Staff photo/Ian Gleadle
The “Odyssey III Challenge Course” at Cottage Lake Park will offer challenging team-building activities to enhance group dynamics and group cohesion.

There’s been lots of excitement and anticipation in the air surrounding the happenings at Cottage Lake Park this past month. The giant structure that has gradually been going up has caused much curiosity and speculation among those in the community.

Now that it’s complete, tongues can stop wagging and predictions can cease. Drum roll, please! King County Parks and the Northshore YMCA present the “Odyssey III Challenge Course.”

Rising 42 feet above the ground and stretching more than 300 feet in length, the state-of-the-art course, designed by Alpine Towers, will offer a wide variety of challenging team-building activities aimed at fostering and enhancing group dynamics and group cohesion.

The new structure is courtesy of an innovative partnership forged between KC Parks and the YMCA through the Parks’ Community Partnerships and Grant Program (CPG). According to TJ Davis, CPG Program Manager for King County Parks, the YMCA received a $92,500 capital improvement grant from King County to create the challenge course at Cottage Lake Park. The YMCA will pay for the course’s operation and maintenance.

“About three years ago, the Y approached us about the possibility of putting a ropes’ course in at Cottage Lake Park,” explains Davis. “We looked into it and also examined several other potential sites, but we kept coming back to Cottage Lake because it has the biggest day camp presence in King County Parks. The Y has been running a successful day camp there for a few years. Plus the site was very compatible for the model.”

Davis adds that the YMCA’s focus on building communities and encouraging healthy activity is exactly what the CPG Program plan is all about: “The Y strives to get people more active and its mission resonated with us, which made it a win-win relationship from the start.”

The CPG Program was initiated in 2003 with the goal of empowering community-based organizations to create public facilities. It is a four-year plan with a total of $2.4 million to be given out to community groups for various projects.

“With our tight operating budget, we wouldn’t be able to operate or maintain all these public recreation amenities,” says Davis. “The community-based organizations bring resources to the table that allow us to partner with them. We have great lands and they have great programs and these partnerships allow us to serve the public better.”

Craig Wiley, Program Executive at the Northshore YMCA is delighted with the partnership and adds, “The YMCA is honored to partner with King County Parks to provide a new and innovative way for community members to become more active. The course will be a major component of our summer day camp programs beginning next year and it will also be available by reservation to corporations, non-profit groups and other organizations.”

The challenge course at Cottage Lake Park is a two-level structure. Groups of eight travel together through a sequence of events at either or both levels. The specific activities are designed and coordinated by a trained instructor to allow for different people’s skills (i.e. balance, strength, coordination and problem-solving) and help ensure the success of the group. The challenges require the group to work together to solve mental puzzles in order to achieve a physical result.

Alpine Towers has been a leader in designing and constructing challenge courses since the late 1980s and according to the company’s Western Office Director Stephen Streufert, the Odyssey III is an ideal course to meet the Y’s needs.

He says, “Craig Wiley at the YMCA knew what he wanted in a course and the Odyssey fits the description perfectly, as it allows a group focus at both low and high levels. The course highlights the objectives of teamwork, cooperation, trust, communication, compassion and adventure. The true potential of a group is reached only when individuals develop compassion, respect and understanding of each other. They come to realize that their safety and the success of their endeavor depend on working together toward a common goal. The skills they learn or hone during this experience can be easily transferred to other aspects of their life.”

The challenge course at Cottage Lake won’t officially be open to the public until next spring, but according to Wiley, there has already been much interest in the structure. “We’ve been receiving phone calls and e-mails since the poles went in,” he comments. “People have been really curious about the structure and everyone’s wanted to know when it will be available for use. I think it’s going to be a huge success and fun for everyone. It’s a great community asset.”