Boone teenager discovers his 'Endurance' level

By Dianna L. Cagle

BR Assistant Managing Editor

Caleb Courtney, center, competes on "Endurance: Fiji," a television show on Discovery Kids.

Luis Ascui

Discovery Kids Channel

Caleb Courtney had no idea his audition tape would be weighed against 10,000 others.

Still, Courtney, 15, was chosen to participate in "Endurance: Fiji," a reality television show on Discovery Kids.

"Luckily my principal is a fan of the show," said Courtney, who missed the first two weeks of his sophomore year at Watauga High School in Boone. "No one knew where we were going."

Courtney and his family - father, Scott; mother, Lisa; younger brothers, Casey, 13, and Colton, 9 - had to keep their "lips sealed about what they were doing," he said.

Courtney and his father, who is interim pastor of Oak Grove Baptist Church in Boone, flew to Fiji to participate in the competition.

The junior varsity basketball player had only seen two or three episodes before he entered the contest.

Now that Courtney is back in his routine of practice and school, he said he's not sure what's going to happen when the show debuts Oct. 13 at 8:30 p.m.

"I'll probably be famous for a little while," he said. Because of the nature of the show, Courtney was unable to reveal how well he did, but he said he's thankful for the experience.

And he's already had some offers to speak to youth groups about the show.

While basketball "sucks up all my time," Courtney manages to find time for community theater and music. He plays guitar, piano and "anything I can get my hands on," he said.

People from all over the United States were participants: Oregon, Florida, Texas, Minnesota, etc.

The game begins the first day with people making alliances, he said, but his dad had reminded him to keep his promises before he ever got to the island, which is about a mile long and a half-mile wide.

Courtney compared it to a cage match. The camera crew was always around to catch any raised voice or serious conversation.

"It's something you've got to get adjusted to," he said.

Courtney said his faith "influenced me a lot" and he tried to display T-shirts from his favorite camp - Caswell - but the show's contract doesn't allow those types of promotional items. He was allowed to wear a necklace with a cross.

One afternoon, Courtney found a place on a rock where waves were shooting 20 feet into the air. His perch remained relatively dry as he read in Matthew. He said there's something special about reading God's word and being surrounded by His creation.

"The water there is crystal clear," he said.

About the game

Participants leave behind technology and compete in Endurance or Temple missions. An Endurance Mission is a competition for a puzzle piece. Each piece represents an essential inner quality such as strength, heart, courage, ingenuity and strength. The goal is to collect all the pieces to complete the "Pyramid of Endurance."

Winners of the Endurance Missions are also awarded the Samadhi, which allows them to handicap another team in the next Temple Mission.

Winners of Temple Missions have ultimate control. They choose two teams to send to the Temple of Fate. These two teams compete in a game called Wood-Water-Fire and determine who stays in the game and who leaves. The losing team gets to choose another team to give its pyramid pieces.

Courtney said the temple is a "work of art." It is set up at the highest point of the island and you have a 360-degree view. Courtney estimated the temple is about 800 feet up and from there "you could see to the bottom of the ocean."

The prize for this year's winner will not be revealed until the second show airs Oct. 20.

In the past, the first show had 20 participants, but this year that's been cut to 16. In the first show, four youth will be eliminated (two boys and two girls).

The show is filmed over two and a half weeks with a couple of days off for the cast during filming.

Proud parent

"I was real proud of him," said Scott Courtney, who received several good reports about Caleb's attitude and performance. "He kept his integrity throughout the game process. One of the parents said to me, 'I was praying that my child will be what your son is.'"

Each day the production team came back and showed a short video.

"They were appreciative of his influence," he said.

The interim pastor, who also serves as a full-time chaplain at a local hospice, was asked to deliver a sermon.

"The Fijian people were very religious," he said, calling them a "reverent group of people."

Courtney led a morning service and went back that night to hear a local pastor. That pastor had on a coat and tie but also wore a skirt and bare feet.

His experience "made me appreciate missionaries more," he said.

For more about the show, visit http://kids.discovery.com/fansites/

endurance/endurance.html.