Extreme sports team building: White water rafting

Extreme sports team building: White water rafting? Why not! We have had a wide range of team building and team bonding activities reviewed at this stage. Some are great fun, like paintballing or kayaking. Some are exciting and give a great buzz, like activity courses, go-karting and buggy driving. Others can be described a very pleasant experiences. The spa and pamper afternoon for men are in this category. And, there is a massive range of pampering facilities available for ladies, of course! Then we have the sedentary team building exercise. Here, only the only drops of sweat are on the waiter’s forehead as the team relaxes having afternoon tea on the lawn by the shores of the Lakes of Killarney.

We have a range of team activities that stretch from plus one to nine on our activity Richter scale and everything in between.

Today we are going to view a team building event that goes outside that scope.

This team building exercise will get the adrenaline pumping and the heart racing. Today we are taking a look at a spine tingling and exhilaration team sport that will rock your team to the core. We are going white water rafting in Scotland. Make sure that the company accountant is aware that you and your business team are sticking the hand out for a good budget! One that will get you and your team up into the Scottish mountains where the tumbling river torrents have venom and little mercy.

It’s cold, fast and furious. And, when you think you have reached the pinnacle of excitement, the raft lunges down another turbulent narrow gorge. Framed with threatening rocks and lofty Scottish pines, each turn makes your heart tastes salty as in bounces into the back of your mouth. Your instinct is to scream but your voice was left on the last bank at the top of the incline.

The yellow rubber raft is four meters long; it’s robust and carries six victims – sorry! team members!

Each member has a wet suit, helmet and life jacket and holds a paddle. Each raft has an instructor who roars out instructions as the yellow machine goes from naught to sixty in three seconds. Did I mention the steering wheel? No? that’s because there isn’t one. Guiding this water toboggan down the rocky water chute, over weirs, around bends, through raging pools is done by the six on board using their paddles. Therefore, a practice is first held in the calmness of a peaceful pool at the head of the river.

The instructor will advise in how to use the paddles. They will tell you and your team to be alert to her instructions as the craft bounces down the ravine. You will be told that there is a possibility of falling overboard and getting separated from the craft. There is also the possibility of the craft overturning and getting trapped underneath and how to deal with that. At this point you’re approaching cardiac arrest, and that’s even before its game on.

This is a team effort, a team building exercise that is purely high octane stuff, adrenaline rush that goes faster than the water.

Because of the altitude and the time of year and because it is far north, it is freezing. Sympathy is stuffed down behind the couch back at the hotel. The instructions are clear and you paddle out of the calm pool. Literally, the gate is open and the bull is ready for the ring with a big desire to get the riders off his back. The craft lunges forward amid the screams. Game on baby!