[For Junior High Students] A Summary of Sports You Can Do in the Gym
Everyone, do you like exercise? Many of you are probably already working hard in school clubs and the like.
To help you get moving even more and build greater stamina, this article rounds up sports that middle schoolers can play in a gymnasium! We’ve included some classics, as well as newer sports whose rules might not be obvious from the name but have been growing in popularity in recent years.
Be sure to make use of these for PE class or recreational activities!
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[For Junior High Students] Sports You Can Do in the Gym (11–20)
Mini tennis
Mini tennis is played with a racket smaller than a tennis racket and a vinyl ball.
Because the racket is light and easy to handle and the court is small, it’s popular among players of all ages.
Matches are often played in doubles, and the rule is to return the ball to the opponent’s court after one bounce.
It’s a good idea to practice with shadow swings and simple catch before trying a match.
Learning techniques like the forehand drive and topspin makes it even more enjoyable—making it a ball sport recommended for junior high school students.
Sports Chanbara
Have you heard of Sports Chanbara? As a sport you can play in a gym, it’s a great idea to include in your school festival.
The rules are simple—you battle using air-soft swords—but it’s surprisingly engaging.
Safety is well covered too: wear protectors and there’s no need to worry about injuries.
You can even use rolled-up newspaper as a substitute sword, so you don’t need any special equipment.
It’s perfect not only for recreation with friends but also for P.E.
classes.
You’ll get to move your body to the fullest, and everyone is sure to have a blast.
Give it a try!
curling
Carooring is a sport similar to curling but played on a floor instead of ice.
Players slide a ball called a “jet roller,” which resembles a curling stone, toward a circular target zone to score points.
Just like in curling, it’s OK to knock an opponent’s jet roller out of position.
You can enjoy the mind games of deciding where to place your jet roller and which of the opponent’s to bump out.
But because it requires less force than curling and is easy to pick up, it’s a sport that even people who aren’t confident in their athletic ability can try.
Kimball
Everyone, have you heard of kin-ball? It’s a very unique sport you can enjoy in a gym.
You play with a huge ball over one meter in diameter.
The rules are interesting too: three teams of four players compete.
It’s fun to get the hang of hitting and receiving, and teamwork is essential.
The great thing is that anyone can enjoy it regardless of age or body type.
It’s also perfect for building fitness.
You work together to plan strategies and sharpen your agility.
It sounds like a fresh athletic experience.
Give it a try with your friends!
soft volleyball
Soft volleyball is a ball game inspired by volleyball.
It is popular among seniors and children, and is recommended even for those who aren’t confident in sports or for middle school beginners.
Aside from using a soft rubber ball, you can play using the same rules as volleyball.
In six-player teams, three players line up in the front row and three in the back, taking on roles such as attacker, setter, and libero.
You score by hitting the ball into the opponent’s court, and the first to 15 points wins.
It’s also a perfect sport for deepening bonds by cooperating with classmates and friends.
Giant Ball Lifting
Team up and compete by tossing a giant ball as many times as you can in “Giant Ball Lifting.” It’s not only exciting—it’s also a great way to strengthen bonds among teammates.
Participants step inside a large circle drawn on the ground and keep the ball aloft with consecutive tosses, but the attempt ends if they step outside the circle.
Even with several people tossing, launching the giant ball into the air takes real strength.
It’s more draining than it looks, so both participants and supporters should bring plenty of energy and enthusiasm!
Dash through the gym while scrubbing the floor!
This activity involves racing through the gym while in the posture used for wiping the floor with a cloth—competing for speed while also cleaning the gym.
Since it uses a unique posture different from regular running and involves equipment, you also get to experiment with how to go faster.
Until participants get used to it, it’s recommended to first compete in straight-line sprints, then expand to courses with curves or obstacles.
Even those who aren’t good at regular running might discover that they can win in this posture—there may be new findings like that.
Reaction game using markers
It’s a game where players compete to see who can grab a specified marker fastest from a circle of markers in various colors.
There’s a cone placed at the center of the marker circle, so the game starts with everyone running around that cone.
The key is that everyone runs in the same direction, and the caller will either give an instruction to switch running direction or call out a color.
It’s a game that tests each player’s reflexes, where predicting when a color will be called—and which color it will be—is also important.
Weird relay
By adding rule variations to a relay where team members run in turn, you can enjoy it as a more complex event.
When it’s a person’s turn, they carry out specified actions while thinking them through, cooperate as a team to meet the conditions, and aim for victory—that’s the general flow.
Introducing thinking elements—such as a game inspired by bingo where teams align rows by their team color—creates more opportunities for people who aren’t confident in athletics to shine.
By combining various victory conditions, you can also build excitement through different strategic approaches.
Samurai sword-fighting (chambara) battle
The “Chanbara Battle,” which tests concentration and teamwork, is sure to be a hit at a junior high school sports festival.
Split into teams, wield foam swords, and knock off the life balls attached to your opponents’ arms.
The team that knocks off the most life balls wins! Decide whether to set a time limit for the game or play until all of one team’s balls are knocked off, depending on the festival schedule.
Since it’s chanbara, it could also be fun to don samurai warlord-style costumes for the battle!