AquaQ Away Day 2022

In September, we made the best of the fading warm weather as teams from across the company headed out west to Carrowmena Activity Centre for our annual away day, with activities organised by Binevenagh Adventures.

The away day is a great opportunity to get out of our comfort zones and try something new, as well as meet coworkers in person. But the most important part is vying for the main prize as we compete across a range of activities: the AquaQ Away Day Cup.

The day started early for most, but we were refuelled with tea, coffee and scones on arrival. After that we split into our teams, which were colour themed, and as such we were encouraged to dress appropriately- even the “Beige” team.

The Events

Teams competed directly against each other in a “Mini Olympics”. You may think that this would be all fun and games, but competitive spirits got the best of us and this was probably the most dangerous activity of the day, with at least two (minor) injuries recorded.  

Further challenges included giant tangram puzzles, tangling into a human knot with your teammates before having to weave a hula hoop through the group, and using a pair of ropes to “diffuse a bomb” (for health and safety reasons, this was not a real bomb and those of us who failed this challenge at least 5 times were glad for it). All members of the team then had to be escorted across a “lava river”, clinging to crates for safety. 

There were even more activities after lunch, including archery. AquaQ nocked their arrows and tried to score as many points as possible, with some being talented enough to hit a bulls-eye. 

Then we hit the climbing wall, with two routes to try and summit. Those who couldn’t get enough started speed climbing, with a 9 second record set.

Our last high-flying challenge was the zip line – everyone was challenged to jump from the tower and ride the zip line to the ground to score a point for their team. 

The Results 

It was then time for the awards ceremony! The Away Day Cup was awarded to the winning “Purple People Eaters”, prompting the traditional accusations of cheating and calls for a stewards inquiry.

Various spot prize Amazon vouchers were also awarded, including best team player, and stupidest comment of the day – awarded to Josh or Jonny (depending on who you ask) for saying “I only have one hand” (he definitely has two – we checked). The red team came second, with yellow coming in third, followed by beige, pink, and then green bringing up the rear. 

After all that excitement, we settled down for a well deserved burger and a drink (or two) to celebrate!

Thanks to our social committee for the effort that went into organizing everything. And a big thank you to everyone who came out to the away day – we hope everyone had a great day!