countdown to camp email series

Welcome to the Countdown to Camp Series!

Before we get started, we want to remind families to add SportsNC@urj.org and the camp phone number (561-208-1650) to your contacts, so we can easily be in contact with you this summer! At the bottom of this email, there are some important reminders and links for your convenience.

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!”.

“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. We are consistently changing, updating, and reframing our practice of Judaism at camp, just like an athlete, to elevate our training and connection!

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 gather together for Shabbat Schmooze. Then we head to the dining hall where we light the candles, have challah and dinner, Finally, we 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: We are deepening our Shabbat programming through a new initiative! Our entire community will come together to focus our time and Shabbat-energy thinking about who we are on the inside that informs who we are on the outside.

2nd Saturday Afternoon: On the second Shabbat of the session, we embody the Jewish value of Tikkun Olam (Repair the World). All of camp will participate in the Tikkun Olam 5K and Day of Service as we expand our support for our local partner Eblen Charities and continue our partnership with Israel Parasport Center! Stay tuned about how you can support our efforts of kindness in action!

Saturday evening: We cap off every Shabbat by celebrating Havdalah as a community, where we welcome the week ahead of us. It’s a rare moment of quiet and peacefulness at camp – we reflect on the hard work we’ve done and gear up for another week of growth. We will tell you more about our incredible Saturday night activities in our email in two weeks!

Israel Education and Connection: At 6 Points, Israel comes to life in ways that are exciting and meaningful! We are a leader among Jewish camps for Israel Education and cultural immersion. This summer, we’re thrilled to share that we have moved Israel Day from Saturday to Sunday to allow for more intentional focus and time. Along with the Israel Day program, we continue to foster deep connection with our Mishlachat (Israeli staff delegation) who serve as counselors and assistant coaches! We’ll also be bringing back our Zula from last summer! This immersive space is where our Mishlachat shared culture and stories about life in Israel with our campers.

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

This week, we want to tell you about our camp’s specialty: Sports – all about our head coaches and electives!

Whether we play a sport year round at school, or are towards the beginning of our journey on the field, court, or pool, 6 Points creates an environment where we can all improve our craft, grow, and gain new skills, all while having a fun-filled summer! What makes us the premier Jewish sports camp in North America is the incredible combination of our top notch facilities and top tier head coaches.

We’ve been lucky to have some with us since our very first summer in 2010, but are equally excited by the new faces joining our team this year.

Our head coaches each have vast amounts of experience playing and coaching at high-level clubs, schools, and NCAA programs. They are experts in their sports and passionate about improving the skills of all athletes. Our camp director, Jackie, personally interviews every head coach candidate to ensure that they are the best possible fit for our community. Essential to our mission is providing an elite sports experience through high-level training, we also ensure that our coaches prioritize having fun and building meaningful relationships with our campers.

Supervised by our Athletic Directors, Al Ashkinazy and Steve Tuders, the head coaches fully embrace their leadership roles, and make sure to incorporate our six core values into every drill, scrimmage, or lesson. They help us merge Judaism and sports, and continue our belief that the two are not mutually exclusive, but in fact make each other stronger.

Welcome to Electives!
Each afternoon, after our first rest hour of the day, our community gathers in the main gym where the campers get to decide the two electives they’ll participate in that day. Campers do not need to sign up for electives in advance or before they arrive to camp. Electives are chosen every single day. Campers can choose to go with new friends, old friends, siblings, favorite coaches or counselors, and friends of all ages and genders. They can explore new activities or engage more with their sport major skills. From there, our head coaches and counselors lead each group to the location where the elective takes place.

Some of our most popular elective options include 9 Square in the Air, fitness and conditioning (for campers in 7th grade and above), alpine climbing tower, basketball, chill zone (board games, cards, etc), flag football, ultimate frisbee, lawn games (cornhole, can jam), gaga, lacrosse, running, free swim and water games, pickleball, tennis, volleyball, and Zumba. The list goes on and on – and we’re always adding something new! We’re offering different types of electives this summer including sports broadcasting, sports journalism and photography, and dedicated “mini majors” like golf and pickleball!

Camp provides all of the necessary equipment for electives. Some campers, by the way, make it a goal to try every single elective offered. Whether that’s your goal, or you prefer to stick with your favorites, the afternoon is guaranteed to be filled with fun. Electives are a key component of the 6 Points experience, and we can’t wait till we finally gather in the gym.

One of our six core values, as you may remember from our earlier emails, is growth. There is no better place for growth than in a community where everyone – coaches, staff, campers – are all committed to the same cause. We strive to get better on and off the field every day at camp, and know that the hard work we put in over the summer will pay dividends when we get to show off all of our new skills at home.

We can’t wait to get started in just a few short weeks!

The 6 Points Team

Today, we’ll review all the special events that help us break up our routine, where excitement and fun levels are at their highest.

Our daily schedule at 6 Points is quite consistent, which we find helps everyone settle in and feel at home very quickly. However, every now and then we have special activities that our camp community loves taking part in. Here are the big ones:

Maccabiah – Our Maccabiah (color war day) is many campers’ favorite day at camp! One day a session, the whole camp community splits into two teams (blue and gold), and competes against each other in a variety of games, challenges, and races. Campers will take part in bunk competitions, sport majors, specialty meals, song performances, and a camp-wide relay race! The day is always a surprise to campers, and is always packed with fun. After a winning team is announced at the end of the day, our camp community reunites as on kehillah (community)! Campers should make sure to bring both a blue shirt and a yellow shirt to camp and they’re available to purchase in our camp store. Face paint, tutus, fun socks, and spirit wear of all kinds are also encouraged.

Camp Champs – Over the course of the first week, campers and counselors choreograph an awesome dance routine to be performed in front of camp on Saturday night. This is a great bonding experience for each dorm, and makes for an evening filled with laughter. The competition is fierce and fun! We crown a bunk from our lower village and our high school village with custom 6 Points hats. Check out the past few summers of Camp Champs performances on our Youtube channel, and get excited!

Israel Day– We are very lucky at 6 Points to have a group of Israeli counselors (Mishlachat) work at camp every year. They bring with them a different perspective of Judaism, sports, and culture. On the first Sunday of the session, our Mishlachat will lead an immersive and experiential program for campers, sharing a unique Israel story, history, and culture that our Jewish athletes love learning about! Our Mishlachat put in a lot of work to make this day special. We guarantee it will be a lot of fun, so be sure to pack some blue and white clothing or Israel swag to represent on this day!

Favorite Team Friday– Over the years we have become quite spirited with campers, counselors, and staff wearing their favorite college teams, singing fight songs during meals, and wearing their favorite jerseys around camp.  We encourage all campers to pack swag to show their support of their favorite team – universities, pro teams, national teams, local teams, anything that they love and want to represent…wear it!!

Tikkun Olam 5K and Day of Service – At 6 Points, we strive to become better athletes and Jews. To do so requires us to stand up for and support our communities.  During the second Shabbat of each session, all of camp participates in the Tikkun Olam 5k and Day of Service. Our Counselors-in-Training take an active role in teaching and modeling this “Kindness in Action” that we perform at camp.  This summer, we are proud to partner with Eblen Charities and Israel Parasport Center. Together, we are repairing the world, one run at a time!

We will be selling t-shirts this year for $36 to support this work. We will  be launching t-shirt sales soon! If you purchase a shirt for your camper, it will be given to them at camp. Proceeds from shirt sales go towards our partners and the Earl Ferguson Scholarship Fund. If you are interested in becoming a Tikkun Olam Sponsor and making a greater impact for our community and partners, please contact our Development Director, Jordan Vaughter, at jvaughter@urj.org.

There are plenty other fun and special times to be had this summer, and these five are just some of the big ones! We can’t wait to experience them with you in just a few short weeks!

L’Shalom,

The 6 Points Team

With camp only 3 short weeks away, we want to tell you all about your camper’s “Home Team” – your camper’s Mishpacha, meaning “family” in Hebrew. This is your camper, their roommate(s), same grade level peers, and amazing counselors. 

Since 2020, we have rented our camp facility from the Asheville School – our incredible partners. Every camper lives in an air-conditioned dorm room on a floor with their mishpacha and similar aged-peers. Our campers and staff come from 37 different states and 6 different countries. Because we live with our same aged-peers, your camper will have friends from all over the world and across a variety of sport majors! 

We have three dorm buildings at camp – one for our rising 4th-6th grade boys, one for our rising 7th-11th grade boys, and another for all of our female campers. There is a bathroom on every floor that is cleaned professionally every day. Counselors live on the floor adjacent to their campers. Our mishpachot range from 15-30 campers with four to five counselors each. Remember – our beds are Twin XL, so pack your sheets, blankets, and pillows! Don’t forget your towels, bathroom caddy and shower shoes! No need to bring additional storage – we provide drawers and closets for all of our campers’ belongings!

Click here for the complete packing list! It is also available in your CampInTouch account.

Of all the bonds made at camp over the course of the summer, the ones between campers and counselors are perhaps the most powerful. So many of our campers grow up to become counselors themselves, because they want to pass on the lessons, inspiration, and connection they received onto the next generation of young Jewish athletes. Our campers and parents report that our staff are the highlights of every summer with their “high energy, nurturing spirit, and attentiveness” that go above and beyond to make the summer special for every camper that comes through our gates.

Our counselors serve two roles at camp:

1) they work with one particular age grouping, or Mishpacha, and 2) they work as assistant coaches in sports majors to support our head coaches. Counselors make sure campers understand our daily schedule, have their water bottles and sunscreen, distribute mail, and make it on time to every meal and activity. Every night, at least one counselor will serve as shmira, being on-call overnight for any camper needs.

As assistant coaches, they are active participants and teachers during sport majors. They are trained in how to make a sports major session great, and how to create an environment where individual growth and collective fun are achieved. Having interpersonal relationships with the campers outside of the sports major also enables the assistant coaches to be an approachable, supportive resource on the fields and courts.

What makes our staff so special, though, is everything that goes beyond the daily responsibilities list. Counselors plan fun activities for the mishpacha, run rest hour and Lilah Tov (nighttime) programs, and bond with campers in the dining hall. It’s in those downtime moments where young Jewish people with a shared love of sports and camp create the bonds which make up the magic of 6 Points.

Our counselors are such an invaluable part of our community. We cannot be prouder of the work they do. They arrive at camp for training the week before we open, where they gain a variety of skills, prep and decorate the dorms, and lay the groundwork for the spirit and community the campers will be a part of. They are the shoulder campers lean on, the role model campers look up to, and the engine that keeps camp moving forward.

Not only do our mishpachot live together, but they also enjoy the dining hall together! As athletes, we know how important it is that our bodies are nourished and filled with energy so that we can perform at our very best. 

At camp, we of course have three daily meals, and we also have two snacks throughout the day: one in the afternoon between electives, and another at night, just before bed. The three meals are buffet style with many yummy options, where campers are encouraged to have as much food as they’d like. We like to stress the fact that campers are more than welcome to go through the line more than once, and would love for you to let your child know this ahead of time! No need to overflow the tray with food, or stay hungry if the first serving wasn’t enough. Simply bus your plates, grab a new and clean one, and go through the line again. This is also a great opportunity to coach your camper on how to select balanced meals on their own!

Breakfast will have options like eggs, potatoes, oatmeal, fresh fruit, yogurt, cereal, toast, bagels and more offered every day. Campers will see rotating options of cinnamon buns, waffles, pancakes, biscuits, hash browns, homefries, and more! Lunch and dinner include staples like grilled cheese, hamburgers, chicken tenders, ravioli, hot dogs, chicken sandwiches, tacos, and more. At every lunch and dinner campers also have the option to choose from the salad bar and sandwich bar. Camp favorites at these include fresh fruit, carrots and hummus, chicken salad, unique salad toppings and more.

We’ve worked diligently and intentionally on planning our full menu with our partners in the kitchen and dining hall this year, and we can’t wait to try all of our favorites including Biscuit Friday, Grilled Cheese & Tomato Soup, Chicken Sandwiches, Pasta, and more!

We are able to accommodate all allergies at camp, along with Kosher meat, vegetarian, gluten free, and dairy free options. One of the amazing things about partnering with Sage Dining is the technology they use to ensure all options are clear. At the entrance to every food line there will always be an iPad that includes everything on offer for that specific meal, along with labels of which item fits which dietary restrictions.

We want to make sure your child knows the options available for them, so if your child does have any dietary restrictions, please let them know ahead of time that we are here to help! Our amazing counselors would be happy to walk your camper through the line, and we always have Leadership Team members along the line who will be happy to answer any questions. For example, if your child can’t find gluten free bread for a sandwich or dairy free milk for cereal, all they have to do is approach any staff member and we would love to help!

As we said, we know how important it is that our bodies are ready to go for all the activities we do, and we know that a new environment may be intimidating or overwhelming. That’s why we intentionally call our “home teams” mishpachot – families – making sure that we are taking care of everyone at camp: mind, body, and soul!

L’Shalom from our family to yours!

The 6 Points Team

Hello 6 Points Sports Academy Families!

We are thrilled to be sending you this week’s Countdown to Camp email from Asheville, North Carolina! Our full-time staff and operations team arrived over the weekend, and it feels so great to be back at our home away from home. Walking through the gates makes us feel like camp is officially here, and all that’s missing are the hundreds of young Jewish athletes with their smiling faces.

Since we’re sure you can feel that camp is here, too (especially those joining us for Session 1), we wanted to share some detailed information about the logistics for the start of the summer.

Please take a moment to save our email address SportsNC@urj.org and our phone number (561) 208-1650.

Forms Reminders

Please log into your CampInTouch (CIT) account here to double check that you have completed all required forms for your camper to attend camp. If the status is submitted or “uploaded through CIT” – you are good to go! We will reach out after reviewing your forms.

Any questions regarding medical forms, please email 6PointsHealth@urj.org. All other camp related questions, please email SportsNC@urj.org. We are actively reviewing forms as they are submitted.

• Please ensure that you have uploaded both the front and back of your insurance cards. If not, it will be marked as “incomplete”.
• No camper or staff member may keep prescription or over-the-counter medication in their possession during the summer. Please be sure to complete your Health History Form to ensure we have the correct medication information for your camper.
• If you need to modify travel or health forms, please do so as soon as possible so that we can be prepared for your camper’s specific travel, health, and safety needs.
• You can also indicate how your camper’s luggage is getting to and from camp on the Transportation form! Feel free to log back in to your CampInTouch account to update it or send us an email.

Packing List: Here is the link to our suggested camp packing list! Don’t forget your mesh laundry bag & to label all of your camper’s belongings!

Summer Office Hours

For any general questions, you should contact our camp office at 561-208-1650 or SportsNC@urj.org.

The main office is open from 9am-9pm on regularly scheduled days that camp is in-session (excluding meal times). On Fridays, the office hours are 9am-4pm in observance of Erev Shabbat. On Saturdays, the office hours are 1pm-7pm in observance of Shabbat morning and Havdalah.

During the changeover between sessions, the office will typically close by 4pm on Sunday and reopen at 9am on Monday.

Communication with Your Camper

We know how important it is to both you and your child that you’ll be able to communicate over the course of the summer, and luckily we have multiple easy ways to make that happen. The easiest way will be using the CampInTouch account to send e-Letters to your child, with the option of attaching a “return letter,” which your camper can fill in and send back. To do so, you’ll select “Email” on your CampInTouch account, select your camper’s name, write your message, then be sure to select the box “I would like a handwritten eLetter reply to this email.” We distribute all mail received by 11:30am the same day!

If you’ve never used the CampInTouch e-Letter system before, here is the link to a resource with all of the information. You can always call our office with questions as well! Be sure to download the Campanion app to see photos throughout the summer! We upload photos at least once every day!

If you prefer snail mail, please address your letter as follows:

Camper Name – Session #

6 Points Sports Academy

PO Box 16127

Asheville, NC, 28816

Just as a reminder, we do not accept packages at camp. If your camper is needing something specific, please be in touch with our office staff or Paul Dolnick prior to sending any packages.

Getting to Camp

If you’re driving to camp, you will receive an email one week before your camper’s arrival with more details and confirmation of your drop off time. If you haven’t signed up for your drop off time, please do so now here. You will receive confirmation of your registered time approximately a week before your camper’s first day of camp. If you plan to be in the Asheville area on Monday night before your session, you’re invited to drop off your camper’s luggage with us between 4:00-6:00pm.

If your camper is flying to camp, you can expect an email from us 24-48 hours before your camper’s flight with specific instructions. We will have staff members wearing 6 Points shirts greeting your child at the airport, and they will chaperone them all the way to our campus. We will let you know as soon as your child arrives at camp! All parents will be provided with the phone number of our airport staff captain.

If your camper is taking the bus to camp, you will receive details about the bus approximately one week before your camper’s opening day. They will be guided by our trusted staff, who will help them make their way to camp. You will receive an email to inform you the bus has arrived safely.

You can see more detailed travel information here. You’ll receive more details about leaving camp based on how your camper will be departing. Questions regarding travel can be sent to 6PointsOfficeManager@urj.org.

With love from our summer home

L’Shalom,

The 6 Points Team