Bonding Big Time

Ruwini JAYAWARDANA

Team Lion Heart white water rafting

Team Lion Heart finds a clue

Team Reflex forming a tube line

British Council Country Director Tony Reilly briefs the contestants at Kitulgala

Imaging running for a considerable distance to the Kithulgala river, white water rafting in its waters, trekking through a jungle that almost resembles a rainforest in the Amazon, crossing to the other bank via a tube while paddling with your hands and getting to your final destination aided by a compass and a map.

Sounds thrilling and adventurous but no doubt the idea also sends tiny shivers of alarm down your spine. Will I make it to the end? Will I be able to complete these chores successfully? How tough would things get? Will I be the one to lag behind?

Similar thoughts must have run through the minds of Indrajith, Upekshi, Suraaj, Achala, Lara, Natalie, Alex, Daniel, Nimanthie, Luke, Adam and Udana as they got to know that their dream of being selected to compete for 'Ideators' had become a reality.

'Ideators' is no 'The Amazing Race' or 'Survivor' duplication. It is much more than an adventurous reality television show. It is an action packed, nail biting hour for our viewers where the creative flairs and entrepreneurial skills of the contestants are put to a test along with their team spirit. Of course a little bit of luck always comes in handy to scrape through those last minutes of tension.

That is the electrifying atmosphere that 'Ideators', British Council's much hyped about reality television show, has in store for you. The first episode of the series kicked off on Independence Television Network (ITN) last Saturday which gave the audience the chance to have a glimpse of the event.

You read their comments last week and saw them in action in episode one, now you get a chance to read their opinions as they recall their amazing experiences on 'Ideators' episode one - the team building activity which unfurled in Kithulgala.

"The whole event was simply amazing. British Council Country Director Tony Reilly divided us into two groups. I was so happy to be in the team 'Lion Heart' with Luke, Nimmi, Suraaj, Natalie and Lara. We knew we were a strong team," said Udana.

The team's name derived from England's legendary warrior king, Richard the Lion Heart. It also has a Sri Lankan essence since the lion is a significant emblem in our nation.

The other team comprising Achala, Alex, Indrajith, Upekshi, Daniel and Adam, named themselves as 'Reflex' which basically means quick to response. They certainly lived up to their name, especially in the first phrase of the game. Achala recalls, "Our team managed to come up with better strategies for each and every task we got within the day. Though the tube rafting event was a stroke of genius, I must say that even in the water rafting and finding the clues of letters, Reflex was quick in decision making and worked as a team."

The first event was no walk in the park for some of the contestants. Upekshi and Suraaj had to huff and puff their way to the river bank. Being small made and 'having stronger arms than legs' Upekshi got a free ride half way to the river from her mates.

"It was the first time that I did white water rafting so naturally I was nervous. Luckily Luke had done a bit of rafting and he guided us. Luke and I rowed from the front. I was a bit scared because I do not know how to swim.

"I had a few swimming lessons from Adam and Luke at the Hilton Residence pool for two days and it was a confidence booster and a great relief. I got my life jackets on just in case," Udana reveled with a smile.

Upekshi said that the key to the game was to add pressure to the water with the oars.

Moving with the waves Reflex managed to surpass Lion Heart and make it to the island.

"Running through that jungle was definitely a first time experience for me and it was made worse because it was raining very hard. I am not athletic at all, so I was quickly out of breath, the only thing that kept me going was the thought that I may let my team down.

The leeches, by the way, had a feast that afternoon - free blood. The most annoying thing about them is that you never know when they get on your body. They are sneaky and can probably fly because even though you are walking really fast and staying away from the bushes, they still manage to get on your legs. I could never figure out how except they have hidden wings that scientists have not discovered yet!" Lara shared her views of stumbling over rocks, slipping though muddy patches and scrambling through the wilderness.

At this phase of the event Achala ran into very thick mud and got her legs so buried in it that she lost her shoes. She had to continue the rest of the challenge barefooted.

The final challenge of the first phase comprised the journey back to the river bank by getting on a tube and using their hands as ores.

Udana was faced with the nightmarish experience of falling off his tube.

"I panicked and blew the whistle but the safety assistants who were following us in canoes did not seem to care. Worse yet, Sankalpa, the director, was spot on with his camera team capturing me drowning! It was so embarrassing!" Udana recalled sheepishly.

"The idea of not breaking into individuals, even though we got single tubes, just hit us as soon as we got the instructions from the task manager. It was like "Hold hands everybody!" So, as soon as we got onto the tubes, and into the freezing water, we chained ourselves and put our combined strength to push ourselves forward as a team. It was such an amazing ride and we actually sang 'Row row row your boat, gently down the stream'," Achala explained.

Not to be outwitted twice Lion Heart was quick on their feet in the second phase of the competition where they had to hunt for letters following a set of clues. Reflex too were handed the same task with the same clues but were not as good a detective as Lion Heart. With each side emerging victors in each phase of the team building challenge, both teams were declared winners.

Next week the whole course of the challenges will take a new route. The 12 contestants will be presented with a challenge sponsored by one of the leading beverage companies in Sri Lanka.

If you happen to miss last week's episode, not to worry. It is now available on YouTube. Catch up on the action and get ready for yet another amazing episode which is poles apart from the Kithulgala ventures as 'Ideators' episode two unfurls on ITN on January 21 at 9 pm.