John Tarr asked:

Chances are your corporate executive staff works well together. However, they may benefit from experiencing a little fun while fine-tuning their interpersonal skills.

Sending your corporate team on a treasure hunt has quite a few advantages. For starters, it helps provide a fun event for your team that has a special purpose-to strengthen its cohesiveness.

A treasure hunt usually involves quite a few problems to solve and tasks to complete, which are two of the most important elements in the executive world. It also helps your team still stick together despite a little healthy competition-between each other and other teams.

One task that usually takes place during a treasure hunt is to find specific locations and/or objects with the use of clues. This is very difficult to do if only one person is doing it. However, when a team puts ideas together a strong new collaborative idea is born, and this is what is supposed to get the job done.

Other tasks may involve activities that improve creativity, such as arranging a photo layout design. Another assignment may involve organizational skills, such as arranging a simple corporate expense list.

While taking part in a corporate treasure hunt there may be one or more resources made available to each team. Besides the clues that are given, a survey map of the treasure hunt area may be handed out to view, and a Trivia Quiz (most likely work and office-related) may need to be taken.

Along with the resources that are given there will also be a proposed agenda, which is similar to what is given in the real corporate world. There always has to be a plan, and that plan usually starts with this proposal-which can be subject to change according to the needs of the group.

There are several ways that winners of these treasure hunt events could be determined. Numbers of points could be given out for completed quests, or a point could be given out for every successful answer given for each individual task to be done. For example, if your group reaches a particular location before others your group may get a point for that, or your group may get a point for each individual clue you correctly solve.

After the treasure hunt is completed prized may be given out to the winner. For instance, one team may possibly receive a bottle of wine, or perhaps a gift card, or even some cash.

The goal of the treasure hunt is to learn how to manage time wisely, delegate tasks effectively, or to communicate successfully. Even if only one team gets a prize everyone is a winner at these events because everyone is sure to learn something from them.

Your corporate team can design your own specialized treasure hunt game to meet your overall company needs. You can also find itineraries put together for you and all you need to do is sign up for that event.

Treasure hunts can least all day, half a day, or even for just one hour. It depends upon how much time you have and what your company hopes to accomplish. There are treasure hunt packages available that fit any company budget.

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Johnny Moon asked:

Barry Bonds passing Babe Ruth in the all time home run record will be what the Giants’ 2006 season will be remembered for. The team has had an overhaul, getting rid of many of the out dated players and veterans, and replacing them with newer, younger talent, lowering the starting lineup’s average age to 35.

Alfonzo replaced Matheny in May of last year, and he started out hot. Unfortunately, he cooled down about as fast as he heated up. He will return in 2007, but as the backup for Bengie Molina, not as a starter. The Giants signed Molina to a three year, 16 million dollar deal, though no one else was offering him a more than one year contract. Molina’s defense isn’t quite were it used to be, he is still a considerable upgrade to Eliezer Alfonzo

Omar Vizquel will be the teams SS once again this year. Vizquel holds a record for the highest lifetime fielding percentage out of any short stop to play the game. He won his second consecutive gold glove in the 2006 season, and 11th overall, making only 4 errors with close to 600 chances. He set a record for the Giants as well, with a .993 fielding percentage. However, the Giants are going to have to do their part to keep him going through the year, seeing as how he is about to turn 40 in April.

Kevin Frandsen will be playing the San Francisco Giant’s utility position, a previous short stop and third baseman, in addition to his usual second base position. He was also serve as the primary backup infielder. He needs to improve on his patience, and hopefully we can see a higher batting average from him.

In the outfield we have Barry Bonds, Dave Roberts, and Randy Winn. In the last few years, the Giants have been lacking something very important in the outfield, speed. Dave Roberts will add this dimmension that has been so missed, as he is very swift-footed, steeling 49 bases out of 55 attempts, averaging about 39 a year over the last five years. Barry Bonds is still resuming his quest for the highest home run record of all time, though he is turning 43 in july, being another person that the team will have to try hard to keep going strong through the season.

For our starting pitchers, we have Barry Zito, Matt Cain, Matt Morris, Noah Lowry, and Russ Ortiz. Barry zito is fresh to the team, arriving from Oakland for this season. He will be the starting pitcher, in a lineup that is pure veterans(Morris and Ortiz) with fresh talent (Cain and Lowry).Though Zitto is the starter, Lowry has shown some talent that may allow him to surpass Zito as the lead ace. He is also a favorite among the team, locking him up with a four year contract at close to ten million dollars. Though both Morris and Lowry had very poor performances last year, we should see a huge improvement on both of their parts.

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Gray Rollins asked:

Extreme sports like street luging, skateboarding on rails and ramps, and snow boarding off nearly impossible jumps are hotter today than they have ever been before. The athletes who pursue these challenging activities often become as dedicated as Olympians and spend hours every day practicing and improving their technique in order to be able to enjoy the thrill that only making the perfect ollie or dropping a hill on a buttboard can bring. Extreme athletes often refer to the adrenaline rush of competing as being “amped,” and many say that there is no other feeling in the world that is as satisfying. For most of these rough and tumble athletes, part of the appeal of extreme sports is the danger.

Unlike sports that are regulated by official certified judges and require the athletes to wear protective gear and perform with ship shape equipment, extreme sports competitions sometimes include relatively unprotected athletes competing on somewhat ramshackle paraphernalia, like luge boards made out of skateboards with plywood additions. These conditions lead to greater thrills for many of the participants, because the more dangerous a situation is the more adrenaline the body produces, leading to the feeling of being “amped.” However, the long term damage that results from the kinds of injuries that many extreme athletes endure often leaves these enthusiastic men and women feeling less than thrilled. Whether or not the excitement of extreme sports is worth the danger is something that nobody can decide but the athlete who is putting his or her body on the line. However, if you or somebody in your life is thinking about joining the hardcore world of extreme sports, it is a good idea to do some research into what common injuries are, and how they can be prevented.

Often, wearing a helmet or certain kinds of padding can make the difference between ending up in the hospital after a wipe-out and walking away with a few pesky bruises. The hazards of every sport are unique, so the kinds of kneepads that a skateboarder favors might not be very much help to a street luger. The only protective gear that will really help an athlete is the gear that is specifically appropriate to his or her sport, so before you put any money into protective gear, read as much as you can about the hazards you are likely to face, and try to get some firsthand advice from experienced athletes in the field you want to be a part of. Many extreme athletes don’t bother with the kind of protective gear that they should be wearing, in part because they worry that kneepads or elbow pads will decrease their cool factor. However, taking care of your body is as important for an extreme athlete as it is for any athlete, if not more so. Even if chucking bales might not seem as exciting with a helmet as it is without one, if you protect yourself you can always be sure that you will have the chance to take another crack at your favorite extreme challenge.

Gregg Hall asked:

Extreme Sports are the latest craze in our culture and kids as young as four and five years old are fascinated with it. As a parent of a 16 year old who has been skateboarding and surfing since he was seven, I can tell you that it does make you nervous when they do the crazy tricks. Some people hate extreme sports and some people think they are a blessing, let’s take a closer look.

The positive side of kids being involved in extreme sports in that they are out getting exercise and the television in your living room is starting to collect dust, plus your electric bill is lower. You have probably been hoping for this to happen for awhile but you aren’t sure about the choice of sports. Although skateboarding is probably the first of the extreme sports, it is only the beginning. Some of the others that kids are really getting into these days include BMX biking and trickblading.

BMX bikes are like a regular bike on steroids, they are built heavy and tough to be able to take the punishment of all the jumps and tricks, plus they have special pegs for the feet and padding to protect the biker where they are most likely to come in contact with the bike. These bikes are designed mainly for tricks and racing and are mostly used on dirt tracks and courses.

Trickbladers use the same parks as skateboarders and wear specially designed roller blades with smaller thicker wheels and have an added feature called a grind plate to help them do tricks like sliding down rails. I know, it makes my skin crawl just thinking about it! The idea is to be able to do a lot of the same tricks performed by skateboarders.

Skateboarding is thought of as the original extreme sport beginning in the 1960s when surfers put wheels on short boards to give them a way to cross train when the surf wasn’t up. These early skateboarders are probably amazed at the way the sport has developed with the huge half pipes and long rails that you see skateboarders riding today. It just makes me cringe to watch as they slide down a handrail while standing on a skateboard but incredibly my son has done it for over nine years and never broken a bone.

If you are like me, the first time that you watch your child go sailing through the air on a jump or paddling out in eight foot surf you will feel like your heart is going to pound out of your chest and you will be cringing every time they fall but as long as they have the right safety gear and are always with a buddy they will be fine, injuries are far more common in traditional sports. Encourage your kids, these days it’s hard to get them to like anything.