Flashback to Flashdance

There are some really amazing friendship bracelets being made at camp this session. After mastering the basic techniques, the “Chevron” for example, the girls are quickly moving on to more advanced patterns. There are zig-zag patterns, box shapes, multiple layers, braids, loops, arrows and diamond shapes. Of course, part of the fun is selecting the colors of embroidery floss that make up the final bracelet. There are so many! Plus, with so many friends at camp, it’s easy to think of someone to receive your latest pattern. Friendship bracelets are always a part of camp. Someone is always making a bracelet, carrying around a half-finished one (a portable craft project!), or wearing one (usually many).

Down on the riflery range, we’re seeing true marksmanship as the girls practice shooting. Counselors Haley and Molly are running the girls through the drills and making sure all the safety protocols are followed. There are very specific commands everyone follows to insure nothing unexpected happens. “Ready on the range. Commence firing.” It’s a real accomplishment for the girls to become comfortable shooting. Most have never fired a gun before and are understandably nervous at first. But over time, they gain confidence and show a smiling sense of pride as they improve their scores. This is another great example of camp providing an experience that can’t easily be reproduced at home, and something that can mean so much to the girls.

Tonight’s evening program was an all-camp dance down in the gym, but not just an ordinary dance, an 80s dance party! Out came the scrunchies, the lycra, the baggy t-shirts worn off the shoulder, and lots and lots of really big hair. With all of the campers and counselors dressed up and dancing, it was quite the sight, proving that “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun.” There were conga lines, group dances, and of course, a great version of Michael Jackson’s Thriller to end the night. Lining everybody up, with our best zombie faces, the whole camp followed the classic choreography. It was a great way to end the evening.

Oh, I wanted to also mention the special dinner we had tonight. The kitchen crew made us a feast of traditional chicken (and vegetarian) tamales, homemade sauce, beans, rice, and salad. They began preparing everything two days ago, including the dough for the pastry desserts. So much work goes into rolling each tamale in its corn husk! Everything was absolutely delicious.

Camp Rifle Shooting

The riflery activity at camp, target rifle shooting, is something that really grows on you. Once you learn the safety rules at the rifle range, and get used to the basic techniques (not to mention the sound and smell of guns going off!), what can you do to improve your shot at camp?

Well, here are two important tips for shooting well. First, you need to have smooth trigger control. Learn to apply slow, consistent pressure to the trigger of the rifle so you can fire it without jerking. Squeezing the trigger quickly or erratically will definitely throw off your aim and mess up your shot. Next, it’s just as important to control your breathing when shooting, to take deep slow breaths rather than quick or hurried breaths. Here too, breathing too rapidly can make it difficult to aim steadily. Holding you breath just before pulling the trigger can help. Overall the goal here is to hold really still so you can make very small adjustments while aiming your rifle.

Back at camp you’ll have plenty of time to practice your shooting.

Riflery Camp for Girls

Hey what’s your score? When girls select riflery as one of their camp activities, they first learn the basics of shooting. After some practice, camp girls develop their marksmanship skills and begin to shoot more evenly. When they can consistently hit higher scores, they can pass through a series of NRA ratings and earn special “Light Rifle Qualification” awards.

On these official targets, a bullseye earns a score of 10. That means the ordinary round of five bullets can total 50 in all. One “course” is 20 shots (4 rounds of 5 bullets) for a total possible score of 200. So if, from the prone, or lying down, position, you can shoot two courses that score 100, that earns you the “Pro-Marksman” rating. If you improve and can shoot two courses of 125, you earn the “Marksman” rating. And it goes up from there: 3 courses of 150 earns “Marksman First Class,” 4 courses of 165 earns “Sharpshooter,” and 6 courses of 180 earns the “Expert” rating. Wow!  That sure would take a lot of practice!

Learn more about these ratings over at the NRA website.