Camp romance

[shandaddict]

soooo......
a topic that everyone has run into at least once, camp romance.

I know our camp has rules about campers having camp romance and relationships but what are all of your thoughts on staff relationships (staff dating other staff members...... age differences within the staff....... and just general rules at your camps???)

Also, do you think these relationships ever work out, or do you think they hinder work that needs to be done, etc. over the summer??

Open topic, just talk about it. thanks

[ArtisticEric]

In most cases i 've seen they've been harmless little sorta crushes an that seems to be Ok but when people get into some of the drama that can happen I think it can hinder work at camp.

[shandaddict]

I completely agree. They are sorta fun and harmless, but if there's a breakup. or something, it's almost as if the camp divides in half and starts wearing pink ribbons if they're on the girl's side and blue ribbons if they're on the boy's. (slight exaggeration, but you catch my drift, hahaha)
thanks.

[shandaddict]

we also have a song that we sing, that annoys the kids if we see them flirting or whatever, it goes somethin' like this:
"no camp romance, (clap, clap, clap, clap, clap)
no camp romance, (clap, clap, clap, clap, clap)", etc.
Isn't camp great???!!!

[ArtisticEric]

Last year when i was on Canteen Od we would flash kids with our flash lights and say stupid things like"Girls are Red, Boys are Blue ,Don't Make Purple"or "Leave room for Jesus" :D

[prettysocks]

My camp director and his wife met at a different camp back in the day, and are now obviously married and live at camp all year round! There's also a jar of, er, "protection" in the nurses office, for "staff emergencies". (It's mainly a joke; but seriously - no camp-babies, folks.) :)

[Sparkes]

Oh man, our camp is full of romances. Though, I haven't found any situations of camp dividing over an incident. Though, of course, everyone knows absolutly everything about what is going on. There are no secrets after all! And, girls will be girls - camp is no different. If she gets her heart stomped on, you know the other girls are going to pick up for her.

I think that camp romances are fine. I mean, we live in a bubble: its not like theres a big selection pool. And working with/living with the same people for months there are bound to be people hooking up.

What do you think about going back to camp and haing to work with someone you were with last year? I've seen some awkward positions some people have been in - last summer one of the guys just didn't get it that it was over between him and another counsellor.

[vnich40]

My boyfriend and I are going to work at the same camp this year....The directors were a little unsure about it but we're not the type of couple that has to be next to eachother every second of the day. I think that if there is no drama and you just enjoy your time together and apart it'll work out just fine.

[Sparkes]

No drama being the operative word choices!

[shermanator]

I have seen both where camp romances work and where they hinder camp production. In most cases this is how they work. The first week you are getting to know everyone. Week 2 you start to flirt with the one you like, week 3 you start dating, by week 7 you have broken up. I know a couple of people who met at camp 7,8 years ago and they are still together today. Last year we had the head of our specialists and a unit head hook up they are still together but during camp the head specialist was too distracted to do what he needed to do for us specialist. There was one relationship between two head senior counsellors which made for good unit days. There is a rule at camp that we have which is romances must be arms length apart.

[facade1138]

I work at a Girl Scout Camp....its not usually a problem....

[shandaddict]

Great responses, I guess most camps are exactly alike in these types of situations. Now here's another question, what do you all think about a director dating a normal staff person, and how would this affect the group as a whole??

[KiwiCRB]

Well most of the directors i've known have been way older than the rest of the staff members so that would be weird in itself. But if they did happen to be close in age I think if it was handled the right way and that person didn't get special treatment it would be just like any other staff members having a relationship. Remember... directors are people too. Haha.

[shandaddict]

haha, directors are people too. it just all seems weird to me, because you know that no matter how hard the two love birds try, there will always be some kind of special treatment, even if it's not largely recognizable.

[campCardinal]

Camp Romances are a part of the experience of working at a summer camp. Our director and his wife met at camp... same with our program director. I know of several other camp relationships that are pretty similar too. That being said, we've had some people who seem to date EVERYONE on staff. It hasn't been too much of a problem. The biggest issue is when someone is only contracted for half the summer and they leave their bf/gf behind. It is sometimes hard for the remaining person to be at camp without that person to confide in and what not.

I myself, I've been in the "crush" stage at camp but have never taken it farther because I'm afraid of what might happen... I always figure if it's meant to be it will be... maybe in the off-season??

[runrachrunn]

Camp Romances are a part of the experience of working at a summer camp. Our director and his wife met at camp...
I myself, I've been in the "crush" stage at camp but have never taken it farther because I'm afraid of what might happen... I always figure if it's meant to be it will be... maybe in the off-season??

Same here Cardinal. Our directors met when they were staff (in their teens) and ended up getting married and starting a camp of their own.

The assistant director of the camp i'll be at this summer is married to the head of A&C... they met during the first summer that the camp ran.

[coach1974]

we had an on going joke at our camp about camp romance. It was you couldn't break rule number 12/, which was Counselors cannot fall in or out of love while at camp.

[rockinsmiles]

Ah behold the subject of camp relationships. I think everyone agrees that they can work or not and that they can cause drama. I know people who have married people they worked with at camp and then the typical fizzer outer. However, when the relationship starts messing with the way a staff memember works it is trouble, plain and simple!