Camp Avoda

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Camp Avoda is a Jewish boys overnight camp located on Lake Tispaquin in Middleborough, Massachusetts. It has been in continuous operation since the summer of 1927.

Contents 1 History 2 Tradition 3 Religion 4 Cheers 5 Alumni Association 6 External links

[edit] History

Camp Avoda was established in late 1926 or early 1927 by an organization then known as the Young Men's Hebrew Association. The camp was established by Zionists to serve the needs of underprivileged Jewish boys. Originally, the bunks were essentially "huts" and had no screening or walls. Today the campers sleep in basic cabins which were built at various times between the late 1950s and early 1980s. Many bunks have had extensions annexed to them after the great rise in attendance in the middle 1990s.

Left: Morton Sigel's Avoda Swim Class c.1949 & Right: Bunkmates c.1963

Today the camp is a non-profit entity operated by a Board of Directors and duly incorporated as Camp Avoda, Inc. It serves the needs of 125-150 campers per session.

Camp Avoda is located on a 50-acre tract of land on Lake Tispaquin in Middleborough, Massachusetts. However, more than half of that land is wooded area which is used for hiking, camping, and a high-elements ropes course which was constructed in 1999.

The camp is well-known for its unique lay-out. All 8 cabins, the rec hall, the C.I.T. "bungalow", the shower houses, two administrator cabins, and the "OD shack" surround the large ball field, where all field sports are played. The small size of this camp grants it what many consider a very "intimate" feeling.

Image:Avoda field.jpg

The Avoda Athletic Field & The Scenic Waterfront

Paul G. Davis is currently the Director of the Camp, a position he has been in since the late 1960s; he has been employed as an administrator since 1966, making him one of the longest serving camp directors in the United States. Camp Avoda has a 7 1/2 week season, which includes a 3 1/2 week long first session and a 4-week second session. Each summer there are 32-40 junior and senior counselors ranging between ages 17-24. Almost all counselors were once campers at Camp Avoda, and most are typically college students.

Today, most campers reside in the Greater Boston area, including the heavily Jewish populated towns of Newton and Sharon, Massachusetts. However, many campers come from New York, Florida, and California, and some have come from as far away as Israel, Canada, Spain, and Venezuela.

Avoda at Night

The Waterfront on a Summer Day

[edit] Tradition

Camp Avoda is one of the only summer camps in the world, where any given summer, all or almost all counselors were once Avoda campers and successful graduates of the Avoda Counselor-in-training (C.I.T.) program.

"Avodians" describe themselves as sharing a "special bond." Today, Avodians can be found throughout the United States and the World. In 2002 Camp Avoda celebrated its 75th Anniversary and over 1,000 Avodians throughout the World embarked upon Camp Avoda to revel in the festivities.

Trips Every Thursday, except during Color War, is a trip day. Trips include Six Flags New England, a Red Sox Game, Water Country, etc. In addition, there are choice trips, in which campers are given the option to choose which trip they would like to go on (there are usually 3-4 options). There are also optional trips, which are different from choice trips, in that you can choose not to go on any of them. Optional trips include the annual fishing trip, the Bunk 14 trip (which is pretty much mandatory for Bunk 14'ers to attend), and the Bunk 12 Canoe Trip.

Tournaments Avoda competes in many tournaments with rival camps including Camp Bauercrest, Bournedale, Young Judea, and Tevya. Avoda also attends many tournaments including the Bournedale and YJ tournaments. Avoda also hosts its own tournament. In this tournament the sports are soccer and basketball.

BUNK 14 also known as "The Betty Grable Commandos" is the bunk of the oldest campers at Avoda. Typically it houses 15-year-olds entering the 10th grade. With Bunk 14 comes special privileges (such as the ability to bring TV's, Video Game Systems, and walk around camp after Call to Quarters) and automatic "alumni" status. Many alumni are often identified and identify themselves, by their Bunk 14 Year.

Color War for many staff and campers alike is the highlight and culmination of the summer. During the last week of the summer, the camp is split up into two teams, "white" and "blue" consisting of 7 staff members per team, usually: 1 General, 4 Lieutenants, and 2 Aides. Color War takes place over 6 days. One of the traditions of Color War is the silent meals. This doesn't apply to any of the Color War staff members, captains, or judges. If you are caught talking during any of the 18 meals (6 days, 3 meals a day), points will automatically be deducted from your team. The winner is usually announced through a fixed race or game of some sort, in which the counselors representing the winning teams win. The winning team then proceeds to jump in the lake and celebrate.

Here is the list of Color War winners, losers, generals and captains since 1973

1973 White Cougars over Blue Brigade Capt. Neil Sandler Capt. Steven Bender Gen. Bobby Gilberg Gen. Danny Bauman

1974- Blue Israelites over White Cobras Gen-Robbie Coppel over Brad Barry Capt- Phil Lukoff over Gary Epstein

1975- White Wizards over Blue Tide Gen- Robbie Coppel over Mike Katz Capt- Jerry Gordon over David Bamel

1976- Blue Rockets over White Eagles Gen- George Brockman over Robbie Coppel Capt- Robbie Cupcake Satloff over Bruce Bender

1977 Blue Destroyers over the White Kings Gen - Stuart Bram over David Goodman Capt - Ken Sandberg over Mike Ross

1978 White Cosmos over the Blue Diamonds Gen - Eric Yaffe over Phil Luckoff Capt - Glenn French over Gary Greenstein

1979 White Warriors over the Blue Cyclones Gen - David Bamel over Mitch Rubin Capt - Neil Shneider over David Snider

1980 White Avodians over the Blue Aztecs Gen - Paul Barney Kleinmann over Robert Cupcake Satloff Capt - Richie Mintzer over Evan Yampolsky

1981 White Sabres over the Blue Galaxy Gen - Steve Aronson over Steve Camiel Capt - Bruce French over Paul Simon

1982 Blue Sting over the White Warlords Gen - Mike Roth over Steve Aronson Capt - Alex Sherman over Mike Saperstein

1983 White Falcons over the Blue Dragons Gen - David Snider over Mike Rutstein Capt - Richard Lefkowitz over Jon Lee

1984 Blue Express over the White Magic Gen - Evan Yampolsky over Andy Stone Capt - Lee Kaiser over Larry Gold

1985 Blue Demons over the White Spray Gen - Paul Simon over Mark Solomon Capt - Jon Feldman over Danny Gold

1986 White Spartans over the Blue Crusade Gen - Peter Spider Lebowitz over David Bones Wertheim Capt - Josh Camire over Brett Smith

1987 White Cougars over the Blue Pythons Gen - David Bones Wertheim over Gary Solomon Capt - Jimmy Sklaver over Stu Glasser

1988 Blues Shadow over the White Lightning Gen - Jay Yampolsky over Russell Katz Capt - Adam Kaufman over Jon Cohen

1989 Blue Storm over the White Raiders Gen - Mark Glovin over Ken Shifman Capt - Ariel Waldman over Brian Malamut

1990 White Panthers over the Blue Stampede Gen - Ken Shifman over Russell Katz Capt - Jake Farghuason over Bobby Zucker

1991 Blue Scorporians over the White Knights Gen - Jeff Blocker over Andy Spear Capt - Aaron Katz over Josh Kaswell

1992 White Empire over the Blue Assault Gen - Stu Glass over David Wilcov Capt - Spencer Kimball over Darryl Malamut

1993 Blue Sharks over the White Heat Gen - Jeremy Agulnek over Ricky Hyman Capt - Jason Kurtz over Jeremy Steckel

1994 Blue Predators over the White Seminoles Gen - Jeremy Agulnek over Ricky Hyman Capt - Dan Gold Pittegolf over Scott Bookman

1995 Blue Devils over the White Wolves Gen - Jeff Vetstein over Bobby Zucker Capt. - Sam Chates over Adam Hatch

1996 - Blue Grizzlies over the White Wildcats Gen - Jeremy Agulnek over Mark Sokoloff Capt - Josh Shneider over Jesse Faneuil

1997 Blue Justice over the White Bulldogs Gen - Jeff Vetstein over Ken Bubblehead Freeman Capt - Greg Lazaroff over Jon Ostroff

1998 White Vipers over Blue Rebels Gen - Spencer Kimball over Aaron Agulnek Capt - Josh Damm over Dave Pratter

1999 White Force over the Blue Tide Gen - Eric Levy over EJ Kimball Capt - Matt Aschaffenburg over Matt Chella

2000 Blue Dynasty over the White Warriors Gen - Spencer Kimball over Dave Brown Capt - Sam Glick over Dave Kivowitz

2001 White Lions over the Blue Terror Gen - Barry Morgan over Adam Miller Capt - Josh Coran over Sawyer Emmer

2002 Blue Gladiators over White Patriots Gen - EJ Kimball over Josh Schneider Capt - Steve Mendelsohn over Brian Norcross

2003 Blue Giants over White Titans Gen- Adam Miller over Greg Lazaroff Capt- Matt Glick over Jared Shalek

2004 Blue Buccaneers over White Outlaws Gen- Adam Miller over Evan Traiger Capt- Benny Bershad over Jonathan Katz

2005-Blue Mafia over White Tigers Gen-Todd Miller over Mike Pemstein Capt-Justin Lukoff over Cory Schneider

2006-Blue Venom over White Dragons Gen-Sawyer Emmer over Mike Pemstein Capt-Eli Rodrigues over Sam Brenner

[edit] Religion

Camp Avoda is a non-denominational Jewish boys camp which may appeal more to reform and conservative Jews, however all denominations are represented in the camp population. The camp has outdoor services on Friday nights and Saturday morning. Avodians also observe and recite prayers before and after each meal and campers and staff members wear "beanies" on their head during meals. The mess hall is Kosher and traditional Sabbath meals are served every Friday night with a Havdallah service on Saturday. The camp has a solemn ceremony on Tish B' Av, the day of Remembrance for Holocaust victims.

The Chapelsite

[edit] Cheers

We Welcome You to Avoda . . .

Bunk 1 Alumni

Bunk 12 Alumni

Bunk 14 Alumni

What Do we Eat?

We are Avoda . . . and No one Can be Prouder

Avoda's Marching Song

Walking Down The Sidewalk. . .

[edit] Alumni Association

The Avoda Alumni Association is an active and integral part of Avoda's success. Since 1987, the Camp Avoda Alumni Association has hosted a full weekend dedicated to Alumni events, which typically takes place the weekend before the campers arrive at camp. It is common for Alumni members to stop by throughout the summer to interact with the current staff and campers. While visiting, the alumni members are able to participate in the alumni's which they have (Bunk 1, Bunk 12, Bunk 14).

In addition to the "Alumni Weekend" the Avoda Alumni Association has many events throughout the off-season at various Massachusetts locations, including: Billiard Nights, Family Day at Gilette Stadium, and the annual Thanksgiving Football Game in Cleveland Circle. The Alumni Association engages in many fundraising and charitable endeavors aimed at providing scholarships to campers for the summers.

[edit] External links

• Official Camp Avoda Website
• Avoda Alumni Association\