ADIRONDACK ADVENTURE SPORTS CENTER

The Adirondack Adventure Sports Center (AASC) at ACC was established in the summer of 2005 and serves as a college and community resource for recreational, civic, and student groups, as well as organizations, professional teams, outdoor industry professionals, and adventure sports enthusiasts. The mission of the AASC is to provide leadership and professional development opportunities that enable participants to experience the manifold benefits of safe participation in adventure recreation; and to educate and credential a workforce of skilled and environmentally sensitive adventure sports professionals. The AASC offers a comprehensive and diverse assortment of courses to enhance the skills of the outdoor enthusiast and professional.

  

LEADERSHIP AND TEAMBUILDING AT
ACC’S ADVENTURE CHALLENGE COURSE
What’s the Adventure Challenge Course?
The ACC Adventure Challenge Course consists of three main components:
   

Group activities and initiatives. Includes warm-ups and icebreakers, as well as problem solving exercises which are designed to guide groups through the stages of group development, and help groups focus on defining goals and expectations

    
  Low adventure. These are a series of fixed stations and props on the Adventure Challenge Course which are just above ground level. Groups move through a sequenced series of individual elements that, together, help further facilitate the stages of group development.
High adventure. These are a series of fixed stations and props on the Adventure Challenge Course that are generally between 25 and 30 feet off the ground. During high adventure exercises, there is usually a heightened level of perceived physical risk, coupled with a rush of excitement. High ropes elements are typically used as culminating activities in a series of sequenced exercises.

What’s Adventure Challenge Training?
Custom designed experiential training and group development for student, professional, corporate and business teams that is intensified by the use of Adventure Challenge activities and promotes organizational teambuilding and leadership development.

Adventure Challenge Training consists of a series of individual and group activities, experiential in nature, designed to:

  • Foster teambuilding, group cohesion and cooperation
  • Build leadership, problem-solving, and communication skills
  • Empower individual participants and encourage reflection.

Adventure Challenge programs are designed to meet the individual needs of a particular business or organization and range anywhere from a half-day course to a multi-day course.

A philosophy that is embedded throughout our Adventure Challenge Course training is “Challenge By Choice.” Adopted from Project Adventure, Inc., “Challenge By Choice” emphasizes cooperation rather than competition, and support rather than performance pressure. Individuals choose their level of participation and risk at which they fell comfortable. The result is an opportunity for participants to try emotionally and physically difficult tasks, recognizing that the attempt is more significant than performance results.

Why are Adventure Challenge programs so effective?
Adventure Challenge Training can be an effective method for improving levels of teamwork in the workplace and for addressing the “process issues that frequently get in the way of goal accomplishment and group effectiveness” (Buller, Cragun, & McEnvoy, 1991). “Leadership and personality styles, decision making models, problem solving strategies, conflict management, creativity, risk taking skills and mutual instruction all come into play and become potential topics for discussion" ( Wagner, Baldwin, and Roland, 1991).
Direct engagement in hands-on Adventure Challenge initiatives encourages participants to reach beyond their perceived limitations and face the challenges of physical and emotional risks in a safe environment. By facing these challenges, exploring perceived limitations, and changing these perceived limitations into abilities, participants learn a great deal about themselves and their colleagues.
Sharing this common experience lays the foundation for teams to begin to explore and identify elements of effective team work specific to their workplace by looking at the ways in which they make decisions, problem solve, and manage conflict. Review and reflection are training elements that help participants transfer learning directly to their work environment.
CONTINUING EDUCATION FOR THE
OUTDOOR PROFESSIONAL AND ENTHUSIAST

Course offerings available seasonally through the ACC Center for Personal and Professional Development include:
       
  • Challenge Course Facilitation
  • Climbing Wall Facilitation
  • Experiential Team Building and Group Development
  • Paddle Sports
  • Rock Climbing
  • Swift Water Rescue
  • Wilderness First Responder
       

Click here for current and upcoming Adventure Sports Center Personal and Professional Development courses.

Would you like more information on ACC’s Adventure Challenge programs?
For more information about ACC’s Adventure Challenge programs or to arrange a tour of the ACC Adventure Challenge Course, please contact us