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Girl Rifle Shooter
• Riflery • rbc

Camp Rifle Shooting

Camp Girl Shooting Rifle

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?

Two Keys to Better Accuracy

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 your 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.

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Teen sleepover party at camp
• History • rbc

Evening Program Writing

Girl Teen Sleepover Camps

We found this great old photo in the Rockbrook archives the other day. It’s not exactly clear when it was taken, but we’re guessing that it was sometime in the early 1960s. It looks like the girls are all writing for the camp yearbook, “The Carrier Pigeon” during an evening program in the upper Lakeview Lodge. It’s when all the girls in an age group take time to jot down a favorite memory (sometimes as a poem or drawing) from their time at camp that summer. We later compile them all and publish the “Carrier Pigeon” each year.

From the photo, you might think it’s a sleepover, since the girls are in their pajamas, but that’s just life at an all girls camp. Nice and relaxed.

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Girl Kayak Adventure
• Adventure • rbc

Camp Kayaking Adventure

Summer Kayak Adventure Camps

Part of the adventure program at Rockbrook is whitewater kayaking. It teaches girls the important safety and paddling skills to enjoy this great outdoor activity. Summer adventure camps in this area are a great places to learn about whitewater kayaking.

What's That Thing She's Wearing?

OK, but what is that thing she’s wearing? Well, it’s not a new fashion statement in bathing suits. It’s a kayaking spray skirt, and it’s one of the most important bits of equipment in this adventure (as is the boat, paddle, helmet and PFD). Most whitewater spray skirts are made of soft neoprene. They are designed to fit tightly about the paddler and around the rim (“coaming”) of the kayak’s opening (“cockpit”)… not too tight and not too loose. It’s purpose is to keep water out of the boat when paddling, but especially when rolling back up after a flipping.  You can imagine that the skirt, which is like a little wetsuit for your middle, also helps keep you warm boating through a chilly mountain river.  They feel a little funny when you first try one on, but also pretty cool since it’s such an adventure sort of thing to wear.

Learning to kayak at summer camp is great fun, even if you’ve never tried it before.  We’ll help you each step of the way, provide all the equipment (yep, even the spray skirt!), and cheer for you as you get better and better.  You’ll be smiling too!

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Gymnastics camp fun
• Gymnastics • rbc

How to do a Handstand?

Camps Gymnastics

Can you do a handstand? Maybe not yet, but like all gymnastics skills, with a little practice, you’ll improve and be able to do it. Camps are the perfect place to try it, learn a few tips, and practice.

Tips for a Perfect Handstand

Here are a few tips to help you learn how to do a perfect gymnastics handstand.

  • First find a wall and use it to balance against. Stand back from the wall, plant your hands about a foot away, kick up, and lock your elbows.
  • Your arms should cover your ears. Your legs should be straight and together, and your toes pointed towards the ceiling.
  • Keep your stomach tight, and your back straight, not arched.
  • Look down at your hands, but don’t stick your head out too far.

Moving Away from the Wall

When you feel your balance improving, you can try your handstand without using the wall. Here is where it’s good to have a spotter help you balance by holding your legs once you kick up.

Doing a handstand is one of those great camp gymnastics skills that’s fun to learn, exciting to practice, and super cool once you can do it.

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traditional camp basketry
• Arts • rbc

Weaving Traditional Camp Basketry

Camp Basket

Weaving camp baskets is a traditional arts and crafts activity just about everyone enjoys at Rockbrook. Over near the fiber arts cabin we call “Curosty,” there’s a nice stream flowing by, and it’s there that girls often work on their baskets. It’s a really nice spot to sit and soak your feet on a summer afternoon, but also, the water is important for the basket weaving. To bend and weave the wicker (cane, reed, or grass) fibers, it helps to soak them in water for a while. This softens the fibers making them more flexible for weaving.

Basketry is a truly ancient art. Native people around the world have been making baskets for as long as anyone can remember. Near us at camp, the Cherokee split oak baskets come to mind as a good example. Our camp baskets may not be as elaborate as these, but the girls at Rockbrook are continuing this long tradition of basket making in the mountains of North Carolina.

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Horse Show Camper
• Horseback Riding • rbc

Horsemanship Shown at Camp

A fond memory of the horse show held at the end of a camp session in 1930. Yes, from the very beginning, horseback riding has been a core activity for the girls at Rockbrook.

Camp Show Horse

A Horse Show Memory

“At last, all the polishing and shining was over. There was not a boot left in camp that did not shine to the highest degree in preparation for the horse show. Every girl who had been down to the riding field at any time during the summer was to be in the show. The first to ride were those in the advanced horsemanship class for Seniors. Each rider was asked to walk, trot, and canter. Finally, everyone came to the center of the field and awaited the judges’ decision. After that long deliberation which makes the audience want to wring the neck of each judge, the blue ribbon was awarded to Louise Lykes. Next was the music ride. The participants were divided in pairs, and as the music was played, each couple came to the center and formed the figures of a square dance. When this was completed, Dr. Wheeler announced the musical stalls. This was done just as one plays musical chairs, except when the music stopped each person rushed for a stall. The horses seemed to enjoy it as much as the riders, and soon needed very little urging. The last person to stay in was Barbara Leovy and she received the prize. There was also tandem riding, in which each girl rode one horse and drove another in front of her. After that, Bet Martin jumped sidesaddle. As a climax to the show, Elizabeth Klinesmith, who received the blue ribbon in Junior, and Louise Lykes were each given a large horseshoe of flowers. They then rode from the field with it about the horse’s neck.”

Jean Wall, 1930

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Summer Camp Charlotte Girls
• Campers • rbc

Meeting you in Charlotte for Camp

Summer Camp Charlotte

Are you ready for summer camp Charlotte girls? Judging from everyone’s enthusiasm at last weekend’s camp party at the Beltz’s home in Charlotte, the answer is “Yes!” With the new Rockbrook Camp movie and slideshow from last summer’s sessions all set to go, Sarah and Mandy met so many of our Charlotte NC campers and a bunch of their friends interested in learning more about RBC.

For returning campers and parents, it’s always fun at these parties to see the new camp movie, spot yourself and your friends in the photos, and just to recharge your Rockbrook spirit.

And for new campers, meeting all the people, talking with the families, having the camp directors answer your questions, these parties really are one of the best ways to see why so many girls love Rockbrook.

It’s wonderful to see that Rockbrook is the girls summer camp Charlotte families are buzzing about.

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Youth Horse Camp rider
• Horseback Riding • rbc

The Riding Program Staff

Youth Horse Camps

Experienced, Qualified Instructors

One important aspect of Rockbrook’s youth horse camps is its horseback riding staff members’ qualifications. The equestrian program’s director, Cara Thompson, interviews and selects all of the riding instructors that work at Rockbrook. Cara has directed the Rockbrook horse camps for five years now, following her graduation from St. Andrews College with a Bachelors Degree in Equine Business Management. Cara insures that each of the women teaching riding at Rockbrook’s youth horse camps has several years of experience working with horses and instructing both beginners and experienced riders. Most of these instructors are studying a horse-related field in college, and in some cases, have already graduated with an equine studies degree. The horseback riding program enjoy great consistency too because every summer several of the riding staff members joining Cara return from the previous summer.

The youth horse camps at Rockbrook have continued to expand their reputation and to attract an impressive group of young riders.

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Summer Camp Girls Acting
• Drama • rbc

Have you ever tried acting?

Summer Girls Acting

OK. So you’ve always thought it would be fun to act… perform a short scene, maybe create a character or personality, develop a story line. You’re a secret performer at heart. Sure, but the problem is, when do you do it? Who’s going to be watching? What will people think if suddenly you turn into a sweet old lady, or a glamorous Hollywood starlet, or a cranky bus driver?

That’s another fun thing about camp; there’s plenty of chances for acting. In addition to the Drama activity that meets most every day, you can join the group of girls producing the end-of-session musical (Did I mention singing too?). Also, some of the evening program activities provide opportunities to perform for your friends.

A great example of this is “Fractured Fairy Tales,” a fun game where each cabin of girls presents a skit combining more than one classic fairy tale. Can you imagine Little Red Riding Hood and the Three Little Pigs in the same story? Needless to say, it can be pretty funny. Each cabin takes a turn performing its skit. With so many characters, everyone plays a part. It’s also fun to watch the other skits when its not your cabin’s turn.

Once you try acting at camp, it could become one of your favorite things to do!

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