The Dangers of “Pay for Play”: Challenge Discovery vs. Go Ape and other adventure parks

In August 2016, a woman tragically fell 35 feet to her death from a zip line platform at the Go Ape Tree Top Adventure Park in Delaware. http://www.foxnews.com/us/2016/08/25/woman-plunges-to-her-death-off-zip-line-in-delaware.html

The popularity of adventure parks in this country continues to soar, fueled by adrenaline junkies who seek to check things off their bucket list. This new adventure recreation industry was born out of what began as adventure education. It’s not only creating potentially unsafe situations, but also less meaningful experiences.

Challenge Discovery has been a pioneer in adventure education since 1980. From the start, Challenge Discovery focused on helping individuals achieve more than they thought they were capable of doing, develop the trust and support that builds meaningful relationships, and learn important teamwork skills like collaboration, critical thinking, communication and decision making. This is the work we set out to do every day. We achieve this through professional and effective facilitation and the use of hands-on learning tools, including our high ropes course and on-the-ground initiatives.

Go Ape and other adventure parks do none of this, and that’s one of the reasons they are unsafe. Here is the problem with most adventure parks:

1. Supervision is in the form of course “monitors” rather than hands-on facilitators.
2. The ratio of monitors to participants can be as high as 1:100.
3. Participants are given a 30-minute (or less) “training session” and are then left virtually unsupervised during the experience.
4. They rely on signage to remind people to be safe.
5. It’s considered an individual activity, so there is no group or team support involved.
6. The experience is not designed around any specific learning outcomes, and as a result participants have little sense of accountability or responsibility.
7. Most participants (even though they sign a waiver) have an expectation of safety because of past experiences with amusement parks or other activities that can be considered more controlled and predictable.

So should all adventure parks be shut down? No, but they should not be considered team-building programs. Let’s call them what they are: amusements. They should never be considered as options for school field trips, especially if they are framed as learning experiences.

Why? They are not always inclusive. They can create an enormous degree of peer pressure to perform, especially when young people have a phobia about heights and feel coerced to participate against their will. They have no specific learning outcomes, even though they may advertise that they do. And they do not hire, train or maintain a staff of highly skilled facilitators who work directly with the participants.

So, how is Challenge Discovery different than Go Ape?

1. All of our staff members complete a 40-hour intensive certification program and participate in monthly staff development workshops.
2. Our staff to participant ratio is 1:15, and each facilitator works with the same group throughout the day.
3. Facilitators are constantly reinforcing the importance of safety, responsibility and accountability.
4. Participants are learning and using real-world skills throughout the program, resulting in improved team performance.
5. Every activity on the ground or in the ropes course is a team effort, requiring the group to work together effectively and learn from their experiences.
6. Challenge Discovery is built on three fundamental principles that guide our work:
   • We help participants build meaningful relationships
   • We help people realize the value of teamwork
   • We help people feel a sense of accomplishment
7. We engage the participants in fun, challenging activities that have a purpose. We are not pay for play.

Of course there is a place for both types of companies to exist in this ever-expanding industry. We just want to ensure that you, the decision maker, have the information you need to make a safe and informed choice.

On a recent road trip, I listened to an American Radioworks podcast called Beyond the Blackboard: Building Character in Public Schools. The podcast starts off with a scene of a group of students from a school in New York on an outdoor trip in upstate New York. The students spend a day at a ropes course. The story follows the students throughout this week-long trip, and we hear that the students are pushed to try new things, rely on their friends, and work as a group. Through this, they gain character skills that they don’t get from their typical classroom back in New York.

At Challenge Discovery, we believe that students can learn the best when they are challenged, put out of their comfort zone, and are required to use skills that they don’t often use while sitting in front of the blackboard.  When schools come to Challenge Discovery in Richmond, VA, we aren’t teaching them how to solve a math problem or even tie a knot, but rather how to be critical thinkers and creative problem solvers. We’re challenging them to communicate in new ways and encouraging them to speak up when they have an opinion. We’re giving them opportunities to work in new and unique situations so that they learn skills to take into their classrooms, relationships with teachers and family, and into their extra-curricular activities. We believe that there is great value in what we’re doing at Challenge Discovery and that every student needs these kinds of experiences in their education to build their character.

Are you interested in learning about the intentional and purposeful programming that we do at Challenge Discovery? We design programs that will meet your specific needs and give your students new skills to take beyond the ropes course. Give us a call at 804-876-9733 anytime to learn more!

About a month ago, we gathered at the course for a week to meet and train a new group of facilitators. These people arrived eager to learn, ready to be challenged, and excited to grow. A few of them had experienced Challenge Discovery before or had a son or daughter that had done it in the past. A couple had never heard of it until very recently. All of them had sought us out, applied and interviewed, and were ready to learn everything about Challenge Discovery. As a group of staff, we had been planning for our first training class of 2016 for a while and we were excited for it to begin.

Training lasted all day on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday, with different veteran facilitators coming in and out to share their wisdom with the new trainees. Throughout the week, the trainees went through a typical program (from the eyes of the participant), learned the appropriate technical skills, discussed the many different initiatives we have, and discovered why we do what we do. We had a group of staff that was ready and eager to take a group of students through one of our programs. They understood what was different about Challenge Discovery. The realized that there is nothing like it in Richmond and that typical ropes courses don’t offer the level of facilitation that we do.

One of our trainees remarked:

“I had a blast during our training week! It’s amazing how similar the Challenge Discovery experience (as a former participant) translated into the staff development and training. Entering the week as complete strangers, we quickly broke the ice and began working as a team to learn not only about the company, but about ourselves as well. By the end of the week, our group really felt like a family, something that has carried over into the broader Challenge Discovery team and helped us in our new roles as facilitators! “

Training is a fun week where we see individuals grow and teams form. It is where we see facilitators learn exactly why we’ve been around for 30 years and why we’re the leading team building company in the area. And at the end of that special week, we have a new class of trainees that are ready to facilitate programs. Are you interested in becoming a facilitator? We are having our second training class of 2016 during the week of June 27^th. Check out our website for more information.

Graduating to high school can mean larger classes, bigger school buildings, more responsibility, and more freedom.

Students are almost always excited, but they can also feel anxiety and frustration.

As a teacher, here are 5 things to consider in your middle school classroom.

1. Stress management

From grades to bullying to family environments, there are so many reasons why even middle-schoolers experience stress.

You’ve seen it in your classrooms – students are tired from lack of sleep, they are noticeable upset or worried, and sometimes they even get sick.

Motivating your students to stay physically healthy, supporting their need for recreational time, and offering an open ear are all ways to help them relieve their stress.

2. Read lots of books

Reading increases verbal, writing, and critical-thinking skills. It will also help kids do well in SOLs, the ACT, and the SAT.

Beyond required reading as part of your curriculum, encourage students to read outside the classroom.

For Earth Day on April, check out one of these!

http://www.weareteachers.com/blogs/book-club/2013/03/29/the-best-new-earth-day-books-for-grades-k-12

3. Encourage parent involvement

Sometimes parents think their involvement is not as important as a child gets older, but that’s not the case!

Parents still have a lot of influence on their children in middle school and high school.

Though their role is changing, parents can still be involved in the classroom. They can provide support with school projects, monitor extra-curricular activities, or act as a chaperone for field trips.

4. Prepare for college

It’s never too early to start preparing kids for college. Students must think of college as an important part of their future.

Help them to research campuses and special programs, and discuss interest and ideas with friends and family.

Try sharing your positive college experiences with your class, and give them direction on how to get started with this checklist: http://www.collegeprep101.com/uploads/1/1/7/2/11721368/middle_school__junior_high_college_prep.pdf

5. Schedule a Challenge Discovery program

Duh, we have to say this. But we all know that curriculum based field trips are much more valuable than a recreational day at the theme park.

Especially when that field trip is a team building program on a high ropes course in Richmond, VA.

The truth is your students will learn more about working with others in a day at Challenge Discovery than they will in weeks in the classroom.

How? Through our unique Experience. Learn. Grow. Change. methodology.

Our programs consist of activities and experiences designed to appropriately challenge your students in ways that accelerate learning.

What better way is there to prepare them for high school?

Welcome Back Students!

With the school year starting, it’s that time of year for students of all ages to start a new chapter in their lives.

Challenge Discovery begins each school year by working with various colleges, who bring out their leadership groups such as Orientation Leaders and Resident Assistants. Most groups will come to us in their very first few days getting together to help break down individual barriers, learn about each other in an uncommon environment, and start the year off right by working towards fun goals together.

One unique group that comes out to Challenge Discovery is the VCU RAM CAMP. This past summer, we spent two days working with 25 groups from RAM CAMP, about 350 students total. The camp is a pre-orientation program that focuses on bringing freshman to campus early to start their new chapters with having fun, making friends and learning more about VCU. Challenge Discovery helps them accomplish this in a fun, unique, and challenging environment.

Students start applying for the ever-growing RAM CAMP in April to learn about becoming a leader in the large college campus. In addition to Challenge Discovery, the camp includes comedians, sports games, and rock climbing, and other fun experiences.

A couple RAM CAMPers said:

“I was a counselor for Ram Camp last August. Coming earlier and getting to know the ins and outs of the campus is helpful, and gives you a bit of a head start. You will also meet a ton of people that might end up being your best friends! The week will be a lot of leadership development activities and exercises, mixed with more exciting things like going to Challenge Discovery to do the ropes course.”

“Some immediate perks are learning your way around the school better; long-term it looks great on résumés, and you can make the connections that can help going forward in the school. I also learned a lot about myself, and made a lot of friends!”

Learn more about VCU RAM CAMP!

Real World Skills #3

For the past few weeks, we’ve shared about some skills participants may not realize they are taking back to the “real world” at the end of a Challenge Discovery program. Groups come to Challenge Discovery for a field trip or corporate event and go through our high ropes course in Richmond, Virginia, and we hope to send them home with some takeaways about team building. If you haven’t had a chance, check out our last two posts with insights about “Helpful Feedback” and “Thinking Outside of the Box.” For our third and final week of this blog series, we are going to explore “Confidence in Others.”

3. Confidence in Others

When people think about improving confidence on our challenge course at the University of Richmond, they often think of gaining confidence themselves, reaching outside their comfort zone, and having the sureness to be successful. What we don’t often identify, however, is that this process is also helping to build confidence in others at the same time.

At Challenge Discovery, groups must learn to lean on each other (literally and metaphorically) in order to be successful. As they progress through different group initiatives on the ground and in the high ropes course, they begin to place more and more trust in each other and build a level of reliance in what their team members say and how they will uphold their words with actions.

This is our third and final post about the real world skills that can be learned on a challenge course. If you missed our first two posts about “Helpful Feedback” and “Thinking Outside of the Box,” check them out.

Have questions? Want to share your thoughts about having and showing confidence in others? Visit our Facebook page and join the discussion.

Also find us on Twitter: #ChallengedisRVA

Real World Skills #2

Last week we started to examine some skills participants may not even realize they are taking back to the “real world” at the end of a Challenge Discovery program. If you haven’t had a chance, check out last week’s post with insights about helpful feedback. This week, we are going to take a closer look at the art of “Thinking Outside of the Box.” During a field trip to Challenge Discovery, we talk about thinking outside the box often, but what does that mean?

2. How to think outside the box

We all have our own idea about what that phrase means. What we don’t know too much about is how to actually think in this way. Why is this important? Parents, teachers, and employers are always trying to encourage this thought process in their children, students, and employees. At our ropes course in Richmond, Virginia, our facilitators lead teams through problem-solving activities in order to give participants a common goal. While some of the “answers” to the problems in these activities are fairly straightforward, many solutions involve thinking outside the box.

Most people think you have to be talented, lucky, or have something the rest of us don’t in order to look at things in this “big picture” way. All you need to do, however, is learn to change your perspective, and look at the world a little differently than you are used to. We all get into our repetitive routines (we wake up, eat breakfast, brush our teeth, etc.), and because of this, so does our brain. When you participate in a challenge course program at the University of Richmond, nothing is a part of your normal routine. Our programs give you the opportunity to get out of your comfort zone. Getting into your “Learning Zone” causes you to change your perspective, and you begin thinking outside the box.

The skills gleaned from a challenge course program are limitless if you keep an open mind and use every experience as an opportunity to learn. Join us again next week when we explore our third and final real world skill, “Confidence in Others.”

Have questions? Want to share your thoughts about thinking outside the box and how to get there? Visit our Facebook page and join the discussion.

Also find us on Twitter: #ChallengedisRVA

When people hear the words “challenge course” and “goals,” you might have these initial thoughts: Teamwork, Communication, and Leadership. While all of those are important skills to work on, they are just a few that participants may learn while participating in a Challenge Discovery program. In fact, there are some skills participants may not even realize they are taking back to the “real world” at the end of the day! For the next few weeks, we are going to take a closer look at some of these skills and how they can be used in everyday life.

1. How to give helpful feedback

We often don’t realize communication is more than just talking at each other. It’s also about understanding what someone else is trying to tell you.

I often find that we, as human beings, are not so great at giving or receiving feedback. Why is this? Simply put, we are scared. We dislike being told what problems we have, or what we did wrong, or anything that could be viewed as negative. When we do receive feedback, we aren’t sure how to deal with the information given or the person giving it to us.

Challenge Discovery programs are not just a way to climb the high ropes course at the University of Richmond, and they are not just another fun school field trip. We take the time to process our team behaviors and debrief our experiences. We often talk about group feedback in our debriefing conversations. How did we do as a team? What could the group improve on?

As we move through a program, participants begin to realize it’s not just about “the team,” but rather, it’s about the individuals who make up the team. Participants of all ages, from middle school students on a field trip to fraternities from VCU, quickly learn how to give and receive feedback to both the group and the individual without pointing fingers, assigning blame, or having hurt feelings.

This is just the first of three important skills we’ll be exploring in our blog. Join us next week when we dive into “Thinking Outside of the Box.”

Have questions? Want to share your thoughts about giving or receiving helpful feedback? Visit our Facebook page and join the discussion.

Also find us on Twitter: @ChallengeDisRVA

It was a blistering hot midsummer afternoon when I arrived at Challenge Discovery in Richmond, Virginia. As I gazed across the field, I shrunk in terror from the height of the ropes course that stood in front of me. I am deathly afraid of heights and I have never done anything like this. Here goes nothing, I thought to myself. My facilitator, the Challenge Discovery staff member, must have noticed how terrified I was, because she made sure my teammates and I could trust each other and trust her before we even got near the climbing equipment.

As my facilitator and teammates neared the giant rope net, I placed myself in last place. I was embarrassed because I was scared, while everyone else was ecstatic to climb. The facilitator noticed that I seemed uneasy and suggested that nervous people should come to the middle to be surrounded by confident team members. This made me feel better. I knew someone was looking out for me instead of pointing me out for my “weakness.” Each step I took on the rope net made it sway more, making my anxiety build as I climbed higher and higher. I don’t even know how I put one hand and foot in front of the other, but before I knew it, I was securely clipped into the platform. I was sweating and my heart was racing. I hid behind the team so no one could see how much I was freaking out.

As soon as I caught my breath, the next challenge appeared right before my eyes: The Frankenstein Walk. Even though I knew I was safely clipped into the cables above, the thought of walking in the air across wooden platforms and cables took me to a whole new level. I can’t do this, I told myself. I told my facilitator I needed to get down from this ropes course, right now! She said I could if I wanted to, because we aren’t forced to do anything at Challenge Discovery. She also reminded me of a strategy she taught the team on the ground before we came up: Stop. Breathe. Challenge. Choose. She asked my whole team to do this together. We all stood still and let the breeze cool us off. We took a couple deep breaths, and then we looked at our challenge. We identified for ourselves what would be hard for us. And then we had to make a choice. I don’t know why, but I chose to keep going.

We all took a step off the platform and onto the wobbly cables. Our facilitator encouraged us to incorporate teamwork by holding onto each other as we crossed. I know I came here for teambuilding, but I couldn’t think of anything at that moment except, I hate this! Get me down! I simply held onto my ropes to cross alone. All of a sudden, my foot slipped on a cable, I lost my balance and fell. A scream came out of my mouth before I was caught one second later. I had only fallen a couple feet and was dangling in my harness! How embarrassing. I was almost crying. At this point I just wanted to get to the ground; I had had enough. Just as I was asking the facilitator to lower me to the ground, a team member I had never met before reached her arm to me. She told me to try putting my feet on the board she was on. I took her hand and she helped me up. Another team member was stabilizing her, allowing her to steady me. My breaths slowed and my heart stopped pounding so fast. This was the moment I realized I could do this, but I couldn’t do it alone. I learned the importance of a team, and how working together can help us get to know one another and show each individual what we’re capable of.

-Anonymous Challenge Discovery participant

Growing up, I was surrounded by my dad’s voice echoing through the house, promoting Challenge Discovery as an “experience of a lifetime” and “the best team building in Richmond, VA.” There was always talk about not only improving the course itself and advertising, but the majority of it was brainstorming about how to achieve the same goal multiple ways. These concepts of working together, team building, and Challenge by Choice has been stuck in my head since I can remember. However, as much as I had heard about Challenge Discovery and climbed through the courses, I was never able to grasp the concept of what we actually do, until my internship this summer.

Some may think, “Oh it’s just an internship for your dad, isn’t that easy?” To be honest, it’s more work than I thought. Having the opportunity to be on the other side of the barrier, and actually doing the background work for this company, is helping me realize the importance of what we do at Challenge Discovery. When someone asks me, “Why should I bring my class to Challenge Discovery for a school field trip?” I actually have an answer for them. Now, I am able to see the impact our programs have on the participants, rather than looking up at the course in a dress and sandals, holding my dad’s hand, thinking to myself, “What a wonderful playground!” As middle schoolers, high schoolers, college students, scouts troops, and church groups go through one of our programs, the participants are often times pushed out of their comfort zone. It’s just enough for them to get off of their heels and try something new or take a risk they never would have imagined taking earlier that day. They look back at the day and realize they can do things they never thought they were able to do.

Being able to work together, as a company, friends, family, or any other group of people is a skill that is necessary for success. We always think of “teamwork” as an important value, but we tend to forget the importance of it when we are sitting at the office or in class all day. Sometimes it’s the energy boost of a day out at the ropes course in Richmond that will help you connect to the people in the room four chairs to the left of you. Having the opportunity to intern at Challenge Discovery is helping me realize this and want to encourage others to take time out of your day to work with people you may have never met before, or that person you’ve seen all year, but are too shy to talk too. Participating in one of Challenge Discovery’s team building programs can help you build relationships that you never would have expected and gives you a whole new perspective on the phrase team building itself.

Emily Huber, intern & facilitator