers! During Women’s Dinner, boy campers participate in Boys Cookout, and during Men’s Dinner, girl campers take part in Girls Cookout.

For the former (Boys Cookout), boy campers gathered in our Hippodrome (covered basketball court) to grill hot dogs, make S’mores, and play all sorts of games, including basketball, volleyball, and pickleball. The boys also split into teams and played a gigantic game of ultimate frisbee. For campers who wanted something with a more relaxing vibe, we offered a scavenger hunt for 9-year-olds and fishing for campers of all ashes. We of course had plenty of cold Gatorade, lemonade, and ice water available regardless of activity choice! Regardless of which activity they chose, the boys’ experience was marked by sunset fun and bonding with their fellow cabinmates, counselors, and full-time staff.

At Girls Cookout, girl campers began the evening with a competitive game of Capture the Flag in our wooded paintball area on the back of the property. Campers split into their respective Team Comp teams – the Silver Spurs and Lonestars – and worked to cover a white sheet, guarded by the opposing team, in their team’s color. The Spurs were victorious this Term, winning by covering their sheet in purple before the Lonestars were able to splatter theirs in full-green.

All staff and campers, now themselves covered in paint, jumped into Lake Ted for a refreshing evening swim. Girl campers then prepared hotdogs, pizza pita pockets, and S’mores. After swimming and dinner had come to a close, we held our famous Chili Cook-Off event. During this annual tradition, each cabin competes to prepare the best chili (put to a peer-review test conducted by our Leadership and full-time staff members). Cabins are given the basics for a chili dish and are also able to select up to seven ingredients to add uniqueness and flavor to their recipes. Extra ingredients range from diced garlic and onion to Skittles and Dr. Pepper – and you’d be surprised just how well some of the stranger ingredients work out! Finally, as the chili is simmering, eah cabin creates and presents their own skit to the Leadership review panel to introduce their unique chili recipe before tasting. The Chili Cook-Off is just one of the many Camp Balcones Springs traditions that makes us one of the most beloved summer camps for girls near Austin, Texas!

Moving on to Saturday night’s main event – Night Team Comp! For Night Team Comp, all campers participate in a range of competitive games across the property, competing to earn points for their respective teams (the Texas Rangers, Rough Riders, Lonestars and Silver Spurs) for the term championship. The night culminates in the Scamper (Senior Camper) basketball game played between the Texas Ranger Scamper boys and the Rough Rider Scamper boys in our Hippodrome basketball arena. This Term 1 game was one for the books! Both teams competed well, coming into the game with Phun outfits, team spirit, and stellar skills. Starting off the night, Luke McGrath hit a deep three-pointer to take the Riders to an early lead, but the Rangers quickly recovered to pull ahead by halftime. If the basketball alone wasn’t entertaining enough, the Leadership and fulltime team brought the energy for an incredible halftime show that got all of the fans and campers excited. The Rangers continued their dominance in the second half, led by the game’s top scorer, Nate “The Great” Howard. The Riders tried their best to make a comeback in the second half, especially with an incredible play by Colin Hayes, stepping his way through the Rangers’ defense, but despite their best efforts, the Riders succumbed to the Rangers 27-17. However, the race for the Team Comp Term 1 Title isn’t over yet! All campers will continue competing in daily team comp games this last week leading up to Friday’s Amazing Race event – an obstacle and activity course that involves all campers and spans the entirety of camp!