In 1998, spent a month at Camp Tawingo on the shores of Lake Vernon, just west of Huntsville, Ont. He was eight years old and had flown to another country 鈥 the family lived in Barbados at the time 鈥 to go to summer camp.
The kids were told to write home and, dutifully, he did.
鈥 鈥楳om and dad, I鈥檓 fine.鈥 That鈥檚 it. That鈥檚 all we got,鈥 his sister Sarah Douglas said, retelling family lore.
A young Greg Douglas with his sister Sarah and father Peter at camp.
Undated family photo
Turns out her brother was a lot more than fine. He not only loved camp, he had developed a passion for sailing 鈥 a passion that would transform the entire Douglas family and lead to both Greg and Sarah becoming elite sailors and competing in multiple Olympics.
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鈥淚t just shows that you never know what it is that you鈥檙e going to fall in love with or what鈥檚 going to be your passion,鈥 said Greg Douglas, a sport business consultant for Deloitte.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 the key thing that I took away from my camp experience. You鈥檙e exposed to so many different things so the likelihood of you finding out what your passion is and what you love to do obviously goes up.鈥
Greg was just 18 years old when he sailed for Barbados in the 2008 Beijing Olympics in a single dinghy class. and came 15th in the heavyweight event. Sarah was sixth at the Tokyo Games in 2021 鈥 the best-ever Olympic result for a Canadian woman in an individual sailing event 鈥 and she鈥檚 well on her to qualifying for the 2024 Paris Games.
Their Olympic boats are smaller versions of the two-person dinghy that Greg remembers jumping in with a camp counsellor and a bunch of kids. He doesn鈥檛 remember how many kids he shared that boat with. What he remembers is being given the opportunity to sail the boat and how he felt when the wind grabbed the sails.
鈥淲hen you get it set just right, you really feel the boat take off and start moving and flowing through the water. I really enjoyed that,鈥 he said.
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A 2012 photo of Greg Douglas prior to competing at the London Olympics.
for the 91原创 Star
At his summer camp, sailing was just another activity along with everything from canoeing and kayaking to scavenger hunts and songs by the fire. But, for Greg, it sparked something special and life-changing.
He went home and told his parents he wanted to try sailing again. His dad Peter signed them both up for lessons and it became a father-son activity. When Sarah turned seven, she wanted in as well and started taking lessons. Then came their mom Dale. Family holidays became sailing trips and summers were soon filled with sailing teams.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a crazy thing how I just went from a kid who tries sailing at camp to going to a couple of Olympics,鈥 he said. 鈥淚 was never the kid that was like, I want to go to the Olympics. I didn鈥檛 have the posters on my wall. I just I really enjoyed just getting better at something. At camp, there are just so many opportunities to get better at things.鈥
Greg knows there鈥檚 no direct line between a camp experience and the Olympics. Elite sport is expensive and he says was 鈥渋ncredibly lucky鈥 to have such a supportive family able not just to let him pursue his passion but also joined him in it.
But summer camp can open windows on possibilities for all kids and provides opportunities to learn about themselves and find what they love to do, he said.
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Sarah Douglas training in 91原创 in 2021 ahead of the Tokyo Olympics.
THE CANADIAN PRESS FILE PHOTO
Greg鈥檚 discovery of sailing at camp is a great sports origin story but another far more routine experience stands out in his memory just as strongly: camp camaraderie.
鈥淵ou would do all your activities as a cabin whether that鈥檚 going out and doing tasks in the forest, sort of scavenger hunts or going to meals together, just that camaraderie of doing things together 鈥 (and) also just having downtime together. That鈥檚 something that I really enjoy,鈥 he said.
鈥淚 do a lot of teamwork, I was on the Canadian sailing team, in my (work) life now a lot of team-based projects and quite often it鈥檚 the slack time when you actually build the best bonds.鈥
The 91原创 Star鈥檚 Fresh Air Fund has been sending kids to summer camp who might not otherwise be able to go for nearly 125 years. Thanks to the generosity of Star readers, it provides annual support to a variety of day and overnight camps. Through your donation, you can help give thousands of disadvantaged kids the opportunity to experience the joys of summer camp, the camaraderie and, possibly, discover their own passion.
GOAL: $650,000
How to donate:
With your gift, the Fresh Air Fund can help send thousands of kids to camp. These children will get to take part in a camp experience they will cherish for a lifetime.
