Team Building

General Policies

Reservations

Groups must complete a Team Building application form. Once this form has been completed, an Outdoor Adventure staff member will contact the group to confirm desired activities, group objectives, age, and number of participants.
Reservations requests must be made at least one month before the desired program date. Email or phone requests will not be honored.
Payment is due at the time of reservation confirmation, minimally two weeks in advance of the reservation date.
Once payment has been made programs cannot be cancelled. If a conflict arises with the agreed upon date groups can attempt to reschedule their event based on OA availability.
All prices are calculated at a per-person rate.
Team building requests require a minimum group size of 6 participants.
Groups larger than 15 participants will be charged an additional facilitator fee of 10% total cost.
Reservation space within the CRWC facility is included in the cost of the program. If space outside the CRWC is to be used the group leader is responsible for reserving the space and making any additional payments.

Requests will open at a later time, please check back spring of 2024.

Eligibility

Participants must be 12 years of age or over to participate in team-building programs. Minors under the age of 18 must be accompanied by an adult chaperone when participating in team-building activities. Supervising adults must remain in the program area with the minors throughout the program.

Pricing

Duration	Student Group	UH Community	Non-UH
1-8 Hours	$4-$10 per person per hour	$4-$10 per person per hour	$4- $12 per person per hour
Overnight	$60 per person per day	$75 per person per day	$100 per person per day

Forms

All participants must complete and sign the following forms prior to participating in a team-building program. Minors must have a parent/guardian sign their forms prior to participating. Copies of these forms will be provided to the group in advance of the program. It is the responsibility of the group contact to share these with all members of their organization prior to the program day. Forms must be completed before the start of the program.

Release and Indemnification Agreement
Authorization for Use of Image, Voice, Performance, Artwork or Likeness

Cancellation/Refunds

Any program cancellations by the group will result in a loss of the paid program deposit.

Outdoor Adventure has the right to cancel the scheduled event due to inclement weather or environmental hazards. Cancellation by Outdoor Adventure due to inclement weather or environmental hazards entitles your organization to reschedule, to a mutually agreed upon time, at no additional charge.

Food

No gum, candy, or items are permitted in mouths during activities, only during break times and in specified areas.

Proper Attire

Closed toe and closed heel are required in all activity areas. Programs will operate rain or shine, on hot and cold days so all participants are asked to wear weather-appropriate, athletic clothing while participating in activities.

Program Philosophy

The following is a brief outline of philosophies that all facilitators follow when leading programs. The purpose of these philosophies is to create a safe and supportive learning environment for all participants.

Experiential Education

This is a philosophy of education that originated with John Dewey. The main premise of this philosophy is that in order for optimal growth or learning to take place, participants must be actively engaged in the learning process.

Experiential education incorporates many methods in which educators purposefully engage with learners in direct experiences and focused reflection to increase knowledge, develop skills, clarify values, and develop people’s capacity to contribute to their communities.

Principles of Experiential Education include:

Developing/building relationships
Examining values
Considering physical, emotional, and social safety
Assuming responsibility
Problem-solving
Creativity
Utilizing “teachable moments”

Challenge of Choice

Challenge of Choice is an adaptation of the Challenge by Choice Philosophy copyrighted by Project Adventure Inc. This is a philosophy of learning that all facilitators will introduce to groups and enforce in groups, unless there is a risk to safety. Safety is the number one priority. Core principles of the philosophy include:

Every individual is capable of making their own choices.
Every individual will be comfortable, challenged, and panic in different situations. The goal of a team building program is to allow individuals to step outside their ‘comfort zone’, and challenge themselves in a way that allows them to learn and grow.
Participants can choose the ways in which they engage in a given activity.
Participants may choose to level of difficulty or risk they take throughout a team-building program.

This philosophy does NOT mean participants should choose to sit out completely. If someone is uncomfortable with a challenge, the facilitator and the group should help the individual find something that they can do to continue to engage in the team. This could be as an encourager, note-taker, timekeeper, observer, etc. Alternately, if an activity is too easy for a group or individual, they can ask for it to be made more challenging in order to keep them engaged. Ultimately, facilitators cannot and will not force a participant to take a role that they refuse.

This philosophy gives participants the opportunity to:

Actively engage in their learning process.
If a participant chooses to disengage, then that can impact their outcomes, however, that is an impact of their own choices and maybe the necessary learning for that participant in that experience.
Take a risk in an environment with support and encouragement.
- There are many reasons that participants make choices that are unbeknownst to us. Providing participants, the autonomy to make choices best for themselves can support a safe and inclusive environment.
  - Participants and groups that are performing may need increased levels of challenge and can choose or ask for that from facilitators.
Take a step back when they feel overwhelmed or panic with an open invitation to return to the group in the same, or different, ways when they are ready.
Practice empathy and respect for different ideas, choices, and values of other individuals.

Full Value Contract

The Full Value Contract serves as a structure for creating a “group culture” that every individual has input into. The process explores values that a group wants to abide by, and behaviors they want to avoid. The process of creating a FVC can provide a sense of caring, respect, and inclusion as a member of the group.

The Full Value Contract asks for the following four commitments:

Agree to work together to achieve both the individual goals and the group goals.
Agree to adhere to safety and group behavior guidelines discussed by the group.
Agree to give and receive honest feedback.
Agree to increase one's own awareness of being positive and supporting group members.

Staff-to-Participant Ratios

The following staff-to-participant ratios are intended to represent acceptable staff-to-participating ratios for most programs. They are not intended to represent the “best” ratio for any particular group on a particular day but should represent limits that staff should not exceed.

General Policies

There must always be two (2) staff members present for every team building program unless otherwise approved by the Outdoor Adventure professional staff member.
- 1:10 facilitator-to-participant ratio is the maximum for adults.
- 1:8 facilitator-to-participant ratio is the maximum for youth.
For groups over 50, the Lead Facilitator must float: they may not be assigned to a small group at any time.

Available Workshops

We offer a variety of private workshops like Canoe 101, Kayak 101, Standup Paddleboard 101, Camping 101, Backpacking 101, Bike Maintenance, Outdoor Cooking, DIY Series- Insect Repellent, Sunscreen, Belay Clinics- Top rope or Lead Climbing, Intro to Climbing, Intro to Map and Compass Navigation, Beginner's Stargazing, Leave No Trace and Wilderness First Aid.

If you think of something that isn't listed, no worries, just ask!