[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)
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.
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!
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!
Teacher Carry Relay
How about incorporating a guaranteed crowd-pleaser into your sports day: the “Teacher Carry Relay”? The rules are simple.
Have the homeroom teacher—who always looks after the class—lie down on a blue tarp, then students carefully but quickly carry them.
A few students grab the tarp, circle around a designated cone, and place balls into a basket.
After that, they carry the teacher on the tarp to the finish line.
The result is determined by the finish time and the number of balls in the basket.
Work together as a team and carry your teacher safely without losing balance!
[For junior high school students] A roundup of sports you can do in the gym (21–30)
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.
In conclusion
There were probably some sports you’d never even heard of before, right? For ones that use special equipment, it’s totally fine to make your own look-alike gear.
The possibilities in sports are limitless—so get together and have fun giving them a try!