By Ethan Chang   A lot of sand, some imagination, and creative teamwork all came into play at the Outrigger Sand Sculpture Challenge held two weeks ago on the beach at Waikiki. Hosted by the Outrigger Waikiki on the Beach, and originally geared for Outrigger guests, this weekly fun summer activity was adapted to an Outrigger team-building activity to celebrate our value of ‘Ohana.

Teams from the Outrigger Waikiki on the Beach, the Outrigger Reef on the Beach, Embassy Suites® – Waikiki Beach Walk®, Wyndham Waikiki Beach Walk, Courtyard by Marriott Waikiki Beach, and two teams from Company Services participated in the first Outrigger Sand Sculpture Challenge. The event was a huge success and captured the attention of many hotel guests and onlookers who stopped by to take pictures.

The seven teams of employees and managers brought their “A” game as well as buckets, shovels, and other special tools to create their masterpieces. The goal was to make a tasteful sculpture in one hour, made up of only sand and water. In the end, all teams exhibited teamwork, innovation, and creativity to produce great sculptures.

The Outrigger Waikiki team carved out an immense Sponge Bob cartoon figure. The Hawaiian green sea turtle captured the imagination of three of the teams, with the Marketing department, Wyndham Waikiki Beach Walk, and the Outrigger Reef creating varying sizes of turtles for their designs. It was all about branding for the group from Embassy Suites – Waikiki Beach Walk, who crafted the Embassy “E” into the sand. One of the Company Services team had some fun “burying” a snowman in the sand!

The competition was fierce, but in the end it was the Courtyard by Marriott Waikiki Beach who walked away with the coveted “Golden Pail and Shovel” award with their “Miss Green M & M” sand sculpture. Also recognized that morning was the Wyndham team who took the prize for “Best Costume.”

With overwhelming positive responses and comments, participants hope to make this an annual employee event.