It doeesn’t seem like the opening post was meant in jest, so I will treat it as serious. Please point out if I am misreading anything. I can actually claim to have a great deal of experience in this matter, having both participated in, and helped arranged, numerous Colour Wars and similar competitions.
Colour War (As it is actually spelt) is at its best, a celebration of all that is good about Summer Camps. It permits an atmosphere of healthy competition to flourish in an enironment that I have never seen lead to to true animosity, or indeed any of the poor middos mentioned above, in significantly increased measures relative to the rest of the summer.
Of course, not everybody will take the competitive nature in the spirit it is intended, but this is not caused by the atmosphere or reality of Colour War, rather that certain people will act in a difficult manner given the oppurtunity, and colour War does not rectify, or exacebrate, this fact of life.
In all my experience, from the youngest Campers terrified (Not in a bad way) by the breakout, to an older camper laughing into my sleeve throughout, I have never seen it engender anything other than good. I mantain that one of the most marvellous things about Summer camps is the ability they have to showcase different campers’ talents. The less athletic types can act, sing, or draw. Those with organizational skills can arrange, and those with writing or compositional skills can come to the fore. And I have seen it time and time again.
Far from fostering animosity, it leads to achdus, both amonngst the teams and between boys of differing ages who otherwise wouldn’t come into contact. It is a fantastic way of channeling energies into a constructive and enjoyable event. And I have never met anybody who dreads Colour War for any of the reasons you have said, and I can confidently say that this is because the issue you have bought up is either minimal or non-existent.
Colour War is a fantastic institution, and I am upset at the presence of two threads over the last two weeks attempting to demean it as a practice, despite its valuable role in creating the best possible experience and atmosphere in our Camps.