On February 1st (the first day of registration for members), YMCA Camp Thunderbird went live on Facebook to announce our new activities for this summer.  These activities come to us as a part of a reoccurring philosophy that camp needs a WOW Factor added to camp each returning year!  The traditional camp activities such as archery, marksmanship, high ropes course, and all of the other specialist activities are the core to camp.  These activities represent our rich history that never gets old.  Thunderbird is a great balance of these traditions and newness.  We also ensure that our activity areas are age appropriate, as well as progressive in nature.  What this means is that each area has new levels of skill that even adults can learn from.  This creates an attitude of anticipation in our campers who have been to Thunderbird year after year.  

The last major renovation to our activity areas was 10+ years ago with the addition of the second zip line- the "Thunder Plunge".  Our new and reinvigorated effort to create "newness" has strengthened over the past couple of years. Two summers ago, with the help of a volunteer group, we extended the marksmanship range to include 5 more shooting stations.  We also built a bouldering wall and extended it for this summer.  Archery also was revitalized to include a NASP archery backdrop for safer bounce backs.  Just last year, two ALF units were installed on the Zip Towers so that campers can clip in without needing a belay staff member (eliminating the chances for human error).  There is so much more on the list to be done, but the progress is progressively getting faster and faster! 

For this coming summer, we are excited to announce that we will be adding an Aqua Zip Line that zips campers directly into Lake George! Campers will be harnessed in just like the double zip lines on the other side of the lake and will wear a life jacket.  After climbing up a set of stairs, staff attach the campers to the pulley and away they zip until slowly entering the water.  This new attraction is meant for a thrill, and we hope that it will reignite a WOW factor into camp.  

Here are a few other WOW's for this summer:

• Archery Tag- 3rd grade and up
• Additions to the bouldering wall
• 5 New Low Ropes items and New course
• Updated Unit flags and shields for unit competitions
• New audio system for cross-campus communication and fun! 
• New merchandise
• Updated .22 rifles for Marksmanship
• Updated Labitat for science/outdoor experiments and observations
• ...and a few more surprises! 

We look forward to having your camper with us for 2019!