Latest News and recent team building highlights

DART Saves the World

Our newest and most popular indoor collaborative team activity is suitable for any group size and any venue. It requires effective communication, planning and resilience and the finale is always a highlight.

ACE Yoga & Wellness

Incorporating yoga into your corporate retreat can bring numerous benefits to your team and organisation. Yoga is not only a physical practice but also a powerful tool for stress reduction, mental clarity, and overall well-being. By including yoga sessions in your retreat, you provide your team with an opportunity to relax, rejuvenate, and recharge. Yoga promotes mindfulness, enhances focus, and improves productivity, which can have a positive impact on team dynamics and collaboration. Additionally, practicing yoga together fosters a sense of unity and camaraderie among team members, creating a supportive and harmonious work environment.

ACE Escape

The ACE Escape is new for 2015 and combines an intense problem solving experience with some cool gadgets, puzzles and codes. The world record time currently stands at 68 minutes. Do you think your team is up for the challenge?

Boat Building

It can be great to get out of the conference room, especially when you are staying on the Gold Coast. So we conducted an early morning session that comprised lots of fun activities including boat building.

Bubble soccer

Bubble soccer is like normal soccer except every player is inside a bubble. It can be incorporated into an ACE Race or run as a stand alone event. It is quite exhausting and can be a bit rough.

All Systems Go for Bingo A Go Go

Q. What are our clients saying about our newest evening event?

A. "Bingo a Go Go is a fantastic activity for teams to interact and get to know each other in a non competitive environment. The activity was highly engaging with lots of fun and laughs in a non intimidating way. While the activity required lots to be going on behind the scenes in the background, the facilitators managed to balance all such requirements without causing any type of chaos.

We thoroughly enjoyed the great music and thank you for the bonus disco at the end of a very successful and enjoyable evening!"

Look out Hollywood

The hidden talents of SCAwere revealed in spectacular fashion at their Annual Awards night and Film Festival conducted at Morning Star Estate. Highly acclaimed performances from Paris Ritchie and Nicole Hilton were not enough to secure the crucial votes from the Academy required to win the coveted Best Film Award.

Teachers Practice what they Preach

It was an impressive and challenging start to 2009 for the staff at Mount View Primary School. Whist the mercury pushed 44 degrees the teachers demonstrated cool heads as they completed the Project Apricot exercise and various other team activities. The teamwork and communication skills they showed will assist them achieve International Baccalaureate Accreditation.

Dream Start to the Year

Congratulations to the BMW Sauber Team from Bib Stillwell who were the champions for our newest night time activity The Dream Team - After Dark. Adapted for the evening, this session combines 12 short team activities in the areas of negotiation, problem solving, quick thinking, risk and decision making. This session is ideally suited to companies wishing to combine a fast paced, creative team based problem solving session with an evening event.

ACE reveals the Secret Code

Just when you thought you knew the secret, ACE have turned everything on its head...again! The new, improved, more exciting, even trickier Nepean Code has been tested on the finest corporate minds in the country and been given a big "Shhhhh". So if you wander into Nike, Bendigo Bank, South East Water or even the Department of Defence and you see them smiling quietly to themselves, it's because THEY cracked the code!

The Hidden Toll of an ACE Gameshow

OK. That's a trickheading! When it comes to Transurban there are NO hidden tolls! That's what the Customer Service teams found out in a fun, entertaining and educational 60 minute Gameshow session. ACE prepared this highly interactive learning activity to reinforce company knowledge and then, as if once wasn't enough, we ran it four times to different groups. The sessions were extremely popular and very well received - particularly by the winning teams who were presented with prizes by Candy, our delightful gameshow Hostess.

Magnificent Movie Pioneers

Sure there is the director, the script, the best boy, the cameraperson, but at the end of the day it all boils down to great acting! There were plenty of award-winning performances from the Pioneer team at Lancemore Hill as they acted up a storm during our ACE Director's Cut activity. Bravo!

Trans Urban Chaos

Deakin ManagementCentre was buzzing after our recent 2 day retreat with Transurban. They put the cardboard to the carpet in a serious of creative presentations and amazing activities. Delegates explored different ways to explain their role in the company and then plan for a chaos-free future.

Star Factory Shines After Dark

Star Factory After Dark is a new and fun evening event that can be conducted at almost any venue. The game begins when aspiring teams of film producers select a movie style that they think will make the most money at the box office. The night involves A list Hollywood celebrities, risk taking, after parties, scandals, trivia and glamour.

What came first - the customer... or the customer?

What do you get when you combine a venue that excels in customer service, with an organization whose credo is Customer First A lot of very happy people!

ACE hosted the opening night festivities of the CityLink Customer First program at Aitken Hill last month, with each of the four nights as impressive as the others. While we anticipated that keeping the fun, energetic vibe alive across four separate nights would be a challenge, it seems Aitken Hill and Citylink had no such doubts. Great food, great people, great atmosphere and an always-impressive venue ensured that no matter which night you attended, it was first class.

Dan Brown eat your heart out.

Mysterious, enigmatic and a conundrum wrapped in an enigma. It is the Nepean Code! Well, OK, it's probably not the Code you were first thinking of, but this Point Nepean activity is every bit as challenging. Recent improvements to this code-cracking, problem solving rogaining-like activity make it even better than ever. Recent adventurers to successfully crack The Nepean Code include Pioneer, Selectrix and Australian Industrial Registry, and we thank them for saving us from annihilation!

Hot crime wave frozen by cool cops

Oh the seedy underbelly of Melbourne life! It seems murder loves a chill wind so while you were safely snuggling in your suburban utopia, ACE detectives were diligently busting crime across this troubled metropolis. Thankfully, we were able to boost our small squad of detectives and solve murder after heinous murder through the crime cracking cunning of junior detectives from FCUK, Nestle, John Holland Group, Aker Kvaerner, GHD and Transurban. Let us hope the warmer weather does not bring more evil doers out of hibernation.

What is one more than a hat-trick?

Well, just four in a row apparently, no catchy phrase to describe THAT level of success! Perhaps we can challenge recent delegates to the ABS Leadership program invent a suitable moniker. After all, they have just celebrated another successful event at Lancemore Hill, in partnership with ACE for the fourth year in a row. ACE again devised a series of challenges and experiences designed to explore and cultivate leadership behaviour.

Hmmm, how about an ACE-trick?! No? Too gimmicky? In any case, what we really need now is an expression for 5 in a row! Send your suggestions to the editor.

Roll out the red carpet

Champagne, caviar and paparazzi greeted this happy crew from ANZ Legal at the prestigious Daylesford Film Festival last month. These new guns of Aussie film making - creative, committed, uncompromising are so good that they won the coveted ACE Award for the best short film. Their entry, Home Loan & Away, combined a modern day tale about challenges facing the bank with humour, drama and fine acting. Next stop, Hollywood!

The hills are alive... with the sound of screaming!

It is not terror, its sheer elation that brings a song to the heart of this brave soul at the recent Challenge Leadership weekend at Mount Eliza. The program aims to help prepare Challenge volunteers for their role in helping 350 children with cancer make the most of a holiday camp experience. ACE put them through murder, mayhem and lots of laughter and they rose to each challenge with great gusto! We are sure their enthusiasm and energy will be just as inspirational for the kids.

Can you spot the fugitive?

When you are on the hunt for the Fugitive, everyone is a suspect! That is exactly what three teams from Moffat discovered as they scoured the city in search of the ACE Fugitive last week. Thankfully, they were able to hone their communication and planning skills to apprehend the guilty party in time to save the innocent. The men in bowler hats were released unharmed.

Ace goes International!

Bags were packed and our visas, passports and inoculations were all in order as we boarded the jumbo jet bound for exotic New Zealand. (well it IS overseas). After clearing customs, receiving the traditional Maori welcome and then performing our own ACE Haka, we set to work with Tyco Healthcare. Despite language and cultural barriers, we're glad to report that some of ACE's most challenging team building activities ran without a hitch.

(Editor's note: some aspects of this story may have been exaggerated for dramatic effect)

The ACE Race

ACE Race Pioneers break the peace

Sweaty brows, furtive looks, secret exchanges and excited teams were the signs that five teams from Pioneer Electronics spent a hectic afternoon vying to be team number one as they criss-crossed the spa country by boat, on quad bikes, in cars, on foot and climbing up rock walls in search of clues, directions, chocolates and spring water.

The ultimate winners of the ACE Race had to rely on teamwork, initiative, a pioneering spirit and just a little rat cunning to get across the line in first place. All the action was captured on video, so stand by for The ACE Race on a screen near you!

What is in a name?

A recent name change to the (now) Melbourne Business School, Mt Eliza has seen no change in the exemplary level of service and professionalism at this exceptional venue.

Fuchs Lubricants enjoyed their stay immensely as they participated in ACE programs that utilised picturesque areas both indoors and outdoors to drive home the benefits of teamwork within and across teams.

Prestige Award

There is no truth to the rumour that Mike is up for a Logie Award for his work on the ACE "Project Apricot" video brief. While he did recently receive a standing ovation for his performance in this challenging, multi-layered business game, he remains humble about what he describes as his "totally phenomenal acting ability".

Celebrity sightings

A fantastic Music Trivia event was recently conducted for the staff at the View Hotels. It was superbly planned and organised by this team who specialise in hospitality. Lots of famous faces were sighted including the guitarist from Kiss, Marilyn Monroe, Prince and Elvis. There were even two Shannon Nolls.

Lycra on the run

Hearts were a-flutter and eyebrows raised at a recent sighting of the ACE Fugitive at Southbank last week. As if the golden lycra bike pants were not enough to attract attention in this ACE city-based team building activity, it seems the seams on The Fugitive's shorts were, well, compromised. He or she was last spotted running in the direction of a tailor.

High Crime

Higher than usual tides made for a tricky escape on the ACE team building activity known as Williamstown CSI recently. After successfully solving the crime and enjoying a hearty lunch as reward, our intrepid team of investigators boarded the ferry for the trip home. Thankfully, their by now well-honed skills (and lunch-boosted ballast!) helped them navigate under those low bridges over the Yarra River.

Acquisitions

ACE would like to welcome a few new faces to the fold after our recent take-over of the Victorian based company Training & Events. We're ready for even more action with some exciting new products, an expanded client list, greater resources and more staff.

To add to the bulging ACE warehouse, we've also expanded the fleet with another new Honda CRV complete with jumbo trailer. Other additions include a super bright data projector, cordless outdoor PA system and a new digital video camera. Now…where to put it all!

ACE in safe hands

The international nurses conference at Terrigal on the NSW central coast proved to be a whole lot of fun and a great success for over 200 nurses from around the world. All that health knowledge came in handy for the morning training session after a BIG night with plenty of vitamins and water on hand. Mike was last seen being attended to for a bad case of the sniffles.

ACE inspire new reality TV show? A session at a boutique Sydney hotel for Channel 7 required some inspirational (and quick) thinking last month when the available space for a business game became limited. ACE used accommodation rooms on different floors and the hotels phone system to simulate remote offices and geographical isolation. Channel 7 were so impressed we're confident there's a show in the pipeline for us…stand by for Survivor ACE!

One way to beat Melbourne's rain

When the weather gets tough, the tough get themselves to sunny Queensland! ACE kept the chills at bay during a cold Melbourne winter with several programs in Queensland and northern NSW.

The sunny, warm venues included the Hyatt Hotel Coolum, Novotel Twin Waters at Maroochydore and the Crowne Plaza at Terrigal. Roll on summer!