Apprentice outing at the start of their training programme

Once again this year WOERNER apprentices headed off on their apprentice outing which takes place every year in the first week of September. This year the slogan was “Let the games begin” as this year’s outing took us to Schwäbisch Hall where we enjoyed the Highland Games, a remnant of a centuries-old tradition from Scotland, which is also regarded as a national sport in Scotland, but which has established itself over time the world over.
These games originated hundreds of years ago in the Scottish Highlands where different clans from the Highlands met up once a year to celebrate and demonstrate their abilities in these competitions. 

This was also the aim of this day, as the organisers’ slogan for the day was “Team building and fun in kilts”. The apprentices were split into two groups, dressed in kilts and sashes, and attempted to beat the opposing team with skill, strength and balance. 

The course consisted of traditional disciplines, like tossing the caber or tug-of-war, but they also had to complete tasks that did not have a Scottish tradition. These activities included ‘sack beating’ where the two opposing players attempt to topple each other off a tree trunk – having good balance was half the battle. The fun continued with milk churn throwing; hitting the nail into the stump; axe-throwing; archery, potato catapulting and ‘Bola’. a modified form of the throwing weapon used in the past in hunting to recapture runaway animals: the two balls at the end of the cord wrap themselves round the target object when thrown. Hence the name ‘Bola’, Spanish for ball. The aim of this discipline was to wrap the bola around a rack from further and further away, so that it was impossible for the opponent to hit the frame from the same distance. 

The “Mac Boerners” lined up against the “Krabben Crew”, who fought hard across all the competitive disciplines. However, at the end the Mac Boerners were beaten by the Krabben Crew by 106 to 131. 
Overall, it was a thoroughly successful day out for all, both for the apprentices but also for their trainers and the aim of strengthening teamwork and getting to know each other better was fully achieved.
Sandra Beck, 2nd year Industrial Sales Representative apprentice