Team building

[CFS_Firey]

I'm interested to know what activities other brigades and units do for team building and social fun.  What are your favourites? What works best?  What would you like to do?

[Zippy]

Get the group to go Ten Pin Bowling, Brigades vs Brigades,  Highest scoring Brigade Wins the Cup. since some brigades might have more competitors, you could take the 5 Best Scores from each brigade.

[6739264]

Attending the local.

[Pipster]

Supper after training

[jaff]

Attending the local.

local?
1. Church
2. Hotel
3. Brothel
4. Internet cafe (cant forget the geeks)
Only two of those choices look good to me

[mengcfs]

We often have BBQ's after training or just have a BBQ on a training night with no training. We also organise a volunteer fun day where this year all local emergency agencies went ten pin bowling. Doesn't hurt to get some multi agency comradere happening too.

[bittenyakka]

Attending the local.

local?
1. Church
2. Hotel
3. Brothel
4. Internet cafe (cant forget the geeks)
Only two of those choices look good to me

that would be the church and internet cafe wouldn't it

This is actauly an area we really struggle with. I am particularly intrested in how brigades make them selves a social group, since I find most of our members seem to have all their social lives out side the brigade. is this common with other near city brigades?

[6739264]

local?
1. Church
2. Hotel
3. Brothel
4. Internet cafe (cant forget the geeks)
Only two of those choices look good to me

Usually 3, then 2. It is a pain that so many CFS brigades idea about team building and bonding focuses on the pub.

[Zippy]

local?
1. Church
2. Hotel
3. Brothel
4. Internet cafe (cant forget the geeks)
Only two of those choices look good to me

Usually 3, then 2. It is a pain that so many CFS brigades idea about team building and bonding focuses on the pub.

Yeah it doesnt help the Cadets and 16-18 year olds Bond with the over 18's...

[JC]

A good way to build a close knit brigade is to involve the families in the BBQs, fun days or what ever. This allows for wife's, partners, kids to mix and socialise with the others families. It also stops to wife's & partners getting cranky because your doing a CFS thing again.

We used to have cricket / football days against the other local brigades and involve all the families, they were awesome. They usually ended at someones house in a not so sober state.

[6739264]

When you suggest people do things like CoQ and 'normal' outside of area Fire Service activities, people blow up about how they joined a "community" fire service for their local community. When you suggest getting together as a Brigade and being part of that "community" and getting to know your colleagues, then suddenly people blow up again about how its all too hard.

Bunch of whining idiots.

[Firefrog]

Steady on......

Are you talking about people you know or generalising. In my experience the social side of the CFS has always been highly regarded and enjoyed. And not too hard at all.

[6739264]

Steady on......

Are you talking about people you know or generalising. In my experience the social side of the CFS has always been highly regarded and enjoyed. And not too hard at all.

I'm nice and steady, just like Eddy.

But seriously, its a comment on what I've heard around a few different Brigades, even Bittenyakka has touched on it here. It seems as though the social side of things, as much as they are highly enjoed, falls to a small few. Perhaps its amore of an issue in larger Brigades with a larger age/gender gap. Can't say I've much experiance with a smaller tight knit Brigade.

Its far easier to have a BBQ with 10 blokes than to organise something for 30 people and their families.

[bittenyakka]

Yeah that's exactly it. The older blokes who have been in the brigade for ages or lived in the area for ages really enjoy the hanging around after training and the BBQ nights. But the younger ones (which is sometimes me) don;t really see the Brigade as a social group.

however an age gap is always going to be an issue in any social circle.

[Cameron Yelland]

We find it the other way around.

The young ones want to socialise and the old ones dont hang around....if they even show up!

[Alan J]

We find it a real mixed bag.
Probably half across all ages hang around after training for a drink &/ a snag & a chat.
The other half are gone pretty quick.
The once or twice a year we have a big BBQ, most members & families attend.
The younger members socialise a lot away from the brigade. The older ones mostly
have family responsibilities & etc so are less social away from scheduled activities.
Would be nice to do more, but everyone has their own priorities, & there are only 7 days in the average week. 

[rescue5271]

The Naracoorte brigade would have to be one of the most social brigade's that I have been involved with,each week  after training there is a feed,each couple of months there is a family BBQ or fun night at the station,the xmas and easter partys are the best that I have ever been too....Now my new brigade does nothing but I am hoping to change that.....I also think that group(s) should have a family day after fire season to say thank you and also so as to hand out service awards as some brigade's dont have the money to do things like that....

[SA Firey]

We all know who has team building down to a fine art, and they even make a funny video about it

So whens the next one Woody