With Day 1 of the CU regional session coming to a close (crying inside) we reflect on the main activities of the enthusiastic EMPL bunch. After the typical name games which revealed much, Alison likes acting, Gavin plays guitar and lets not forget that Conall likes to cruissseee.

Having 4 minutes to memorize the contents of the committee room is more difficult than it seems as we saw today. The silence was deafening as the Empl crew gave their undivided attention to remembering the precise location of plastic cups, pens and they who must not be named… the match sticks. Alas, all appeared to be going smoothly. Following the 4 focused minutes everyone stepped outide for a quick game of everyone’s favourite “Ninja”. Who doesn’t love slapping their peers?! 

Unfortunately the sunshine and rainbows was cut short when Conall reemerged from the room and you could sense something was out of place, literally. The rules were simple, enter the room, reposition the objects to the correct location, no talking and complete the task in 10 minutes. Easy right? The delegates would beg to differ. 

Movers scurried around the room and the Finalist made her judgement. Instead of the match sticks sparking a flame for the committee, the delegates got their confidence burnt to a crisp. Ouch! After contemplating their results they came to the consensus that communication and organisation is key, along with the general fact that they hate match sticks.

So the teambuilding banter has come to an end. It must be said they had a pretty sweet ending munching on some symbolic starbursts. What is the one cause of worry for tomorrow? The topic? Team work? Resolution writing? Obviously not, the dress code is of much more concern! Don’t worry though, whether you wear a skirt like Anna or trousers like Kate, I have no doubt that the EMPL unit will arrive tomorrow looking fresh and ready to go for Day 2!

Kate Kinsella (IE)