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Adventure Sports at ISTC

03.10.20

Jet skiing, banana boating, rock climbing, and mountain biking have become signature activities for our All Sports and IXTC programs. Not only do they offer campers an awesome experience, but they also help our end goal of building life skills through sports.

Namely, adventure sports like the ones we offer expose campers to something unique, instill confidence in trying new things, and encourage supportive attitudes.

Each activity is integrated into the week’s organized sessions with our coaching staff, alleviating any pressure to dive into the unknown. Safety is always the top priority as well, especially when supporting campers to trying things for the first time. Certified staff are on the every jet ski, ropes staff belays every climber on the course, and mountain biking rides are guided by our team. Because of this structure, campers are given the chance to tackle these adventure sports in a risk-free environment.

We use the phrase “challenge by choice” with our coaching staff to set the uplifting atmosphere we strive for. Our team will actively encourage and support every camper to give each activity a try, although we know progress may look different for everyone – and that’s okay! Whether a camper climbs the entire rock wall and zip lines or only climbs a bit to come back down, the fact they have done more than they ever have before is something we celebrate. We build on these successes, big or small, in order to create a feeling of confidence to do it all again or take this newfound strength to other things, even outside of ISTC.

Where traditional field sports have a competitive goal, our adventure sports are focused on teamwork to achieve a goal. From pulling each other to the top of the Giant Swing or keeping one another on the banana boat during the ride, everyone needs to work together. This mentality shift helps campers experience firsthand that building each other up rather than competing with one another can make a positive impact.

Mixing traditional sports with games and adventure sports, is only one of the reasons the ISTC experience is so beneficial and special!