I’m lucky enough to work for a company that thrives on rewarding staff, and whose philosophy is: ‘Putting the fun into insurance’; and I’m even luckier to work within a department which loves to motivate.
On the hottest day of the year so far, we took the afternoon out to partake in ‘Marketing Team Olympics’ in the grounds of Salomons Estate, Tunbridge Wells. Changing into sports gear with the promise of free bottled water, ice-creams, crisps and chocolate, we had the additional benefits of a gorgeous location and perfect weather!
I wore a new Nike bra & vest combo (thanks to the JD Sport summer sale), with black Nike shorts and gorgeous new floral-patterned Nike Roshe Runs, which are my favourite purchase of the month and are super comfortable!
We were split into random teams and advised that we would be partaking in the egg & spoon race, hula hooping, beanbag-on-head run, skipping, wheelbarrows, 3-legged race, throwing-beanbags-into-basket and football dribbling. Everyone had to participate in all of these tasks, and the overall winning team members would receive a bottle of wine each.
Our team was named ‘The Tom Selleck Appreciation Society’ (not my choice!) and we wore Tom’s printed-out head pinned to our tops.
There was a photographer, umpire and a judge, who timed us all, kept score and penalised any cheaters. It was honestly one of the best afternoons I’ve had in a while, full of laughter and hilarious moments! It took me back to sports days at Primary School, where no-one took things too seriously and just enjoyed themselves.
I admit to failing miserably at the football dribbling and the wheelbarrow, where I was the ‘arms’ with colleague Tim holding my legs: I underestimated how tough it is! Try doing this for half the length of a football pitch – it HURTS! Towards the end I gave up and face-plated the grass on purpose in protest, with our team coming last in that particular challenge – sorry guys!
However, hula-hooping is my hidden strength, and the egg & spoon was surprisingly easy. The beanbag-on-head run was helped by my handy pineapple-esque hairstyle (I like to think of that a happy coincidence rather than cheating!), skipping was a breeze and the throwing-beanbags-into-basket was helped by old netball skills. Our team consistently came first in the challenges whilst spurring on other teams and having a genuinely really good time. We all came away from the day saying how much we enjoyed it, even those who despise any form of physical activity.
So if anyone reading this is stuck for inspiration for their next team-building activity, take it back old-school and find some skipping ropes and beanbags – you’ll be surprised! 🙂
Laura's footprints 