Widjiitiwin Basketball

Widjiitiwin Basketball is the signature game of Camp Widjiitiwin in Muskoka, Ontario, Canada. Widji Ball is a combination of basketball, rugby, soccer and football.

Widji Basketball

The camp is divided into two teams made up of staff and campers. The goal is to carry the ball down the field and score in the opposing basket (a person on a chair with their arms in a circle) to get as many goals as possible.

There are five balls in play, so it’s like there are five games going on at the same time. There are balls for each of guy camper, girl campers, guy staff, girl staff and an all ball. Each group concentrates on their ball and not running into people smaller than they are. SALTers (our leadership campers) join in with staff or can have their own ball. Often they want to tackle the staff. Widji ball is a tackle game except for TNT. It gets quite competitive as you can imagine.

We have an official page for Widjiitiwin Basketball. Like it, see pictures and learn more at www.facebook.com/WidjiitiwinBasketball.

A Camp for Generations

By guest blogger Sue Wigston...

35 years.  It’s incredible how much has changed and how much has stayed the same!   35 years ago, I spent my first week at Widjiitiwin as a camper.  My parents would send me for one week, and I would save for the entire year to be able to stay for a second.  Every year when I arrived, it was like a continuation of the year before.  Great friends, great staff, silly songs, and crazy games.

I spent three summers on staff as both a Counselor and Program team.  I look back on those summers and am thankful for so many things; friendships that still exist today with campers and staff, an opportunity to grow in my own personal faith, and the skills required to share it with confidence.

When my kids each turned 7, I was so excited to sign them up and take them to Widjiitiwin.  I remember being a little nervous, “What if they did not love it as much as I did?  What if it has changed?”   Their experiences at TNT, Blast, Sizzle and S.A.L.T have all reinforced their love for camp.

In 2 months, I will drop off my two oldest boys for 10 weeks.  They will spend their summer cabin leading and washing dishes.  They will make lifelong friends, have sleepless nights and do crazy things they would never normally do.  They will leave the stress of ‘the real world’ and enjoy being young.  They will be challenged in their faith and challenge others in their own.  

The world has changed a lot in 35 years, I am so glad that some things have stayed the same.

Sue Wigston (Wiltse)

aka Schmoo

Behind the BIG Desk

Besides being the director of CampWidjiitiwin, I’m the dad of three girls, an old school cowboy like The Man From Snowy River. I like my coffee black in a big mug. My favourite colour is blue. My favourite cereal is Frosted Flakes. I do woodworking as a hobby and love to add new sections to my back deck.

However, I may be most excited about camp. It has so much potential to change lives, forever. It did mine. I went to day camp as a kid and then to residential camp at age 13 and I haven’t left yet. I remember sitting in the hallway at Camp Ambassador with my counselor after a meeting in the gym and talking with him that I wanted to do what they talked about. I wanted to have Jesus in my life. That year God got a hold of my life, I became a Christian and I felt called into full time ministry in camping, although I didn’t know what that meant at the time.

Every summer I was back at camp, as a camper then as staff. I worked as a stable hand, instructor, cabin leader, retreat host, cook, dishwasher, program director and more. I have worked full time in camping since 1987. Back when Tyndale was still Ontario Bible College I did a degree program (BTh) in Christian camping.

I have to confess that I’m a program guy at heart. I love taking an idea and seeing it become something big and fun that engages campers and staff. Like having a King Arthur theme and building a castle facade for the front of the Widjiitiwin Longhouse or a giant treasure chest for pirates week. Plus there’s all the camp songs, games and traditions.

I’m passionate about leadership, having the opportunity to teach the next generation of leaders in our summer staff and the SALT program at Widji. They have such amazing potential and they are stepping up to take their place in the world. Where else can you be in charge of a group of kids at 17-18 years of age. Every summer it’s wonderful to see how a cabin leader can lead campers to greater heights, both of them discovering themselves along the way. I get to build into their lives as they build into the lives of the campers and each other. (That’s for another blog).

Camp Widjiitiwin – the way camp was meant to be… relational, central, natural, reaching out, a loving community focused on Christ. It’s like coming home, it’s my camp!