Olympia By The Numbers

Probably the best part of the journey of writing A Hero's Journey: Beyond Little Norway and Olympia Sports Camp was the time I got to spend with Dave Grace, interviewing him to learn his journey, the journey of the formation of the camp, and the evolution of the message of the Hero's Journey. One of those interviews in the office in Scarborough was epic in that it lasted about four hours, and when we finished I made a flippant comment that I should start a blog and call it Tuesdays with Dave, stealing the idea from Mitch Albom's great book, Tuesdays with Morrie. That comment turned into reality.

Welcome to the 150th entry into Tuesday's with Dave.

The early blog entries involved taking stories from the book, then it evolved into a look at storied alumni campers, coaches, and staff of the camp. And now it is helping launch the OLYMPIA ALUMNI ASSOCIATION. The list of fantastic journeys of the alumni of a camp that has been in existence since 1974 is literally endless, and I hope to continue to write such stories. This process will help spread the vibe of the camp and the individual histories within. We all have our perspective and experiences at camp and stories of people who have stayed on OxBow Lake will take us down memory lane.


With the artistic and computer skills of long-time staffer Michelle Stockstill the OAA now has a logo. We are encouraging Alumni to register  at the following link, and spread the word to your Olympia circle that they do the same.

.https://forms.gle/woWsggqM7zpUyHge9

The purpose of the OAA is to create a way for alumni to connect with each other and the camp and to provide content that will inspire and entertain. Maybe to buy a book, and hopefully to sign your children or grandchildren up for the week of their lives. The camp has a new app that this blog will be connected to. The 150th blog entry got me into sharing some numbers of just how big the potential of Olympia Alumni Association could be. 


On a zoom meeting last week Dave shared the results of a study done looking at just how many alumni are out there. In the 50-year history of the camp here is OLYMPIA BY THE NUMBERS:

Campers        135,000

Staff                  7,000

Coaches            2,500

Astounding numbers that don't include the generational aspect of parents dropping their kids off and watching them blossom in one week of Olympia experience. A cool part of this is that many alumni are from places all over the world. Through the power of the internet, and of the OAA, we can all get connected. 


Olympia is holding an Open House on Saturday April 13 and A Hero's Journey: Beyond Little Norway and Olympia Sports Camp will be there. The Open House will be an opportunity to learn about a week at camp and to meet many of the staff. There will be fun activities to join in on, and if you're looking to learn about the 50 years of Olympia and read some great stories of people who have come before you. I will be there to take you down memory lane. Books will be for sale.

The highlight attraction of this Open House is a raffle where the grand prize is a free week and camp for you and a friend, a $3,000 value. There will be other raffle prizes, including a couple of copies of the book.

The Open House will be a great way to get a sense of what a great place Olympia is and what a great week you'll have!




We know that the stories captured in The Hero's Journey: Beyond Little Norway and Olympia Sports Camp just scratch the surface of the amazing people of Olympia and we envision the OAA as a way to share many more hero's journeys and for all alumni to have a vehicle to stay in touch.

 If you have someone who you feel is a hero of their journey and who the Olympia community would like to hear about connect with me at coachdools71@gmail.com.  Within a community of everyday heroes there are many stories that people would love to read about, stories I would love to write about. 

Copies of A Hero's Journey: Beyond Little Norway and Olympia Sports Camp can be ordered through Amazon, Indigo.ca and are available at The Different Drummer Book Store on Locust St in Burlington. Or if you live in the Hamilton/ Halton area etransfer $30 with your address and I'll deliver it to your door.

Online copies are available at aherosjourney.ca

Audiobook version is available at Audible, Amazon, or iTunes 

If you would like us to come to your town for a book event or get copies into your favourite bookstore , email me at coachdools71@gmail.com

If you or your favourite camper are looking to get to camp in the summer of 2024 check out the website at 
olympiasportscamp.com. A week when you will meet so many great people. A week when you'll learn a lot about what you are made of.

Comments

  1. Greg RogersApril 2, 2024 at 5:03 PM

    Thanks Chris. I hope to see lots of our Olympia friends at the Open House on April 13

    ReplyDelete

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