Campus Recreation Challenge Programs are custom tailored to meet your group's individual needs. Once you choose one of our base programming packages, our highly trained staff will work with you to develop and facilitate a variety of initiatives and activities aimed at getting the most out of your team or group.

Experiential learning is hands-on and revolves around the idea that people can develop their strengths and acknowledge their weaknesses best, through experience. The purpose of the Campus Recreation Challenge Program is to provide exciting experiential learning opportunities that focus on teambuilding, leadership development, and problem solving skills while increasing individual awareness, self-esteem and respect for individual differences.

Does your group want to become more effective team players? Does your staff need to improve communication between co-workers? Do you want to offer your staff a unique and fun retreat? Then the Department of Campus Recreation has just the right program for you! The Teambuilding and Leadership Challenges program provides adventure-challenge opportunities to help your group reach its full potential. The Teambuilding and Leadership Challenges program promotes teamwork, group problem-solving skills, communication and both individual and group growth. As the group meets each challenge, feelings of accomplishment, self-worth, trust and group effectiveness are stimulated. The program builds self-confidence and personal leadership skills while developing personal and group relationships. It allows individuals and teams to open up and learn about themselves. These adventure-challenge opportunities are presented in the form of wall climbing, kayaking, trust exercises and initiatives and high ropes course programs.

JUMP TO: Wall Climbing | Kayaking | Initiatives and Trust Exercises | High Ropes Challenge Course | The Course | Challenge by Choice | Registration Process | Public Schools | Corporations

Teambuilding and Leadership Challenges

Wall Climbing
YSU’s Flad Mountain is a great place to learn to climb ordevelop your current climbing skills. The wall is 53 feet high and has five top rope routes with the lower 10 feet designed for bouldering. Our experienced climbing wall staff provides a variety of instructional classes and climbing challenges. You can learn how to become a safe climber with all the excitement and adventure you can handle. Challenges are provided for the novice to the skilled climber so come experience the fun and the thrill of climbing with our Adventure Rec staff.




Kayaking
Come join YSU’s kayaking staff to learn the basics of kayaking or to help improve your kayaking skills. There is something for all levels. With instruction from our YSU Adventure Recreation ACA Instructors, participants will gain confidence, go farther and faster with less effort and have more fun when participating in this program.





Initiatives and Trust Exercises
An initiative problem is a challenge posed by the facilitator to the group with no solution given. They call on the group to assess the problem, develop a plan, act on that plan, evaluate its effectiveness, refine the plan, and if necessary, then act on it again. Trust exercises give group members the opportunity to place their personal safety in the hands of each other by attempting a series of physical and emotional challenges. Participants are responsible for “spotting” members in their group and using techniques that are taught by the facilitator.

High Ropes Challenge Course
Youngstown State University Campus Recreation challenges you to expand your limits with the Adventure Recreation Challenge Course. Also known as a ropes course, a highropes challenge course is a fun and exciting way to work toward various goals with a group.Through a variety of elements and team-building activities, a challenge course takes participants to new heights. Participants utilize their physical and mental strengths in order to reach individual and group goals. The challenge course is not a measure of individual strength - it maximizes the group’s strength.

The Course
The YSU Challenge Course was built by the industry’s leader in elevated-challenge courses; Ropes Courses, Inc. It is their SKY TRAIL-Cage-n-Trail System. The course is located at in the Andrews Student Recreation and Wellness Center gym, 20 ft. in the air! Course elements include tire traverse, floating beams, taco cargo net, tremorbridge, Charlie Chaplin and four-inch beams.

Challenge by Choice
Participants will not be forced to do anything of which they do not feel comfortable. While the facilitators encourage participants to step out of their comfort zones, at no time will the participant be coerced into a challenge that he or she is against. We “Challenge by Choice” with a little bit of encouragement.

Registration Process
Submit an online registration form at:
www.ysu.edu/reccenter - Adventure Recreation.

Once submitted, you will be contacted by the program administrator to confirm the program. Teambuilding and Leadership Challenges can involve the climbing wall,
low-level elements and initiatives, high ropes course and kayaking programming. All activities are customized to meet individual group needs. For further information call Michael Bowman, Administrative Assistant, at 330-941-1964.

Who can benefit from this program?

Public Schools
Teambuilding programs are designed around three very important learning programs such as creating community values, creativity and leadership. In addition, the following areas can be addressed such as establishing full value norms, solving problems, building trust, fostering creativity and developing leadership through participation in our programs; all the while “thinking outside the box”.

Other groups include, but are not limited to the following:

Corporations
Our corporate workshops are ideal for corporations seeking to improve critical thinking abilities, enhance communication, build trust, improve teamwork, enhance leadership and develop synergy. We offer experiential-based programming for groups of all sizes, ages and ability levels. Programs are tailored to each group based on goals and desired outcomes, in order to provide the most beneficial experience possible.Prices and fees are based on group size, goals of the organization
and length of program.

Click Here to submit a program inquiry to Michael Bowman.