2025 Countdown to Camp Email #1 – Celebrating our Judaism as Athletes
Happy Tuesday 6 Points!
In one month, our team will be in Asheville, preparing to welcome YOU to our summer home! Now it’s time to tell you one of our three pillars at 6 Points Sports Academy: Jewish life. Or, as you’ll grow to know it as: “J-Life at the 6!”. At the bottom of this email, there are some important reminders and links for your convenience.
“Jewish. Sports. Camp. We are always Jewish, always Sports, and always Camp!”
The most amazing part of 6 Points Sports Academy is how brilliantly these three pillars intertwine. The Jewish part of ourselves feeds our identity as athletes and humans. The experience at camp, in a community of Jewish athletes, proves just how much our Judaism can build our self-confidence, strengthen our relationships, and develop skills across many areas of our life.
Our mission is to enrich and inspire the lives of young Jewish athletes. Many of the moments at camp extend beyond just sport and camp, but also add a connection to Judaism that makes sense to us as athletes. What we love most is incorporating our Jewish values into our sport majors.
Each morning, we introduce one of our six core values (Pride, Growth, Intention, Teamwork, Leadership, Sportsmanship) and spend the rest of the day exemplifying that value on the courts, fields, gyms, and in the pool. Coaches, counselors, Rabbis, faculty members, and campers are encouraged to recognize the Jewish athletes who portray these values, and reward them with a value bracelet. We get so much joy from seeing campers smile as they loop a bracelet across their wrist and wear it proudly – proud of being a Jewish athlete!!
Our Camp Rabbi, Rabbi Adam Morris, partners with our Jewish-life team of various rabbis and Jewish educators from around the country. When our faculty members participate in sports majors and electives, they humanize Judaism, and our campers get to bond with and relate to them. This personal connection proves crucial when Shabbat rolls around, and we wind down for services. Seeing the same people who were training with them that morning – now explaining a Torah portion, lighting candles, or reciting prayers – is what our camp is all about. Our intentional J-LIFE program has been recognized in the camping world for being an excellent teacher of values, kindness, and a connection to Israel.
Jewish Life is simply real life at camp. Every day is filled with cross-over moments, but here are the highlights of our more traditional Jewish moments here at the Six:
Friday Night: What makes Shabbat at camp unique is that our staff and campers put the same effort and intentionality into Shabbat as we do in our sports majors. The 6 Points community collectively winds down, showers, and dons our Shabbat white outfits. We stroll together to the dining hall, where we light the candles, have challah and dinner, then gather for Friday night services in our Holy Stadium. We cap the evening off with a ruach-filled Israeli dancing and song session, s’mores around the campfire, and a bracelet ceremony where our staff recognize campers who’ve exemplified our core values throughout the week.
Saturday Morning: Saturday at camp is our day of rest and reflection. Our schedule changes, and we start by coming together for a lively Shabbat torah service. In lieu of sport majors, our faculty does a tremendous job of making the service engaging, and we always have campers actively participating by singing, sharing reflections on prayers, and even reading Torah!
1st Saturday Afternoon: On the first Saturday of the session, our campers participate in Israel Day! Campers are transported to Israel through programming from our amazing mishlachat (Israeli staff) to learn what they love most about Israeli culture, history, and daily life. Make sure to wear blue and white to represent the Israeli flag!
2nd Saturday Afternoon: On the second Shabbat of the session, we embody the Jewish value of Tikkun Olam (Repair the World). As many of you know, the greater Asheville community continues to feel the lasting impact of the devastation from Hurricane Helene. We are taking our annual Tikkun Olam 5K to the NEXT LEVEL by creating the Tikkun Olam Day of Service. Campers will still be invited to run the 5K like previous summers, but we will also have options for campers to participate in a service project on camp to support our local partner, Eblen Charities. Stay tuned about how you can support our service to the Asheville community!
Our goal is for all our campers to leave each session with a deeper connection to their Jewish background, seeing how their identities as athletes and as Jewish people are connected, and how each makes the other better. We call this “6 Points Plus” – the idea of using our core values and kindness to make a positive impact on others and the world.
We take great pride in the role Judaism plays in our camp. We love the diverse religious background all of our campers come from, and we think it’s beautiful how campers with so much variety in their Jewish heritage all come together to learn from each other. The Jewish culture and environment we establish makes everyone feel included and valued, helping us all grow together.
We can’t wait to start, just one more month until the fun begins!
The 6 Points Team
Enrolled Families Page: https://6pointssports.org/summer/enrolled-families/
General Questions: SportsNC@urj.org
Forms, Travel, & Logistics: Zoe Sellers, ZSellers@urj.org
Camper Care: Paul Dolnick, PDolnick@urj.org
Tuition & Billing: Lisa Rodney, LRodney@urj.org
2025 Countdown to Camp Email Intro – It’s Time! Countdown to Camp!
Dear 6 Points Sports Academy Families,
The countdown has officially begun! We are less than SIX weeks away from the start of our 16th summer at 6 Points Sports Academy.
Our mission remains constant – to provide an elite sports experience in an inclusive and immersive overnight Jewish camp. The playbook includes outstanding coaches, energetic counselors, attentive medical professionals, inspiring Jewish educators, a passionate leadership team, and YOU – our amazing campers and families!
To gear up for opening day, we want to give you an idea of what our campers can expect once they arrive on campus. Every week for the next six weeks, we are going to highlight a different aspect of camp and share with you what the 6 Points experience includes! Starting with this email, you will receive an email from 6 Points Sports Academy each Tuesday.
Here’s a glimpse at our Countdown to Camp email schedule:
Week 1: Celebrating our Judaism as athletes at camp
Week 2: Play All Day! – Sports Majors and Electives
Week 3: Special Events at the 6 – Camp-wide activities and programs
Week 4: Engage with your “home team” – counselors, dorm life, and food!
Week 5: The “Nitty Gritty” logistical details to prepare for the summer
Week 6: It’s Game Time! Last steps before the best summer ever
Don’t miss a beat! Add SportsNC@urj.org to your address book, and add our main camp phone number to your contacts: (561) 208-1650. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube where we’ll be sharing all of the fun we’re having throughout the summer.
We will be hosting a parents-only program called “Parents as Partners” on May 7 at 8pm. We will also have another “Getting Ready for Camp” call for campers and parents on May 14 at 6:30pm. All times are in Eastern Standard Time. Sessions will be recorded and uploaded to our website. New families are encouraged to attend one of each program, and returning families are welcomed!
All Required Camper Forms are due on Thursday, May 1st. Wanting to see our suggested packing list? Click here! It is also available in your CampInTouch account.
Our 16th summer is going to be NEXT LEVEL! We can’t wait to see you soon!
L’Shalom,
The 6 Points Team