Team Building Tug Of War
Activity Name(s): 4-Way Tug-O-War Type: Team Building
Source(s): http://www.wilderdom.com/games/descriptions/
Age Range/Fit: 10+
Facilitated Objective(s): 1. Students will develop interpersonal skills to motivate each other for maximal physical effort. 2. Students will develop team strategies to determine how to gain an advantage and how to counter opposing team strategies.
Equipment Needs: 4-pieces of rope tied to a central metal ring, or 2 pieces of rope tied so as to make them 4-ways. Cones will be needed to mark play areas. Gloves will be optional to protect student’s hands.
Space Needs: A large, flat grassy area that can easily accommodate the lengths of the ropes that the instructor chooses to use.
Time Needs: This game will need at least 5 minutes or until a team comes close to winning.
Group Size(s): 15-25
Prep/Set-Up Needs: The instructor will mark a location with cones to indicate a central area that teams are to avoid, and to designate where teams will formulate to pull their ropes. Another cone will be marked behind the teams, so that when every player on that team passes it, the team will win. The ropes must also be laid-down prior to beginning the activity.
Gender and/or Cultural Considerations: This activity should be able to be played by any gender or culture, but teams should be chosen by the instructor to ensure equal ability, and men and women on each team.
Other Considerations: Students should not be allowed to tie the ropes to themselves, and should wear gloves if possible to protect their hands. The instructor should use a whistle to alert teams when a round is over, and make clear that no one should be handling the ropes when the whistle is sounded. The instructor will also need to ensure players treat each other with respect as this game may become competitive among teams.
Possible Discussion Topics: Students can be engaged in discussions such as: How did it feel to physically exert yourself while also having to make strategies with your peers? What strategies worked and what did not? Did your team designate roles, or was it an equal effort by everyone?
Script for running the activity. What are you going to be saying? Considerations: Group formation(s); Introduction considerations; Activity objective(s); Boundaries; How long; Positive Directions; If you need to stop the group; Safety Concerns; What else…
Activity Description/Script:
The play areas should already be marked and ropes set before activity begins. Students will form equal teams, or the instructor will choose teams. The teams will then engage in a tug-of-war game where one team will win if it passes behind a certain point.
Script
“Hey everyone! Today, we are going to play 4-way tug of war. The area marked there is where we will play. You will need to rally yourselves to give your best effort while at the same time making strategies to counter the other teams. This is 4-way, so when your team passes behind the cone in back of your starting area, you win; the other teams will prevent you from passing that cone so they can pass their own. For safety reasons, you will all wear gloves, refrain from tying the ropes around any part of your body, and everyone will treat each other with respect; I do not want to hear put-downs or criticisms of others. I will now choose the teams at random to make sure it’s fair, and then after this round, we can randomly get new teams and try again.”
Activity Name(s): 4-Way Tug-O-War Type: Team Building
Source(s): http://www.wilderdom.com/games/descriptions/
Age Range/Fit: 10+
Facilitated Objective(s): 1. Students will develop interpersonal skills to motivate each other for maximal physical effort. 2. Students will develop team strategies to determine how to gain an advantage and how to counter opposing team strategies.
Equipment Needs: 4-pieces of rope tied to a central metal ring, or 2 pieces of rope tied so as to make them 4-ways. Cones will be needed to mark play areas. Gloves will be optional to protect student’s hands.
Space Needs: A large, flat grassy area that can easily accommodate the lengths of the ropes that the instructor chooses to use.
Time Needs: This game will need at least 5 minutes or until a team comes close to winning.
Group Size(s): 15-25
Prep/Set-Up Needs: The instructor will mark a location with cones to indicate a central area that teams are to avoid, and to designate where teams will formulate to pull their ropes. Another cone will be marked behind the teams, so that when every player on that team passes it, the team will win. The ropes must also be laid-down prior to beginning the activity.
Gender and/or Cultural Considerations: This activity should be able to be played by any gender or culture, but teams should be chosen by the instructor to ensure equal ability, and men and women on each team.
Other Considerations: Students should not be allowed to tie the ropes to themselves, and should wear gloves if possible to protect their hands. The instructor should use a whistle to alert teams when a round is over, and make clear that no one should be handling the ropes when the whistle is sounded. The instructor will also need to ensure players treat each other with respect as this game may become competitive among teams.
Possible Discussion Topics: Students can be engaged in discussions such as: How did it feel to physically exert yourself while also having to make strategies with your peers? What strategies worked and what did not? Did your team designate roles, or was it an equal effort by everyone?
Script for running the activity. What are you going to be saying? Considerations: Group formation(s); Introduction considerations; Activity objective(s); Boundaries; How long; Positive Directions; If you need to stop the group; Safety Concerns; What else…
Activity Description/Script:
The play areas should already be marked and ropes set before activity begins. Students will form equal teams, or the instructor will choose teams. The teams will then engage in a tug-of-war game where one team will win if it passes behind a certain point.
Script
“Hey everyone! Today, we are going to play 4-way tug of war. The area marked there is where we will play. You will need to rally yourselves to give your best effort while at the same time making strategies to counter the other teams. This is 4-way, so when your team passes behind the cone in back of your starting area, you win; the other teams will prevent you from passing that cone so they can pass their own. For safety reasons, you will all wear gloves, refrain from tying the ropes around any part of your body, and everyone will treat each other with respect; I do not want to hear put-downs or criticisms of others. I will now choose the teams at random to make sure it’s fair, and then after this round, we can randomly get new teams and try again.”