Conics Team Day Out 2021

A Team Day Out. A Team Day. Read: a day where participants are left guessing and 2 colleagues, who organise the lot, keep everything carefully under wraps.

Every year, as our Team Day Out approaches, the uncertainty becomes almost palpable. What could they be cooking up for us this time round? Mud flying around our ears, getting soaked to the skin? Will we be staying in the area or will they be taking us further afield? Will it involve muscle strength or brainpower? The previous editions were all about height (wall climbing) and depth (diving), so what could they come up with next? In the WhatsApp group, the guesses are flying back and forth, and GIFs betray both joyful anticipation and nervousness.

Before we knew it, it was time to leave! We all set off to Poperinge where we were given a crash course in GPS-assisted off-road e-scootering. With the batteries fully charged and the GPS calibrated, all that was left for us to do was to get the scooter going. Mind you, we weren’t long finding out that there was more to it than simply clicking the shifter on the handlebars, for it turned out that steering skills and balance were just as important! Shooting past the corn fields, mud spattering, one poor sod found himself becoming more closely acquainted with the scenery than he might have liked. After some 30 km on surfaced and unsurfaced roads we reached the finishing line, famished.

Lunch done and dusted, our brainpower was put to the test. We were locked into an escape room, and every member of the team assumed his role. The thinkers put on their thinking caps; the searchers did what they excel at and one of us furiously did the sums on a whiteboard. We didn’t even need the hour we had been given: excellent teamwork meant that we could escape the room in little less than 49 minutes. Escape mission accomplished, but the team day not…

The speed of an electric mountain scooter (or whatever it’s called) paled in the face of the next challenge: showing off what we were made of on the Poperinge karting track. After a qualification round, we were assigned our grid positions and the race could begin. We focussed on accelerating, braking in time and steering. While the risk-takers among us tore down the track, barely missing the tyre wall thanks to the guys in front decelerating in good time to let the speed merchants pass, others slammed on the brakes raring for another battle with the guy behind….

Over dinner we gradually found our inner calm again and many hilarious stories later we all agreed that it had been a most successful day. Hats off to the organisers, the participants and the entire Conics team!