Camp Avoda Explained

Camp Avoda
Coordinates:41.8664°N -70.8632°W
Season:June to August

Camp Avoda is a Jewish boys' overnight camp located on Tispaquin Pond in Middleboro, Massachusetts. It has been in continuous operation since the summer of 1927,[1] making it the oldest Jewish boys' camp in New England.[2] [3]

History

Camp Avoda was established in early 1927 by the Young Men's Hebrew Association[4] to serve the needs of underprivileged Jewish boys. Originally, the bunks were essentially "huts" and had no screening or walls. Today, campers sleep in basic cabins which were built at various times between the late 1950s and early 1980s. Many bunks were expanded after a rise in attendance in the mid-1990s.

Organization

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 60acres tract of land on Tispaquin Pond in Middleborough, Massachusetts. More than half of that land is wooded area, which is used for hiking, camping, mountain-biking, and a high-elements ropes course which was constructed in 1999. The camp's buildings, including eight cabins, the recreation 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.

Ken Shifman is currently the executive director of the camp. Shifman began as director in 2008 and became executive director in 2015 after Paul G. Davis retired. Davis had been employed since 1966, making him one of the longest-serving camp directors in the United States.

Camp Avoda currently has a -week season, which includes a 4-week-long first session and a -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.

Most campers reside in New England, with the vast majority concentrated in the Greater Boston area. However, some campers travel from Florida, the Washington, D.C. area, New Jersey, California, and Israel, to spend their summers at Camp Avoda.

In 2002, Camp Avoda celebrated its 75th anniversary, with over 1,000 Avodians attending festivities.

Traditions

Nearly all counselors were once Avoda campers and successful graduates of the Avoda Counselor-in-Training (C.I.T.) program.[5]

4th of July Celebration

July 4 is the first pinnacle event of the summer. The camp hosts its own carnival during the day, where each bunk creates its own booth in addition to those rented by the camp. At night is the annual Bonfire and Chip Ceremony. The bonfire is built entirely by Bunk 14, who name the bonfire and place a sign at the top with the name. The bonfire can be as tall as 16feet. Once the fire has started to die down, a member from each bunk stands in front of the fire and makes a speech about their camp experience. After they make their speech, they take a wood chip, and throw it into the fire. Bunk 14 is the last bunk to speak, and has three speakers. After the campers finish, staff members and administrators, and finally the director, make speeches.

Trips

Trips occur every Thursday, except during Color War. Destinations have included Six Flags New England, Red Sox games, and Water Country. In addition, there are choice trips, in which campers are given between 3 and 4 options of destination. Trips designated for specific groups of campers include the annual fishing trip (Freshman, Sophomore, and Juniors), the Bunk 14 overnight, and the Senior Canoe Trip.

Tournaments

Avoda competes in tournaments with rival camps such as Camp Bauercrest, Bournedale, Young Judaea, Tel Noar, and Tevya. Avoda also attends the Bauercrest and YJ tournaments, and hosts its own annual tournament including soccer, softball and basketball.

Bunk 14

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, however following the cancellation of the 2020 summer due to the Covid-19 pandemic, 16 year-olds entering the 11th grade are currently Bunk 14ers. With Bunk 14 comes special privileges and automatic "alumni" status. Many alumni are often identified and identify themselves by their Bunk 14 Year.

Color War

Color War occurs during the last week of the summer. The camp is split up into two teams, "White" and "Blue", with each team including eight staff members. Each camper is placed in a division with other campers of their own age and one year above or below them. The four divisions are Freshman, Sophomore, Junior, and Senior. In each division, the two teams face each other in sports, side events, tug of wars, and other events. The point values for each event are hidden from the campers, but increase in value from the Freshman to Senior Division.

One of the traditions of Color War is the silent meals. If campers are caught talking during any of the 18 meals (6 days, 3 meals a day), points are deducted from their team.

The winner is usually announced through a fixed race or game of some sort, in which the counselors representing the winning team win. The winning team then jumps in the lake.

Color War Record

YearWinning teamLosing team
1972White PatriotsGeneral Carl Rottersman
Captain Jon Bamel, Arthur Mendelsohn
Blue BravesGeneral Steven Woolf
Captain George Brockman
1973White CougarsGeneral Bobby Gilberg
Captain Neil Sandler
Blue BrigadeGeneral Danny Bauman
Captain Steven Bender
1974Blue IsraelitesGeneral Robbie Coppel
Captain Phil Lukoff
White CobrasGeneral Brad Barry
Captain Gary Epstein
1975White WizardsGeneral Robbie Coppel
Captain Jerry Gordon
Blue TideGeneral Mike Katz
Captain David Bamel
1976Blue RocketsGeneral George Brockman
Captain Robbie Satloff
White EaglesGeneral Robbie Coppel
Captain Bruce Bender
1977Blue DestroyersGeneral Stuart Bram
Captain Ken Sandberg
White KingsGeneral David Goodman
Captain Mike Ross
1978White CosmosGeneral Eric Yaffe
Captain Glen French
Blue DiamondsGeneral Phil Lukoff
Captain Gary Greenstein
1979White WarriorsGeneral David Bamel
Captain Neil Schneider
Blue CyclonesGeneral Mitch Rubin
Captain David Snider
1980White AvodiansGeneral Paul Kleinmann
Captain Richie Mintzer
Blue AztecsGeneral Robert Satloff
Captain Evan Yampolsky
1981White SabresGeneral Steve Aronson
Captain Bruce French
Blue GalaxyGeneral Steve Camiel
Captain Paul Simon
1982Blue StingGeneral Mike Roth
Captain Alex Sherman
White WarlordsGeneral Steve Aronson
Captain Mike Saperstein
1983White FalconsGeneral David Snider
Captain Richard I Lefkowitz
Blue DragonsGeneral Mike Rutstein
Captain Jon Lee
1984Blue ExpressGeneral Evan Yampolsky
Captain Lee Kaiser
White MagicGeneral Andy Stone
Captain Larry Gold
1985Blue DemonsGeneral Paul Simon
Captain Jon Feldman
White SprayGeneral Mark Solomon
Captain Danny Gold
1986White SpartansGeneral Peter Spider Lebowitz
Captain Josh Camire
Blue CrusadeGeneral David Wertheim
Captain Brett Smith
1987White CougarsGeneral Davida Bones
Captain Jimmy Sklaver
Blue PythonsGeneral Gary Solomon
Captain Stu Glasser
1988Blue ShadowGeneral Jay Yampolsky
Captain Adam Kaufman
White LightningGeneral Russell Katz
Captain Jon Cohen
1989Blue StormGeneral Mark Glovin
Captain Ariel Waldman
White RaidersGeneral Ken Shifman
Captain Brian Malamut
1990White PanthersGeneral Ken Shifman
Captain Jake Farquharson
Blue StampedeGeneral Russell Katz
Captain Bobby Zuker
1991Blue ScorpionsGeneral Jeff Blocker
Captain Aaron Katz
White KnightsGeneral Andy Spear
Captain Josh Kaswell
1992White EmpireGeneral Stu Glass
Captain Spencer Kimball
Blue AssaultGeneral David Wilcov
Captain Darryl Malamut
1993Blue SharksGeneral Jeremy Agulnek
Captain Jason Kurtz
White HeatGeneral Ricky Hyman
Captain Jeremy Steckel
1994Blue PredatorsGeneral Jeremy Agulnek
Captain Dan Gold_Pitegoff
White SeminolesGeneral Ricky Hyman
Captain Scott Bookman
1995Blue DevilsGeneral Jeff Vetstein
Captain Sam Chates
White WolvesGeneral Bobby Zuker
Captain Adam Hatch
1996Blue GrizzliesGeneral Jeremy Agulnek
Captain Josh Schneider
White WildcatsGeneral Mark Sokoloff
Captain Jesse Fanuiel
1997Blue JusticeGeneral Jeff Vetstein
Captain Greg Lazaroff
White BulldogsGeneral Ken Freeman
Captain Jon Ostroff
1998White VipersGeneral Spencer Kimball
Captain Josh Damm
Blue RebelsGeneral Aaron Agulnek
Captain Dave Pratter
1999White ForceGeneral Eric Levy
Captain Matt Aschaffenburg
Blue TideGeneral EJ Kimball
Captain Matthew Chella
2000Blue DynastyGeneral Spencer Kimball
Captain Sam Glick
White WarriorsGeneral Dave Brown
Captain Dave Kivowitz
2001White LionsGeneral Barry Morgan
Captain Josh Coran
Blue TerrorGeneral Adam Miller
Captain Sawyer Emmer
2002Blue GladiatorsGeneral EJ Kimball
Captain Steve Mendelsohn
White PatriotsGeneral Josh Schneider
Captain Brian Norcross
2003Blue GiantsGeneral Adam Miller
Captain Matt Glick
White TitansGeneral Greg Lazaroff
Captain Jared Shalek
2004Blue BuccaneersGeneral Adam Miller
Captain Benny Bershad
White OutlawsGeneral Evan Traiger
Captain Jonathan Katz
2005Blue MafiaGeneral Todd Miller
Captain Justin Lukoff
White TigersGeneral Mike Pemstein
Captain Cory Schneider
2006Blue VenomGeneral Sawyer Emmer
Captain Eli Rodrigues
White DragonsGeneral Mike Pemstein
Captain Sam Brenner
2007Blue AnimalsGeneral Dan Gollinger
Captain Eddie Bernson
White SpartansGeneral Erik Silevitch
Captain Sascha Bercovitch
2008White PhantomsGeneral Matt Norcross
Captain Jason Hefter
Blue ArmyGeneral David Fine
Captain Brendan Hefter
2009Blue MonstersGeneral Adam Rubin
Captain Paul Sockol
White MustangsGeneral Jonny Singer
Captain Brandon Banker
2010White AssassinsGeneral Cory Finkelman
Captain Marc Gleason
Blue HeroesGeneral Ethan Gurwitz
Captain Sam Watman
2011Blue BarbariansGeneral Richard Katz
Captain Harrison Bamel
White LegendsGeneral Josh Coran
Captain Jake Alexander
2012White MercenariesGeneral Ben Rubin
Captain Drew Lukoff
Blue GatorsGeneral Eddie Bernson
Captain Benji Satloff
2013Blue GoblinsGeneral Jason Hefter
Captain Ben Shale
White ProphetsGeneral Jacob Dennis
Captain Louis Yarmolinsky
2014Blue VikingsGeneral Joey Sherman
Captain Abe Watman
White ChiefsGeneral Jacob Dennis
Captain Dan Chafetz
2015White OlympiansGeneral Sam Watman
Captain Eli Sabin
Blue ApesGeneral Louis Douglas
Captain Max Waltzman
2016White VillainsGeneral Jared Fixler
Captain Ross Halpern
Blue BearsGeneral Louis Douglas
Captain Zac Roth
2017Blue WizardsGeneral Joshua Cohen
Captain Sam Waltzman
White Royals General Drew Lukoff
Captain Nate Goldberg
2018Navy SealsGeneral Abe Watman
Captain Adam Alter
White AvengersGeneral Wes Fixler
Captain Sawyer Busny
2019Blue AnarchyGeneral Shay Wenglin
Captain Charlie Zuker
White JaguarsGeneral Ty Goldstein
Captain Michael Shnidman Jr.
2021White Avalanche General Jay Blumenfeld
Captain Jason Karas
Blue Conquerors General Max Waltzman
Captain Cole Busny
2022Blue DemonsGeneral Nate Goldberg
Captain Matt Brayer
White ArmadaGeneral Ethan Shifman
Captain Jacob Demeo
2023White HuskiesGeneral Owen Sherman
Captain Ryan Jacoby
Blue BanditsGeneral Max Kleinmann
Captain Jonah Bramson
2024Blue RevolutionGeneral Charlie Zuker
Captain Zack Leibman
White FlamesGeneral Alex Shifman
Captain Danny Karas

Alumni Association

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.[6] t is common for Alumni members to stop by throughout the summer to interact with the current staff and campers.

In addition to the Alumni Weekend, the Avoda Alumni Association hosts events throughout the off-season at various Massachusetts locations, including: Billiard Nights, Family Day at Gillette Stadium, and the annual Thanksgiving Football Game. The Alumni Association also hosts fundraising and charitable endeavors aimed at providing scholarships to campers for the summers.

External links

Notes and References

  1. Book: Staff, Peterson. Summer Opportunities for Kids and Teenagers 2004 . Thompson Peterson's . 2003. 275. 0-7689-1158-3 .
  2. http://www.cjp.org/page.html?ArticleID=71552 Jewish Camping and Summer Programs
  3. http://www.jewishjournal.org/archives/archiveFeb11_05.htm A Parent's Guide to Jewish Day and Overnight Camps
  4. Reckford, Laura. Frommer's Cape Cod, Nantucket & Martha's Vineyard 2008. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley Publishing, (2008), p. 109.
  5. Web site: Our Leadership Team. Camp Avoda. 20 December 2015.
  6. http://www.campavoda.org/new_final/alumni/alumni.php3