Swimming in Lake Buckatabon - The First Island Swim!

One of Camp Ramah in Wisconsin's traditions is to hold several island swims during the summer. All campers and staff are welcome to participate, and the Tzevet Agam (waterfront staff) supervises the campers' swim from an island across the lake back to camp. Yesterday was the first island swim of the summer and a diverse selection of people attended. Here, some of the participants share their thoughts on this unique camp tradition.

Guy (Waterfront Staff Trainer): Today's island swim is about 500 yards and we have 51 campers and staff participating. This is only the first swim of the summer, so I expect to have 60-70 campers at the upcoming island swims. We usually have 5-6 throughout the summer. All of these smaller swims build up to the main event, where campers and counselors swim around the cluster of islands in the middle of the lake; this is a significantly father distance than the basic island swims. Myself, along with the waterfront staff, positions ourselves throughout the lake during the swim to ensure the safety and fun of all of the participants.

Tessa (Garinim camper): This is my first island swim. I decided to do it because it seems like a great experience. Five of my cabin-mates are doing it too and we're going to swim together. I think it is going to be a fun bonding experience!

Leah (Bogrim camper): I doing the island swim today with my counselors! It is cool that my counselors share the same interests as me and we can do the swim together. This is my first island swim, but I think that my counselors and I can encourage each other along the way.

Itay (Music specialist): There are a few reasons that I decided to do the island swim. First, during the week, I am working on the music staff and do not have the opportunity to regularly participate in sports. I like staying active at camp, especially when we have beautiful Lake Buckatabon to swim in! Also, I think that the island swim is a unique opportunity to do activities with campers and get to know them better. It is fun to see campers in music and then do other fun things with them around camp too!

Kayla (Shoafim camper): The island swim is a great way to exercise because it is a pretty long swim! I think that it is not only going to be an accomplishment, but fun along the way too!