Ask someone on the street to describe paintball and chances are you’ll get one of the two reactions. Either they’ll give a broad smile and say it is fun, or they’ll say it’s a combat activity just for military enthusiasts. But in fact, the sport is more than either of those ideas.

While it was born over 30 years ago as a war game, and definitely provides fun to the millions of people that play it worldwide, it is also one of the most effective forms of corporate team building activities. Why? Well, it depends so much on teamwork that groups can only benefit from it.

At Paintball Sports, we’ve been welcoming corporate groups from Adelaide and further afield for years, helping them make the most out of what paintball offers. We’ve seen even the quietest team members grow in confidence, hidden leaders rise to the top, and everyone emerges smiling and re-invigorated.

But what are the key aspects of the sport that makes it suitable as a corporate team building activity? Well, there are three.

Bringing People Together

The most valuable asset a company has is its employees. The problem is that these employees are of different ages, from different backgrounds and have different lives, which serves to stunt the true potential the group might have. Bringing them together through paintball events is a perfect way to break down barriers.

In recent years, this fact has been enthusiastically embraced by companies of all sizes, with the growth of corporate team building activities as clear proof. But what makes paint-balling different is the intensity of the experience. The competitive nature of the activity helps build a strong sense of camaraderie so that staff return to work refreshed and with renewed enthusiasm while workplace morale is stronger than ever.

Leadership and Communication

While paintball is by no means an elitist sport, it does tend to find leaders among the pack. To be successful, a paintball team leader needs to organize, prepare and inspire his or her team members. When planning a strategy, the leader has to involve teammates but ultimately be decisive, delegate specific roles and communicate the plan clearly.

The great advantage with corporate team building activities is that when mistakes are made, it’s not going to cost anything, but the learning experience is invaluable. In fact, one of the most valuable traits in leadership is not to be afraid to lose.

Problem Solving

While paintball may seem suited to big kids, it actually involves a great deal of strategies. With task-specific games, teams are given a clear objective, and in order to achieve it, they have to devise a plan carefully.

Probably the best-known paintball game is ‘Capture the Flag’, where both teams defend their own colour flag while simultaneously trying to retrieve their opponents’. But this game requires both defense and attack strategies. That means splitting the team into two groups, while devising a plan that will outwit the opposing team’s own plan.

It is a classic problem-solving scenario, which all constructive corporate team building activities need to provide. Team members have to brain-storm, the terrain must be examined, and routes decided upon. Attention is drawn and, in the end, selected members must be in the right place at the right time to capture the flag.

Paintball Sports

When companies send groups of employees to play paintball, it is not simply to reward them with a fun day out. It is a strategy in itself that is designed to benefit the company in the long term.

Paintball Sports provides the best paintball outdoor activity in Adelaide, with courses and task-specific games that test players’ strength, fitness and mental abilities, while also offering a genuinely fun experience that breaks down barriers and taps into hidden potential.