On Thursday 13th June, Consultant, Fraser Burnett hosted the third event of the Network of Tomorrow series which involved taking part in a padel tournament – the fastest-growing sport in the UK. Fraser shares some highlights from the day below.
As with all events in the ‘Network of Tomorrow’ series, our most recent instalment brought together a group of professionals from a range of industries. We aim to facilitate long lasting and meaningful relationships. Our previous events have been of consistent formats, so this time we decided to try something a little different! Padel has taken the UK by storm, and it provided a fun and informal (if a little sweaty!) setting for networking.
The event took place at Edinburgh Sports Club, which is a thriving racket sports club in the heart of Edinburgh. They have three floodlit padel courts, which are in constant use, but we were lucky enough to book them all out for two hours.
We all headed down to the courts and were split into groups based on experience – most attendees had nervous faces having never played padel before, but there were a few ‘PADEL BANDITS’ who claimed they were ‘unfamiliar’ with the sport!
Thankfully we were sensible enough to hire a coach for the first hour, who was put to good use helping people get a feel for the sport and learn the rules before launching into some friendly competition; or what was meant to be friendly, given the competitive nature of some of the attendees! Ultimately it came down to who had been listening hard in the training hour. After two hours of play, it was evident that people had a lot of fun and understood the addictive nature of the sport and why it is on the rise.
After the padel session, we headed back to the clubhouse for a barbecue and drinks. It was a typical Scottish summer day, so a huge thanks to the chef who braved the elements and cooked up his own storm on the grill!
It was brilliant to see everyone come together after the tournament ended, building on existing relationships constructed at previous events. Witnessing this evolution was great to see, especially with everyone becoming more relaxed, connected, and personable with one another. It is a pleasure to have played a role in connecting people with similar interests.
Once again, the feedback has been fantastic with people truly enjoying trying something new and building these long lasting relationships. Plans are already in place for the next two events in the Central Belt and Aberdeen, with a focus again on creating a purposeful event, bringing good people together and – most importantly – having fun.
Please get in touch with Fraser Burnett at [email protected] if you are interested in joining this growing network.
