From Campers to Olympians: 1996-2000
Ak-O-Mak and Chikopi have helped many athletes succeed in sports, including 60 Olympians and over 350 All-Americans. Eight of our alumni competed in the 1996 and 2000 Olympics, and many others have been inducted into different halls of fame.
Empowering Girls: 1941-1991
RoseMary Mann took over the Director’s duties at Ak-O-Mak in 1941 and held the position until her retirement in 1991. Throughout the years, she made countless contributions not only to the camp, but to women’s swimming and water polo, coaching at the University of Michigan, the University of Western Ontario, and directing the first few […]
Expanding the Program: 1930s-50s
Camp Ak-O-Mak expanded its program beyond swimming in the 1930s, later adding various sports including competitive canoeing and kayaking, that produced celebrated Olympian Marcia Jones Smoke.
Founding Years: 1928
Mann began Camp Ak-O-Mak in 1928 when his daughter RoseMary turned eight, initially offering only a swimming program. Syracuse & Harvard swim coach Hal Ulen was the camp’s first director and RoseMary Mann was the first Ak-O-Maker.
Parent News
Camp Update: August 25-28, 2022
In the morning of August 25th, we held our Monster Rock swim! The campers all raced the mile to Monster rock and back during their swim practice. It was inspiring to watch all of the swimmers attempt this feat. Many swam best times and those who had the goal of completing a mile in the […]
Camp Update: August 23-24, 2022
On Tuesday we had a lovely sunny day here at camp. We started off the day with an active early bird where the campers got to choose between swimming, running, and road biking. After breakfast, the campers all had their daily swim practice and continued working on their open water swimming skills. Cabin One went […]
Camp Update: Aug 20-22, 2022
Our last session for the summer began on August 20th. We had a beautiful day full of sunshine to welcome our new campers. It was so lovely to meet all of our new campers and reunite with those returning to camp this summer. All of the campers moved into their cabins and then enjoyed some […]
Camp Update: August 10-13, 2022
On August 10th we said goodbye to our two-week campers, we were sad to see them go and hope that they will come back and join us for some fun in the sun again next year! The campers that remained at camp had an activity-filled morning! Cabins One and Two went sailing, Cabin Three went […]
Camp Update: August 3-6, 2022
On August 3rd we had a rainy day at camp, instead of swim practice our campers enjoyed strength training in the pavilion with our new set of weights. The campers all learned the proper technique for deadlifting and were taught a few exercises they could do with the free weights. After our strength training session: […]