LETTERS: It's all about participation, not winning

From Dr Bertie Everard Sir: Barrie Clement's report that adventure courses for managers do more harm than good implies that it is normal practice to set "winners" against "losers". This, however, is no way to build teamwork and enhance leadership, and itis unsurprising that there are negative effects.

The overwhelming majority of adventure courses use competition in another sense: to encourage teams and individuals to compete against their previous best, which motivates them to self-improvement rather than to beat and humiliate others.

A few providers do indeed use "war games", but those with the best track records for delivering positive outcomes eschew them.

Yours faithfully, BERTIE EVERARD Chairman, Development Training Advisory Group Welwyn Garden City Hertfordshire 4 January