Year - end function, DATACENTRIX style!

**Salome** · 13-12-2012, 00:31

Year-end function: DATACENTRIX

I felt the need to share this with all fellow firearm owners and - enthusiasts

Earlier this year the manager from Datacentrix Lephalale decided to try a new experiment for a team building exercise and took his whole team to the Knapskoot shooting range for some shooting challenges with the .22 caliber. Most of his team has never shot or handled a firearm before and some were even afraid of firearms. The whole team building exercise turned out a huge success with an amazing spin-off.

When they started discussing ideas for the year-end function, they had options of going to a restaurant and any of the typical year-end functions you can expect. Then suddenly the most unusual suggestion came up. The team of 10-15 I.T Staff all suggested “Why not go to the shooting range again..?” and that was it! No further discussions. Year-end function at the Knapskoot shooting range it was.

Two members of the team, Alex & Chrisjan (the guys responsible for making it happen) came on Friday the 7^th to do the setup of the range and events.

Saturday, 8 December 2012, the whole team and their families & partners arrived at the shooting range for yet another promising fun filled day! Two high-level managers from Pretoria also arrived to attend the function. The events consisted of input from all members from the Datacentrix team. The day started off with an early brunch. Shooting activities consisted of Kettie shooting, bow, Pellet gun, .410 shotgun and .22 caliber with a bunch of fun challenges like taking out 2 falling plates before you can start scoring on a paper target in 45 seconds to shooting water filled bottles, soda cans, balloons and cigarettes. They even built a “Top Shot” dartboard style, spinning target. By 15:00PM the afternoon most of the shooting exercises was over and to our amazement all members of the team stayed and kept on shooting for the fun, followed by a lovely braai.

By 17:00PM in the afternoon the first people started to head home. Thereafter some of the bigger calibers came out. Calibers like the 30-06, 308 and even a 44 Magnum Smith & Wesson and the playing carried on. Around 18:30PM darkness fell and the rest of the group started heading home, sad that the day had to end.

For me, one of the most valuable things that came out of this, was that new shooters got introduced to firearms and where one of the guys were almost at a point of addiction, so much he liked it. We caught him talking to himself saying “This is awesome, I like this a lot “.

Total amount of ammunition shot on that day was around 1500 plus .22 rounds. Almost a 1000 rounds of Pellet ammunition and a few boxes of .410 rounds.

As a firearm owner, I think this was a huge success and most likely the way forward in getting people comfortable with firearms & renew/wake an interest in this sport.

I want to thank such dynamic thinkers like Hennie du Toit for encouraging interest in firearms and Willie Barnard for creating the platform for people to enjoy their shooting and encouraging events like this.

WATCH THIS SPACE - PICS TO FOLLOW

**KK20** · 13-12-2012, 01:31

**camouflage762** · 13-12-2012, 06:01

Well done Salome ! Nice to see knapskoot with some green on it. Let hope the folks go out and buy guns. .....Thanks for sharing!

**Paul** · 13-12-2012, 06:49

Guess who's gonna be touched up for sponsorship of the Ellisras Firearms Festival next year ;-{>}

**Sweet** · 13-12-2012, 07:15

EXCELLENT!

Progressive company that - I need to learn more about them...it is the sort of Co. that I like to do work/business with!

Well done

**Paul** · 13-12-2012, 07:22

Yep. It's all part of 'normalising' shooting; making it an unremarkable element of our daily lives.

Big ups!

**Quarterpounder** · 13-12-2012, 07:40

Great way to end the year!

**Lian** · 13-12-2012, 08:12

now that looks like fun! our company's idea of a year-end was little field and athletics.... jumping and rolling over cardboard boxes in a little circle track.
meh, no thx.

i can just imagine how fun it should be to setup a mock SADPA stage for them. just set it so no reload is required (full mag, limited vickers) and no draw-from-holster.

**ady** · 13-12-2012, 09:02

A mate's department did something similar last year, but they shot clay pigeons. He said some people had to be pried off the shotguns they liked it so much.

Its good when people are exposed to shooting, it takes away alot of the stygmatism associated with firearms.