As a part of AIA camp tradition, we had another epic 'water' fight between the guys and the gals this summer, and this year it involved guys trying to take a 30 foot high hill entrenched by well armed and entrenched girls. Following is my version of the story along with video clips taken by our special guest, Olympic medalist and all-around stud Josh Davis. You will need Quicktime to view the videos, but you may download it from www.Quicktime.com free of charge. Depending on your connection to the internet it may take from a few seconds to fifteen minutes to download each one. You may choose to store them on your computer by right clicking a link and choosing 'save as', so you may watch them at any time, and can even enlarge them. I have watched them many times, trying to understand what's going on. Try and find yourself! The showdown took place on Thursday, June 26, 2003 at about 1:30. All involved had been hard at work, gathering ammunition, filling water balloons, and gathering arms (water guns) for this very moment. Devon and I even had it approved so no rules would be broken this year! We had a good assortment of items in the water balloons and Sierra Mist was the ammo of choice for the water guns. The ground rule for the engagement is that nothing can be used by either side that stains, stings, or is in any way harmful. The guys had Sierra Mist, melted ice cream, mayonnaise, powdered sugar, powdered milk, and water in our balloons. The girls had similar items, plus or minus a few things. Planning- Once the staff had laid the ground rules for the engagement I knew that the girls would almost certainly be entrenched upon a hill on a far corner of the campus, so I gathered my bros together to work on a strategy as to how to get them off of the hill. <This> is a video of a pep talk I am giving the guys after I had just explained our strategy. <This> is a video of us leaving to go get the girls. Preparation- While the guys were wrapping up our final briefing on how we would go about the attack, the girls were lugging all their balloons up the hill and then resting before the attack. <Here> is a movie of the girls as they are lounging, waiting for the attack. Attack- From the start, myself and my men faced setbacks in our quest for the hill. There was some miscommunication from the head staff which kept us from making a crucial right flanking movement that we had counted on. There was a misunderstanding of the boundaries, and this forced us to only launch disjointed attacks which were not nearly as successfully as they would've been. The girls launched the first strike from the hill, as I figured they would, and we were ready for them <watch>. We sent them running back to the hill soaked in Sierra Mist, and then we began our charge <watch>. The girls were holding a really good line of defense, especially when our forces were divided and disorganized by the early confusion, as they outnumbered us in the center by about three to one. The guys in the center drew up a line of attack against the defensive line of the girls, and for a short while there was a standoff <watch>. After launching several water balloons from the base of the hill I decided to close in for close range devastation with my mammoth gun, the Hulk <watch>. Notice that I make my way entirely around the girls, getting them all thoroughly with Sierra Mist. The girls proved to be worthy adversaries this year as they held their ground stubbornly against even attacks such as this. After the girls started getting hit pretty good their line began to break up. Finally we were able to penetrate the center, special thanks to Gaston, who made a heroic kamikaze run to jump on the girls' ammunition stockpile and ruin their main stash of balloons. Watch us make the charge <here> (Gaston is wearing black shorts and black shoes). From this point on it was pretty much a melee with most of the girls scattered around the top of the hill, trying to hang on for dear life while the guys ran around them getting them pretty good with balloons and their water guns. Gaston got hit pretty hard, but he went back for seconds as the battle surged around him <here> and <here>. After several minutes of close combat with balloons flying everywhere and casualties on both sides, the guys grabbed what was left of the ammunition in the center and made our final charge to take the center <watch>. Alejo and the guys on our left flank were able to close in on the girls and take their flank, after much struggle <watch>. They continued their attack on the left as for a brief moment I held the center of the hill along with a few other guys <watch>. The girls launched a counter attack at us and took back the center. They also took ahold of the Hulk, and some of my bros came to rescue it from them <watch>. Special thanks to Jesse, Jeff, and Alejo for that one! With the girls out of ammunition and on the run, head staff went ahead and called the battle a draw. In my mind I believe it was a hard fought victory for the guys. We still had ammunition, including several bottles of Sierra Mist that we could've used to retake the center of the hill. As the battle stood, the guys were slowing gaining control, but the girls were stubbornly holding their ground and hanging in there. At this point Craig, our camp coordinator, called us together for a little debriefing <watch>. You can see some of the mess in this video, though most of our ammunition was clear and therefore you couldn't see it, only feel the stickiness on you. We then set out to go pick up all the remaining debris and then workout. Cleanup was fairly easy, and for all the fun we have, I believe it was worth it. The girls finally were able to give us a good challenge, and it was a good fight. Both sides got in some great hits. Despite being outnumbered by more than two to one, the guys put up a brave effort to take the hill, and though only momentarily successful, I believe that given more time we would've been able to retake the hill. I think that the guys got the girls worse with our guns and balloons, but at the end of the battle the girls still held the hill, which is why the battle was called as a draw. I really look forward to a rematch next year as I feel that the guys underestimated the girls. That won't happen again next year and we'll come back to clinch a decisive victory. Congrats to both sides for having a safe and fun fight!
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