At the beginning of my summer internship with Arcurve I was introduced to a lot of new things. A new tech stack, a new cohort of interns to bond with, and even an Arcurve mentor who I could reach out to for help. One thing I was not aware of was the Arcurve softball team that was being put together at the time. Upon initially meeting my mentor he invited me to come out and play at our first game. I was a little hesitant at first, but after some deliberation I thought why not?
Upon attending our first game, I immediately realized this was much more than just a recreational softball game, it was a way to team build with Arcurvians and other tech companies in Calgary. Organized by Platform Calgary and YYC Tech Gives - a group of Calgary based tech companies dedicated to giving back to the local community through donations to the Calgary Food Bank - the league consisted of 5 weeks of games amongst 12 different teams. Every Tuesday after work we would head out to the diamond to play against a different Calgary tech company. The league encouraged a competitive yet cooperative playing environment in which we all got to take turns playing different positions in the field. Many of the players on our team had never played softball and didn’t know the rules, yet by our last game they were hitting the ball and getting on base!
Although our team was filled with a lot of interns (who had probably been convinced to play by their mentors) there were also a lot of Arcurvians on the team who I had never met before. This was a great opportunity for us interns to put a face to the name for many Arcurvians we had only seen during Teams meetings. Through softball we were able to foster stronger connections within our own company as well as with others.
For me, playing softball was a great example of the culture and community that Arcurve promotes. Arcurvians of all ages came together as a team regardless of skill level to support each other both on and off the field. There was even a fundraising effort put together by the league to support STARS Air Ambulance. In the end, although we didn’t win as many games as we had hoped to, I think everyone had a bit of fun and enjoyed a few beers while doing so!
Overall, I had a great time playing softball with Arcurve and I think the rest of our team did as well. If you are interested in hearing more about what Arcurvians are doing, check out some of our other blog posts!
