December 2004 Article                      

Editor’s Pick: Top 2004 Team Building or Networking Ideas
Seven team-building ideas for indoors and out.

Anywhere. Give teams a digital or Polaroid camera and send them out into the city with clues on what to get photos of. It is a great way to give them an opportunity to explore the location and not spend all day inside at meetings. Then reassemble the group for a picture show of all the funny, wonderful photos they took. Read an entire story on team building. 

In New Orleans: A scavenger hunt through the French Quarter promotes team building and allows everyone to win. 

In Eastern Canada. Take a break from your business sessions and learn the art of curling. The sport is not too strenuous and will certainly give you something to talk about when you go home. 

In Western Canada. Wacky winter games, patterned after the Olympics, are great team builders. Competitive events can include snowshoe baseball, snow golf, and tobogganing. 

During a meeting. Attendees can be divided into groups and asked to do a branding exercise where they come up with ten things that they want customers to know about their company. This not only promotes networking, but some learning of lasting value. 

In Africa. Stage a Survivor competition at Shaba where the Survivor TV series was filmed. Teams would compete in spear toss, goat milking, miniature mud hut building, beadwork and samburu dancing (jumping for height). 

Al Fresco in San Diego. With an average year-round temperature of 64 degrees, San Diego also offers the ideal site for a variety of outdoor team-building activities. Among those offered by PRA are Sailing Cup Challenge, Sandcastle Building where the end result is a City in the Sand, and the Soap Box Derby where teams both build and race. 

On the Maryland shore. Build your own skiff.