The Bow and Arrow games are a major tradition here at Kingswood.  For the past week, unbeknownst to the campers, the B&A coaches have been observing them with intensity — not only for sports prowess but acting, music, chess playing, bocce and ping-pong skills have been judged, too.

After some hilarious introductions, the boys and their leaders got down to serious business.  Make the contest count for something, like points on the B&A scoreboard and kids will up their collective game to a considerable degree.  That is why we had a one-hour meeting beforehand on the subject of sportsmanship.  Once we determined that all were on board in this crucial category, the games were on.  I observed several competitions and came away quite satisfied that some good lessons in dealing with adversity as well as avoidance of pompous behavior by the winners are occurring.