Some things you need to know about (gap year) training camp
-bucket showers. They don’t sound like fun but you’ll soon realize it’s truly a highlight of camp. *helpful hint* there’s going to be a line so plan ahead.
-Themes. Every day has a theme. This isn’t something they tell you but each day may have a more conservative dress code according to the theme. Bring pants (India and Africa).
-Food. With the theme comes food from that region. Be prepared to eat with your hands and plan accordingly.
-Coffee. There’s water but you supply your own coffee. Unless you drink black instant coffee, bring sugar, creamer, etc. Also, if you are a tea drinker, bring tea.
-Community. There’s going to be a lot of new people that you should know by the time you leave. They are your squadmates(especially your teammates), alumni team leaders, squad leaders, coaches, and squad mentors. Get to know everyone not just your specific leadership. The other alumni team leads are there for you too, not just their team. You might be nervous about sharing personal information with people you just met at the airport. Just do it. These people will be living with you for 9 months, don’t waste time getting to know only what you choose to share in the beginning. They’ll know at some point so you might as well tell them now.
-Camping. There is no graceful way to enter or (especially) exit a tent. As long as you are in/out it’s all good. Find a nice stick to get the spiders off your tent entrance at night(or if you “Don’t have time for them” like Gel, just flick them off) ALWAYS ZIP YOUR RAINFLY. It will probably rain and you can’t really go back to camp to close it every time it rains. If you’re worried about airflow, zip the middle and leave a few inches open on the top and bottom so air can get in but rain can’t.
-Plans subject to change. Training camp is supposed to be an outdoor experience complete with sleeping in your tent for 10 days (we didn’t have sleep scenarios this year), porti-potties, and bucket showers. WRGY 2019 spent 3 nights (in a row) inside due to weather conditions. We got woken up at midnight to go inside one of those times. Be flexible with your plans.
-Hammock. If you don’t want to sit with ALL of the people at personal time, bring your hammock and spend personal time there. *helpful hint* 5 people is too many for one eno hammock. Don’t try it unless you have a squad leader that works at REI and can get you a discount and you really want to buy a new hammock
-Snacks. You don’t need to bring every snack under the sun. At my training camp there was a snack bar (adopt shop) where you could buy cliff bars, kind bars, bananas and apples, Gatorade, soda, chips, candy, and ice cream. Plan accordingly.
-Water bottle. Bring it. If you forget it, buy a new one. You will drink so much water in those 10 days. If you drink coffee, consider bringing a mug. However, the water isn’t too hot to put in your Nalgene so you don’t technically need the mug.
-Clothes. Something I learned from my alumni team leaders (who seemed to have a new outfit every day) is to share clothes. Find someone your size and you can swap clothes for a day so you don’t wear the same outfit 3 times in a weeks
-Squad shirt. I think every WRGY 2019 squad has a squad shirt. So consider making one. One squad did tie dye with their color. It doesn’t have to be fancy to look cool *helpful hint* You will have a squad mentor, your coaches, squad leaders, and alumni team leaders. Consider reaching out to your squad mentor to make sure everyone that is a part of your squad has the opportunity to get a shirt.
-Squad wars. Go big or go home. Think a themed football game. Wear your squad color (or your squad shirt if yall made one) bring face paint. (If you are doing lines or dots a vibrant shade of lipstick might work better) Bring glitter. *helpful hint* start early. The challenges they email out really do add up. My squad won almost all of the challenges before camp and none at camp and we won squad wars.
-Manners. Thank your serve team when you see them. If you see the worship team, let them know how awesome they’re doing. PICK UP YOUR TRASH. At the end of camp you’ll have to pick up any and all trash so you might as well do it as you go.
-Phones. You WILL NOT have your phone on your person during the day. You will get it back at night and turn it in before breakfast. Unless you want to fight for an outlet every night, bring a power bank/portable charger to use in your tent at night and you can charge it during the day.
-Fans. Some of the girls on my squad stopped at target to get cordless fans for in their tent. It’s not required, but it’s something to consider.
-Expectations. While this blog may give you some expectations for training camp, try to go into training camp without expectations. Let God do his thing without you fighting it with your expectations.
-Fitness hike. It is going to suck but in the words of Aimee Dias “you can do it. I just had a baby 5 weeks ago and I can do it so that means you can too”. *helpful hint* keep a pace and breathe. Jog the downhill, run the flat, briskly walk the uphill if possible. •bonus- if you hike earlier in the day you can take a nap on the porch (best nap spot) as a squad.
