Sportsmanship

[spawrts-muh n-ship]

Noun: fairness; courtesy in competition; congratulating your opponent even after your loss

At Ivy League Day Camp, we nurture our campers to understand that good sportsmanship is more than just overcoming frustrations and jealousy. Sportsmanship is about proving that you can show friendship and respect to a fellow camper regardless of the competitive situation. Our leadership team and counselors are coached to teach that good sportsmanship can be taught in small steps (on each side of the ball) to allow for each child to come to their own understanding of what true sportsmanship is all about.

When we hear our leadership team and campers talking about what sportsmanship (and the High 5 Program) “looks” like, they say:

• “Never cheating”
• “Not losing your temper”
• “Not blaming your teammates”
• “Cheering on my friends to do something new”
• “Accepting a fair call against you (or your team)”
• “Congratulating your opponent on a good play”
• “Acknowledging that the team is bigger than you”