Heated competition
There’s nothing like a cracker of a team day to bring the team together in a common goal of hitting targets and having fun.
We kicked off our recent team day by heading to Heights Experience at the foot of the Tararua ranges. It started with some delicious morning tea, which was enjoyed as we looked back and celebrated some of the Universal highlights of the past year.
Then, sugared up and properly caffeinated, we were kitted up for clay bird shooting and the first of the relaxed-but-not-but-kind-of competition for the day. With 9 points, eagle-eyed Brae came out on top. All the shooting left us an appetite to get moving onto the next stop, a highlight for many: pizza making.
‘Giorgio & Ramani’ (Garth and Russell) took out best team name and best presented pizza with their creation, which featured a healthy swirl of BBQ sauce. Kylie and Nadia won best pizza name for ‘Paradise by the slice’, an extreme version of the classic Hawaiian. Jed and Stacey took out best slicing ability for their precise and manageable slice – which made dishing out and eating up all the better.
Jed believes the right toppings come down to confidence.
“If you believe in your topping combination, it comes out superb. Mixing the BBQ sauce into the tomato paste was a brilliant idea – thank you Stace!”
Donna reckons it’s all about the process, rather than the results: “The secret ingredient is laughter. It was great fun planning and scheming!”
In teams of two we then set about designing toppings and making pizzas to be cooked in the authentic wood-fired pizza oven.
In true Universal fashion this was also a competition. Teams were judged on their pizza’s name, taste, presentation, and slicing ability. The Heights Experience crew (along with the owner’s daughter) agreed to be our judges.
“Given the competition ended up being judged by a Gen Alpha 11-year-old who hated anything spicy, I think the best topping was cheese with a plain tomato sauce swirl,” said Matt. “So, the jalapenos and hot sauce used by team So Saucy for their amazing Meat & Heat topping were not a hit with the VIP judge!”
With full tummies it was then time to work off some of that mozzarella. We took turns at archery, axe throwing, golf driving, and the beanbag toss.
Russell’s amazing bullseye in archery was a rarity according to the Heights Experience team but, for Russell himself, clay bird shooting was the best.
“I think it could be an addictive sport,” he said. “There is something quite satisfying about catching up to those targets and blasting them away.”
For Jed, it was golf. “A highlight would have to be watching Donna ship her 107th golf ball in a determined attempt to land it in the fertiliser spreader!” Kylie couldn’t choose a favourite activity. “I loved the whole day! It was just so wonderful to have the team together and out having fun!”
After refuelling on brownie and a hilarious pizza prizegiving, another big team day was under our belt (and somewhat over it), in the words of Nadia, “we rolled home, and no-one needed dinner”.
On a more serious note, the day provided some healthy debate about the use of pineapple on pizzas. Does it really belong?
Here’s some of our team’s response to the controversial topic:
Matt: On a traditional Hawaiian pizza, yes.
Russell: Pineapple is a dessert fruit!
Alan: Absolutely and definitely.
Jed: How is this even a question? Pineapple has no place on a pizza! “A slice a world away from paradise” comes to mind.
Nadia: Yep!
Stacey: Each to their own!
Kylie: 100% absolutely!!
Donna: Of course, it does…. 🍍🍍
