Challenging themselves against olympians
Experiencing the world of sport with our elite athlete team, on July 27th, colleagues from Trust supporter Janus Henderson walked in the footsteps of champions at the Olympic Park in London.
Seen as the highlight social event of the year amongst the organisation, the almost 100 attendees represented a variety of ages and physical capabilities. Their objective – incorporating a fun social activity and an opportunity to work closely with individuals from different departments.
Eight of the Trust’s athlete team, including former Olympic judo player Ben Fletcher, and Olympic gold medal winning canoeist Joe Clarke, shared their sporting journeys and led the group through a range of activities designed to foster communication and teamwork. Our inclusive activity programme encourages staff performance, confidence and health and wellbeing, and focuses on group dynamics and developing a sense of unity. By coming together as a team in a semi competitive environment they understand more about what makes their teammates tick, driving a deeper sense of employee engagement. For some people this might be the first time they’ve engaged in physical activity in a while, so we keep the activities simple, engaging and most importantly, fun!
Rebecca Nottingham-Taylor, one of the social committee team at Janus Henderson said:
The sports day is the main social event in the year for us… it is a great way to have a social event that's also keeping us active and where everyone can join in. The activities are enough to get your heart rate up, but not too strenuous. We mixed the teams so there was an even number of men and women in all the teams but also with people they're unlikely to have spoken to or worked with before. I think it's made it an easier way to network with other people in the company and build new relationships. Adam (Whitehead, Commonwealth gold medallist swimmer and Trust athlete mentor) took full control of the day and made everything really easy for us all. The athletes are incredibly inspirational too and you feel more motivated to push yourself knowing that they're there. It's not often you get to meet people that have competed at such a high level too.
Adam Whitehead, Commonwealth swimming gold medallist and athlete mentor added:
Sports Days are a brilliant way of getting people physically active and working together in a team in a fun, friendly environment, but with a bit of competitiveness involved as well! Working with the staff from Janus Henderson has been great - it’s taken them away from their desks and given them the chance to spend time with colleagues in a completely different environment. Sports Days really promote team building and also gives the teams a chance to work with elite level athletes and start to understand some of the principles of working within a High Performing Team
If you are looking to improve the teamwork, confidence and health and wellbeing of your team at the same time as increasing your employee engagement, contact Victoria on fundraising@damekellyholmestrust.org to find out more about running your own sports day with our team of elite athletes.