Paintball - team building or waste of time?

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Liamos

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Has anybody gone on one of those paintball outings which are supposed to be good for team building and problem solving? I went on one recently and found it to be a waste of time and money!

I spent the whole day running around not having a clue what I was doing and regretted partaking almost from the first minute!

Anybody have a similar experience or am I missing something?
 
Have done it twice, it's a waste of time.

A previous employer of mine banned it as a company event as an employee lost the sight in one eye after been hit in the face with one of the pellets.
 
Liamos said:
Has anybody gone on one of those paintball outings which are supposed to be good for team building and problem solving? I went on one recently and found it to be a waste of time and money!

I spent the whole day running around not having a clue what I was doing and regretted partaking almost from the first minute!

Anybody have a similar experience or am I missing something?
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You're just not a team player ;-)
 
I think you're right. I did shoot one or two of my own teammates as my goggles kept fogging up!
 
Paintball is playing soldiers for big boys - a great excuse to behave like little kids but look really mature and team-building :D
 
Paintball & lots of those team building days are much less popular now. Corporate volunteering has now become very popular for companies for lots of reasons, it doesn't cost the co. very much money, the company is seen to be contributing to a worthy cause & most importantly it is a much more effective team building exercise as people tend to pull together when given a real purpose & it's usually great craic. (I have to declare an interest here, I recruit volunteers!)
 
shopgirl said:
Corporate volunteering has now become very popular for companies...
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I would agree with this. Call any local service such as a nursing home, children's hospital, rape crisis centre, homeless shelter and ask to help. The money spent on paintballing would help a great deal.

I remember doing this years ago in a hospital. There were three floors with a patients' lounge area on each floor. We split up in to three teams to paint and decorate the rooms. Each team had a budget for furniture etc.
The hospital management voted on the best room. As we had to organise a tight budget and buy tvs, chairs, tables, book shelves and books we learned a lot about teamwork. Then we had to manage the painting.

Another year we did a garden in a womens' shelter. Again, the teams split up and took a section each.

I have done the whole paintballing thing and found it to be great fun but of no benefit to the team dynamic. You get so much more from corporate volunteering.
 
As it bit of craic, I enjoyed it from a very basic bloke pretending to be a kid level. Within seconds we were diving in puddles and (when we were being battered) reverted to some kind of trench kinship that was just missing harmonicas and photos of loved ones as our impeding demise loomed. This was all made worse by the fact that we were playing against Boyzone and their dancers who completely kicked out backsides.

However, as for team bonding: well I'm cynical of any attempts to do this in any way, whether paintball, building lego or even volunteering. An occasional day out shooting each other or painting a wall is not a substitute for basic managerial skills and organisational culture. If they don't have the skills and competencies to have a team within the workplace, no matter how satisfying a shot to your boss' kidneys is in paintball, they shouldn't be a manager.
 
I went as a kid when i was younger and had a great time, buts thats what it is for - Kids..
 
I enjoy paintball but it does depend where you do it. I did it twice in Wicklow somewhere and it was very good. I did it once in Westport and it was useless and boring - the course was just silly and designed to spend money (i.e. waste ammo). There is a place in Limerick that is supposed to be good too. It's not for Dublin softies though...
 
Teatime said:
I enjoy paintball but it does depend where you do it. I did it twice in Wicklow somewhere and it was very good. I did it once in Westport and it was useless and boring - the course was just silly and designed to spend money (i.e. waste ammo). There is a place in Limerick that is supposed to be good too. It's not for Dublin softies though...
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I actually thought that in Limerick you can play it anywhere, you just need sharp ammunition.
 
Yeah they certainly do hurt!

I think now, looking back, we did not fight the enemy; we fought ourselves. The enemy was in us. The war is over for me now, but it will always be there, the rest of my days.
 
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