Michael Jones Estate Agents

One of the leading estate agents in West Sussex, Michael Jones chose to hold their team building day at Southdown Gun Club.

In July, 42 staff across their six offices arrived to enjoy a clay shooting experience as the summer sun went down over the countryside.

Plenty of the team had never shot before, but under the guidance and tuition of Southdown’s experienced instructors, they all had a great shoot, learnt a new skill and tried an activity they wouldn’t have necessarily chosen themselves.

Groups of six shot 30 clays each and were awarded trophies for various prizes on the night. The positions included both aerial and ground-based targets to really test the teams’ reflexes, and hungry shooters then enjoyed a BBQ outside with a few drinks to celebrate the broken clays and overall winners.  A fun, informal atmosphere meant that colleagues could chat and catch up with each other outside of the office, boosting team morale and acting as a great team building activity.

Spending time together with colleagues doesn’t have to involve stuffy meeting rooms or boring post-work drinks; there’s a much better way to celebrate successes, reward staff or simply entertain clients and team mates. A clay pigeon shooting experience isn’t just for regular shooters either – even novices can enjoy hitting targets and learning the essential skills of the sport. Set in the heart of the South Downs National Park, Southdown Activity Centre is an award-winning shooting ground offering clay pigeon shooting, archery, axe throwing, air rifle experiences and more.

Southdown’s facilities allow for any type of corporate event, including launching new products, charity days, or team bonding events like the Michael Jones evening.

Guild Care

Local charity Guild Care held its first ever Clay Pigeon Shoot Challenge at Southdown Gun Club and raised an amazing £8,000! With the sun shining and 19 teams competing against each other, the day started with a bang and ended with champions, food and drink.

The main aim for the day, which was held on 23^rdMarch – apart from having fun and networking – was to raise much needed funds for Guild Care’s Ashdown Centre for children and young adults with disabilities and additional needs.

Caring for a child with complex disabilities means that parents have little or no rest time to themselves. Ashdown is quite literally a lifeline where they can support parents and allow them sometime to recharge their batteries and get some rest. They also work with siblings to give them some time and focus, with Ashdown’s aim being to bring families together with comfort, care, fun and support.

One of the competitors Jim Cunliffe of Face Media Group, commented: “It was a fantastic day, although my arm ached a bit afterwards! It was well organised, the weather was perfect and just a great experience and the best part was raising money for Guild Care’s Ashdown Centre.”

Well done to the High Gun Joint Winners who were Ian Bovington and Dan Hobbs. The winning team on the day was Interiors Incorporated Ltd, followed by Vadtel in second place and Global Associates were third.

Helen Tidball, Corporate Sponsorship Officer, who organised the event said; “On behalf of Guild Care I’d like say a big thank you to Greg and all his staff and of course the Instructors for making sure the day ran smoothly. The services that Ashdown provide are vital for our local community and the support as above enables Guild Care and Ashdown to continue to provide these services and help local people in their day to day lives.”

Barnes DAF

Truck sales and servicing company Barnes DAF have been holding an annual corporate day at Southdown for the past four years. Based in Shoreham, it’s just a short trip over the Sussex countryside to Muntham Farm, where they host their regular clay shooting event.

Up to 35 guests were invited by managers Alan Matthews and Steve Goodchild – both keen shooters themselves, they have entered numerous competitions at Southdown and so know the virtues of hosting for their customers at the club. The group comprised of experienced shooters who shot under their own supervision, and novices looked after by qualified instructors. However everyone praised the variety of targets and disciplines giving something for everyone to enjoy. At Southdown, shooters can start at the beginner’s school area and progress on to competition-level targets in Sporting, Compak and Sportrap, so it really is a club for all levels.

Armed with banners and branded fleet vehicles, it was clear to see the hosts of the day, which gave a great promotional platform for Barnes DAF. Southdown can help with any branding of products or materials to really maximise the success of a corporate event, whether it be banners, flags, posters or stands.

After shooting, the Barnes DAF guests enjoyed a hearty lunch provided by Southdown’s on-site catering team whilst catching up on the winning teams of the day.

We look forward to the next Barnes DAF event.

Rainbow International

Christmas time is popular at Southdown with different companies holding festive shoots and team days out with us. Rainbow International, recovery and specialist cleaning services  arranged for a ‘Have A go’ shooting experience for their Christmas ‘do’ on 8^thDecember.

We can accommodate groups from as small as 6 people to over 100 – Rainbow had 20 members of staff, split into different teams who came ready and raring to shoot!

“We were looked after by Peter, Kev and Mike. We just wanted to say how fab they all were with all of us! Most of us have never been shooting or even held a gun for that matter so they all explained everything to us very well. Every single one of our group managed to hit something (at least once!).

Thank you for making our day fun and for Peter, Kev and Mike’s expertise. I know some of us will be or have already bought vouchers for family members as Christmas/Birthday gifts off the back of this day as we had such a good time. All our teachers are a credit to you and I’m sure we will be back again!”

Emily Reed, Claims Manager, Rainbow International

Spirit FM

This summer, local radio station Spirit FM visited Southdown for a clay shooting day out. The event took place on 31st May and there was a great turnout of staff looking for have a fun day out and try some shooting for the first time. 

They were a great bunch who were up for a laugh and enjoyed their day thoroughly – we look forward to welcoming them back in the near future. 

“WOW, what an amazing afternoon you guys put on for us. The whole team had the most amazing time and we can’t thank you enough. You have a thoroughly lovely bunch of people there who made our day very special – and talk about patient! We all loved every aspect of the afternoon, it was a lovely touch for you to add the air riffle in too, thank you.

I honestly can’t thank you enough, please pass on my very best to all the guys and let them know we will definitely be back.”

Sally Austin – MD, Spirit FM