The legacy of Olympia Sports Camp is inherent in the lessons that Dave Grace has shared for generations. It is in the deep friendships that are formed through the shared experience of enjoying a week, or a summer, with like-minded people. It is in the sharing of all of this with the next generation in what the Hero’s Journey calls The Return. It’s in remembering the days as a counsellor and wanting to share what you experienced with others. It’s reconnecting with friends that were like family oh so long ago… and you find out they still are.
Need an example of all of this? I’d like to introduce Kate Wienburg.
Kate was a camper in 1995 and 96 and then got hired and worked as a counsellor from 1997-1999. The Return of this journey is that Kate returned to camp this past summer after 26 years to work as a week 5 coach. And the reasons she loved to get to coach week 5 are Olympian as well. Each phase of this journey carries with it the great friends and memories of those three summers on OxBow Lake.
Kate shares the connection from then to now.
“I spent 3 incredible summers here. I made lifelong friends and became who I am at this place. To return after almost 3 decades and be able to hang out with old friends (and make new ones), was so amazing. Also to bring my 8-year-old daughter Lola and have her LOVE it as much as I did, was the best. She is planning for next year already. “
It's fantastic that the friendships of those years working at camp is building the lives of the next generation, but let’s go back.
Kate’s love of camper life made her want to become a counsellor. She applied when she was 17 and was so nervous for the interview but was reassured by another applicant, her high school friend Adam McConnell, and his presence at the interview. She got the job.
In her three years on staff Kate wore a lot of hats. She worked in the office, helped with maintenance, did some AV, assisted with sports sessions, and looked after camper cabins.
“ Cabin life was my favorite part, and I always asked for younger girls because they were the most fun. Soccer had been my sport growing up, and I was also playing on my high school team at the time, so I loved teaming up with the soccer coaches and helping with their sessions.”
When one thinks of maintenance at Olympia its garbage duty, daily dump runs, that unforgettable smell but Kate sees it differently.
“Maintenance was not exactly my top choice, but it taught me a lot. It showed me the value of pitching in and it built a little resistance. What made it great was the crew. Bruce Ransom was awesome to work for. He made the team dynamics a lot more lighthearted. We always had such a fun team that the time flew by and even the toughest jobs did not feel so bad.”
The next three years say a lot about the connection her community of friends and like-minded people and the impact it had on Kate for the next twenty years of her life. Once on staff the decision to return every summer was always easy. She loved her summers at camp, so each year it was an obvious choice to return.
“ What kept me coming back most were the incredible people on staff and the friends I made along the way. After three years many of my close friends decided not to return to camp, and I knew it was time to wrap up my Olympia chapter as well. I also needed to find
a summer job that would help cover the costs of university.”
Some of the memories of Olympia are echoed in her life in the years since. Because the staff lived together in such close quarters and crazy schedules for nine weeks the bonds become very tight, and in Kate’s life these bonds have lasted 30 years.
“ After I stopped going to camp I would travel to visit friends at universities across Ontario, and when I spent a year in Australia in 2004, I even reconnected with friends I had first met at camp. At camp Dave always talked about “take the bat off the shoulder” and that phrase stuck with me. Thinking back to those days I never imagined that I would be performing a skit in front of 200 people but I found myself volunteering for skit every week. I could hardly believe how much confidence and courage I had gained in just one summer. Olympia also had a way of encouraging everyone to try new things and push past their comfort zones and I belive that that confidence has guided me in many ways in my adult life.”
Part of the connection Kate felt at camp is that everyone was made to feel special and an important part of a team.
where none of that mattered. It didn’t make a difference how big your house
was, what your parents did for work, or what kind of car your family drove.
Everyone wore the same comfy clothes, and no one cared about status. For
the first time in my life, I felt truly equal to all my peers, and that was
something I found incredible.”
Like many Olympia alumni, Kate is amazed at so many connections she has around the world just because she worked at a summer camp from age 17-20. Whether it’s bumping into old friends in Toronto or crossing paths while traveling around the world. Kate states that many of those friendships influenced the choices she made, from deciding where to go to university to spending a year in Australia. What university did she go to? Brock. (I can still hear Dave when announcing that at opening)
“ I decided to go to Brock and take the Sport Management program after chatting with Steve Parish (former counsellor) about it. He gave me the idea to go and it was a great experience. The Olympia connection gets better. On my first day at Brock, I ran into EJ! (Eric Johnson) who I had been friends with at camp. Luckily we were able to hang out a lot over the next few years.
“In so many ways, my life has been guided by connections that began at
camp. One of my favourite examples happened in 2004, when I was traveling solo in
Australia. I walked into a variety store in Bondi Beach and ran into Jodi Dodd, a
camp friend I had not seen in five years. We reconnected instantly, and I ended up
traveling up the East Coast with her and her friends. A few months later, we met a
group of Australians in a hostel bar, and one of them eventually became my
husband. Without Olympia, those chance encounters and the life they led me to
would never have happened.”
Meeting your husband. Living in Australia for 12 years. All connected to Olympia ideals.
But what about the summer of 2025. The Return?
“ I cannot put into words how special it felt to be back at camp after two and a half
decades and to see so many old friends again. The week was unforgettable. Being
in the dining hall, the gym, the cabins, and joining in the singing and dancing brought
back such powerful memories. It truly felt surreal.”
“If you have children, I cannot recommend camp enough. Do not miss the
opportunity. It changes you, it guides you, and it makes you a better person."
Can the Olympia legacy be explained any better than the journey of Kate Wienburg, a journey that mimics that of so many others? Thanks for the support Kate!
A Hero’s Journey: Beyond Little Norway and Olympia Sports Camp chronicles the people that make up the history of Olympia, but it does far more than that. It serves as an inspirational guidebook for readers to become the hero of their own path. In order to do this the book examines the history of the land on which the camp has been built, from its indigenous origins to the European settlement process of the 1800’s. and the use of the land by the Royal Norwegian Air Force during WWll. The book is built on a collection of stories related to mentorship, sports psychology, and community building. This book honours the 50-year history of the camp while giving us all a window into seeing a deeper level of understanding of the world and our place in it.
Books Available at:
- Tuck and Pro at Olympia ( ask about the coach's deal)
- Amazon and Indigo.ca
- Indigo, Burlington Brant Street location.
- The Different Drummer Book Store on Locust Street in Burlington\
- Cedar Canoe Books on Main St in Huntsville
- Etransfer me $30 and I'll drive it to your house !
- available online at aherosjourney.ca
- audiobook version is available at Audible, Amazon, and iTunes
It was so inspiring to meet Kate and hear her stories, I loved enjoying camp life with her and watch her reconnect with lifelong friends. The legacy of camp life she shares with her own daughter Lola is truly a special one, coming all the way from Australia and the west coast of Canada shows a commitment to camp like no other. I wish Kate all the best in the west!
ReplyDeleteIt was great to have Kate back at Olympia, not only as a coach for All-Sports but she also helped use her experience as a professional marketer to assist with the promotion of Olympia. Thank you, Kate, for all your great work!
ReplyDelete