Overview
These activities, although of a fun nature, will have serious benefits for your team. They will increase communication and gain new strengths and insights within the team.
The activities can encourage your team to be more inclusive. The more inclusive the team, the greater the number of talents and viewpoints will be on hand to tackle problems.
They can also encourage trust within a team by creating a safe environment in which employees feel free to offer constructive criticism without fear of retribution. Therefore the organization will gain strength.
Finally, you will improve motivation by keeping the team fresh and feeling valued by having fun together outside of the workplace.
The Event
This Team Building event scenario is based on the historical facts surrounding the last duel fought in England and the mysterious circumstances surrounding this occasion.
Since it was illegal to fight a duel at this time, a considerable number of mysteries now surround this extraordinary event
Your challenge is to solve those mysteries and explain what really happened. You must establish when, exactly where, and why the duel took place, who were the participants and what was the result. You have in your team-pack a number of clues to start you off, all of which are relevant to unfolding the mystery of this occasion.
The Field
In the field are six challenges, each of which must be completed to the satisfaction of your instructors. On completion of each challenge, your instructors will give you one or two further clues which, combined with the information in your pack, will provide you with the knowledge you require to solve this mystery.
The teams will have the opportunity to collate their ideas, and afterwards, each team will present their version of the duel.
The team which has accumulated the highest number of points on the challenges, AND is closest to the truth of what happened in the field, shall be declared the winner.
The Tasks:
Duel Tasks
Duels happen every day. In the sports arena, the playground and the work place. They encompass fair competition, sometimes overt, sometimes not. But the result is the same – congratulatory.
A duel is not a fight. It is a balanced event. Despite its aggression the duel succeeded by being controlled and carefully supervised so that both participants were offered an equal chance. It is that equal opportunity that is important about the duel.
Imagine the Duel like a seesaw, with the two participants equally situated at each end under the control of a second in a pivotal position.
We have taken this balancing image as the basis of our task called:
The Ducking Stool
Apply the concept of balance to your daily life and you will find that it is more than a physical priority. Your treatment of others, your handling of issues, your organising of priorities, your contribution to your group, your understanding of the nature and needs of others, all require a balanced view. No, you won’t get wet but you might get into hot water if you let the team down.
Like all tasks that appear simple, it requires team skill to achieve success. Using a plank and a pivot, the whole team must balance above the ground. Not seesaw, balance. Is it a matter of light, height and sight? Once balanced you are half way there. Now dismount without disturbing the balance?
Musket shot run
Special musket balls have been constructed. A human hand cannot touch them – the balls have to be transported from A to B using only the tubes supplied. Participants holding a section containing a ball are not allowed to move their feet.
Sword Balance
Each participant needs at least one sword. The blacksmith has made 15, however the team can only take the swords that can be balance on the spike. Sometimes the most difficult problems can have the simplest and most elegant solutions.
Pot of Gold
While in the enchanted forest your team of worthy knights encounters not only a rain shower, but also a rainbow at the end of which is a pot of gold. Although this mythical object is nearby, it floats on a thin mist, which cannot support the weight of any human. Using only the objects you have available, your team must retrieve the pot of gold, without spilling the contents.
Witches Brew
The witch has put her evil liquid into three tubes representing the tower in which Rapunzel is imprisoned. But one can hold the entire brew. In order to have the opportunity to reach the damsel in distress our team of duelling knights has to be left with 2 exact measures to neutralise the concoction.
Tower Building
Create the tallest tower using the given pieces. Place Rapunzel on the top (without the tower collapsing) so that her hair reaches the ground. The tallest tower wins the damsel.