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!

Spring!

The Longhouse has finally emerged from the depths of northern snow - Aslan must be on the move!  For those special few who have dedicated not only their summers but also their two months of spring, this snowlessness will soon mean time for leaf-blowing, grass-cutting, re-painting, equipment-fixing, program-planning, kitchen-scrubbing and perhaps even taste-testing some of this summer's new meals! Though Moose and Bruno (and Palooza) have been at camp since everyone else packed up on Labour Day, I know that they will be excited to see some friendly, familiar faces around the grounds again!!

We'll let you know when we have our "Elbow Grease Days," when you will be able to come and lend your body to the camp ministry that your heart already loves.

A Little Inspiration

On The Road Again!

This blog, while pretty awesome, is only one of the ways that we are spreading the Widjiitiwin word around the province. Ever heard of a little thing called Adventures in Odyssey? Yeah, we're big fans over here at camp, and to show our support of solid story telling with a heart-warming lesson we've been sponsoring the program as it airs on Life 100.3 this month! Listen at 4:00pm weekdays for the next little while and get an ear-full of Director "Moose" Greenfield's mad radio announcer skills (via pre-recorded commercial epicness)!

But we know that there are still those who prefer face-to-face presentations over Facebook notifications, Twitter tweets or the odd blogspot blog, so Moose (and Mumz!) are touring all over Ontario to bring tonnes of information (and the chance to win a week to camp!) closer to you! Today we showed up at Maple Avenue Baptist Church and saw a couple of familiar faces... and hopefully some younger faces that will become a little more familiar from this summer on? Keep an eye open for that classic purple shirt on Sunday mornings - you never know where we might pop up!

Blog WHAT!?

You heard it right! Camp is plunging into the weblog world with the confidence of an eight-year-old in his first game of Widjiball. We might get a couple grass stains but it will be glorious, and OH the stories we will tell! Legends will be born, my friends, and THIS will be the place to read of them.

Today we'd have to shovel the snow off the field before we could play (pictures to come of our "always winter, never Christmas" northern wonderland!) but the chill doesn't mean that nothing is happening! As we speak, Moose is rounding up another amazing summer crew that will sing, cheer, play, skit and lead the way through each week! Stay tuned for bios from each member of the leadership team, a video tour of the Tuck Shop, a mime-style interview with Bruno and more!

We want YOU to get as PUMPED about summer as we are, so this year we're giving you a back-stage pass to the preparation. Check out the website for all of the official news, and keep a weather-eye on the BLOG for sneak peeks throughout your week!

106 DAYS TO GO!