Summer Camp.

Just those two words conjure up adventure, laughter and friendships.

It is a time in our lives that can define who we are, who we hope to be and help create the lasting memories we will hold for a lifetime.

It is amazing what you can experience in just one week at summer camp.

Not long after the sun has risen over the Quarries in northwest Austin, Kid Gladiator kids come together, wearing their red or blue shirts, faces painted and game on! The camp is about team work, competition and loyalty. A sea of blue, the “Calida” clan faces off opposite a sea of red, the “Veritas” clan…ready for battle!

Each morning camp begins with a gladiator style warm up—high knees, push-ups, jumping jacks—and then the first battle of the morning, a spirit competition. Most counselors will lose their voices in this competition, simply because of the love for their clan and their hope to be the loudest. The clan who gets the vote for the most spirit collects 200 points. The points, for winning the spirit award or for games like dodge ball, capture the flag, tug of war and any other game you can think of, are added together each day. The team with the most points at week's end gets an advantage on the last day of camp. It’s then that the clans compete in a relay obstacle course. The team with the most points gets a head start in the relay.

Ally Davidson will tell you this is more than just another sports camp, it’s an experience.

Davidson came up with the idea of starting a kid’s camp while she was in high school. An Austin native, she grew up going to “Camp Travis” on Lake Travis. She says it was the most fun part of her summers and it, “had a huge impact” on her life.

It was her dream to create a day camp with an overnight camp feeling, mixed with plenty of competition. Davidson has competition in her blood. She’s Austin’s claim to fame on “American Gladiator.” Davidson won the title of “American Gladiator” in the summer of 2008. The win and the prize money gave her and husband Jeff the opportunity to do something big, create Camp Gladiator and Kid Gladiator.

Camp Gladiator is a boot camp for adults and it has become some what of a phenomenon. Davidson calls it an adult PE class. Boot Camps are offered across Texas in Austin, Dallas/Fort Worth, Houston and San Antonio. The camp launches soon in Los Angeles, Minneapolis and Chicago. Despite the growth, Davidson and her husband maintain a small company feel that makes each individual feel like the Gladiator staff is there just for them, rooting them on to succeed. The greatest part for Davidson is the stories that come out of these camps, not just stories of how participants have gotten in better shape but how the boot camp has made a serious impact on so many lives. She says she hears stories of how a marriage has grown stronger because of camp or how the camp helped someone's daily life. For Davidson, "it is all very rewarding."

Kid Gladiator is a Christian faith-based camp. The mission is to share the joy of Christ, teach team work and show kids, fitness can be fun.

Fun is key.

Experience a few moments of camp and it will make you smile. There’s a cheer for just about everything.

If you ask campers to sit you’ll hear:

“Take a seat.

Take a seat.

Take a load off your feet.

What, What.”

Or yell the word “competition,” you’ll hear:

“Competition.

Comp

Comp

A-ti-tion.”

Counselors can barely speak without the start of another cheer, that is just good stuff!

The final competition, “Competition, Comp, Comp, a-ti-tion,” decides the lead clan.

Calida and Veritas go head to head in the relay obstacle course. It’s a course filled with water challenges, balance challenges, buried treasure and a huge slide. It is the ultimate relay that will teach campers what it means to have the heart of a gladiator.

This year...drum roll please..the clan with the heart of a gladiator and ahead by just seconds...clan Calida! Calida will hold the title until they meet again next summer!

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You can check out information about Kid Gladiator and Camp Gladiator at campgladiator.com