Throughout Year 9 OLP, a capability that I developed was Teamwork. On the third day, we were challenged with crossing some rapids in a river. This was a daunting task, as the water was flowing rather quickly, and the rocks were quite slippery. Many of us were nervous to cross because we hadn’t done anything like this before and it was very new to us.
We decided to work as a team and get everyone across. We came up with the solution of putting the most confident people in the rapids at different points, to help the less confident people across. This strategy meant that no matter how far into the rapids you were, there was always a hand to hold or someone to balance against. By doing this, we not only worked as a team but developed a sense of trust and companionship. Once we were done, we had everyone across the first rapid with only minor bumps and/or scratches.
When it was time to cross the second rapid after we had finished exploring, we implemented the same strategy. This time, however, we changed a few things as people worked out where they were best suited to stand. These small adjustments, such as shuffling around based on height and depth of water allowed us to speed up and minimise injuries when crossing the river. The additions to our original strategy also made the people who were standing in the rapids at different points more comfortable. For example; taller people found it easier to stand in deeper water, as the risk of slipping and falling was less, as they were supported by more water. The shorter people preferred to stand in the shallower water so that they didn’t get soaked.
Overall, my camp group worked effectively and as a team to overcome this challenge and I felt as though as we were challenged more throughout camp we got to know each other better, and worked better as a team.