[Obstacle Course Relay] Recommended Ideas & Fun Gags to Add to Your Sports Day
The “obstacle relay,” where teammates pass the baton while overcoming various obstacles, is a super fun event that excites people of all ages!
In this article, we introduce ideas for obstacle relays.
Hurdles and net crawls are classics, but this time we’ve also picked out some quirky, laugh-inducing ideas with a twist.
If you’re thinking, “Obstacle relays are a must, but the same old traditional course is boring!” then take a look for inspiration!
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[Obstacle Relay] Recommended Ideas and Fun Skits to Add to Your Sports Day (1–10)
Balloon popping
For those looking for an obstacle idea with a touch of humor, popping balloons is a great pick.
Tape a balloon to a chair with duct tape, and contestants have to sit on it to pop it.
It looks easy, but it’s surprisingly hard to burst! Because there’s a bit of luck involved, it’s a perfect idea for an obstacle course that isn’t just about pure foot speed.
bubble ball
We recommend incorporating bubble balls into obstacle relays.
They offer many advantages, such as high safety and minimal storage space.
There are various ways to use them—jumping on the bubble ball, carrying the ball with two people, or getting inside a tube-shaped bubble ball and pushing against each other—so feel free to get creative.
Bubble soccer and bubble sumo, which were devised to maintain social distancing during the COVID period, also seem to be options, so check them out if you’re interested.
When using bubble balls, it’s best to remove glasses and accessories, as they can cause damage or injury.
Rag-wiping relay
If you’re adding an obstacle race to an indoor sports day or recreational activity, how about including a floor-wiping segment with a rag? Place a rag on the floor and press it down with your hands, sliding it along as you go.
If this were real cleaning, you’d check whether it’s truly getting clean, but in an obstacle race, speed is everything! Since skin can get scraped on the floor and cause injury, it’s best to pick up speed only within a safe, comfortable range.
It could also be fun to set out cones and have participants dodge or loop around them as they move along.
[Obstacle Relay] Recommended Ideas & Fun Gags to Use at Sports Day (11–20)
Puzzle-solving! Obstacle Relay
As the name suggests, it’s a race that adds puzzle-solving elements to an obstacle relay.
Because you can’t proceed without clearing the puzzles at each checkpoint, it’s nice that even those who aren’t good at sports have a chance to win.
You can also make it more fun by taking advantage of the relay format—for example, having each runner collect keywords so that the final puzzle can’t be solved unless all of them are gathered.
However, be careful when creating the puzzles: if they’re too difficult, it may take too long for everyone to reach the finish.
Obstacle relay race in high heels
An obstacle relay race done in high heels would probably be a hit, since even just running normally and keeping your balance becomes difficult.
Running with your heels elevated is uncharted territory for most adults—especially men—who rarely, if ever, have that experience.
You won’t need to design a complex course like a standard obstacle relay, because even a simple course turns into a tough one, making preparation easier.
Just make sure participants are careful to avoid injuries, such as twisting an ankle.
vaulting box
Incorporating a vaulting box into an obstacle relay, where team unity is put to the test, could make it really exciting.
It’s also important to decide when to include the vaulting box.
When using one, you can choose the number of levels, whether participants simply go over it, and so on—there are many options, so it’s good to get creative depending on the members at the time.
In this video, they add constraints such as requiring a sideways vault.
Discussing as a group to ensure everyone can enjoy participating is another key point when planning an obstacle relay.
Candy hunt
One of the most crowd-pleasing, variety-show-style moments at a sports day is the candy search.
You fill a bat or bowl with powder and hide candies inside.
Since the runners have to find the candy without using their hands, by the time they find it and look up, their faces are completely white! If your policy prohibits using food or using hard candies that could be dangerous if swallowed, it may be difficult to include.
However, if it’s permitted—such as at an adults’ sports day—consider adding it to part of the course.