Words: Cayley Alger
There is no denying the New Zealand and Australian winter can be mild, and (if you’ve been talking with your buddies up North) unequivocally short. The weather is wild, the snow variable and the vis non-existent. Top that off with a couple of life commitments (like a job) maybe even throw a global pandemic in the mix, and you’ve got yourself…well, not many days to ride.
Even on a ‘normal’ year I’m sure, like myself, you too have been guilty of kicking the season off with high ambitions only to let your vitamin D deprived body fall prey to fatigue and one too many hangovers by August.
It was for these reasons exactly that our office (of a whole 2 humans) implemented the ‘Office Challenge’. A very unofficial, subtly competitive, and weirdly motivating reason to get up the mountain at literally every chance we could.
It started off about two years ago when one of us was like “Yeah I think I could do a Rodeo this season” to which the other responded “well do it”, which was quickly followed by a hushed “oh Shit” [what have I got myself into]. A whole 5 minutes later the ‘Office Challenge’ was born. We were both going to land a Rodeo that season, or else…we’d be cleaning the others dirty ass car.
Just to put things into perspective, this is coming from two very average but incredibly enthusiastic snowboarders; who work pretty much 9-5, frequent the baby park and often try to follow behind the National development team (getting tips from the groms literally half our age). Though if there’s two things I think most snowboarders can appreciate (regardless of ability level): it’s progression in the sport, and a healthy little dose of competition.
The Office Challenge is about exactly that; and self-improvement. It’s a reason to step outside of your comfort zone and scare yourself a little. Ultimately no one cares if you don’t land that back 3 off the tube in the baby park but you should and that’s all that matters.
Someone really wise once said “Everything you do in life will be insignificant, but it is most important that you do it.” That person was Ghandi and I bet he would have been in on the Office Challenge, so I hope you’re down too.
First and foremost, you don’t have to be amongst the confines of 4 walls to implement a challenge. You and your colleagues might be on a mountain, or behind a bar, you may be in a shop or even in the back corner of someone else’s trendy café. Regardless I hope you get some crew together, pick something that would be out of the ordinary and get going.
It could be landing a specific trick, clocking the most days, doing the most squats so you’re ready to clock the most days and land that specific trick.
If you’re in Australia right now you may not know when you’re going snowboarding again, and if you’re lucky enough to be in New Zealand you might have a little more certainty around when that next day will be (you can say thank you to Aunty Cindy for that one). Whatever your circumstance, I’m sure you can come up with something.
Now up that challenge by 20%… just for good measure. This isn’t supposed to be easy.
Two years ago, this process started with me singing Destiny’s Child lyrics to myself as I tried and inevitably failed nine hundred and ninety-nine times at landing this Office Challenge. “All the women who independent throw your hands up at me…” I am sincerely sorry to anyone who had to witness that. Ultimately by the one thousandth attempt I had learnt a thing or two about reliance and what the mountain looked like upside-down.
So, before you even think about quietly tapping out of this stupid idea you thought was a great idea at the time but has actually turned out to not be a not so great idea. You better put a wager on it. Something shit, get creative here. Cleaning a horrible muddy car is one thing, though I’m sure if you know your colleagues well enough you could probably come up with something specific you know they really won’t want to do. The only rule here is that you can’t come up with your own consequence. Der!
Finally, the challenge isn’t about completing it first. It’s just about getting it done. For no other reason than to do it. Because we all know there is no better sound than the instinctive yelling that comes from your mates, or the sound of mittens slapping together in an orchestra of high-5s when you learn something new.
At the end of the day the Office Challenge is just code for make the most. So whenever it is that you next find yourself standing at the top of a snowy slope, I hope you’ve done enough squats, and just remember to ask yourself “What would Ghandi do?”
