Flip the Disc

Setting: Curricular

Season: Spring

Activity Goal

Participants apply game strategies to score points while avoiding getting tagged in a game. Participants consider how activities can be adapted to engage others in outdoor activities in the spring.

For participant safety, please review the contents of the Beyond the Walls: Safety Considerations page for information on Safety Standards, Spring Safety Considerations, and Outdoor Playing Areas and Surfaces.

Equipment

• Cones/pylons
• 20 discs (10 per side of the playing area)
• 20 hoops (10 per side of the playing area)
• Paper (to identify a point value for each disc)
• Pinnies (2 colours, one per participant to differentiate teams)

Before Play

• Review the safety rules and activity instructions with participants prior to the activity.
• Establish the boundaries for the designated playing area and share them with participants.
• Inspect the activity area and eliminate potential hazards. Check that the activity surface provides safe traction.
• Divide the playing area in half, identifying the midpoint with cones/pylons.
• Divide the participants into two groups and assign each group to one side of the playing area.
• Participants scatter 10 hoops on each side of the playing area and place a disc in each hoop.
• Participants assign a point value, from 1 to 10, to each disc by writing the point value on a piece of tape and adhering it to the underside surface of the disc. Alternately, have 4 different coloured discs and the team decides the point value of each colour (1, 5, 10, 20). Point totals assigned to each colour of disc must be the same and agreed upon by each team.
• Participants ensure the numbers are facing down so that the point values are hidden.
• The objective of the game is for teams to cross over to the other team’s side and flip a disc and return to their side without being tagged. Remind participants that a tag is a touch on the back, shoulder, or arm, and not a push, punch, or grab.
• If a participant is successful, they earn the points designated on the underside of the disc. If they are tagged, they must return to their side. If they have flipped a disc before being tagged, the disc is flipped back over.
• A participant can only flip over one disc at a time after which they return to their side before making another attempt to flip a disc.
• The game ends when all discs have been flipped.

During Play

• Select two participants from each group to be the designated taggers.
• To start the game, players line up facing each other at the end line of their side of the playing area.
• Play begins on a designated signal (e.g., a command, a whistle).
• Players can be tagged only when they enter or are in the opposing team's territory.
• Groups work together to collect the most points by flipping as many discs as possible.
• Restart the game after a determined amount of time or if one group succeeds in flipping all the discs.

After Play

Use the following prompts for participants to reflect on ways to be active in spring and engage others in activities to build a habit of participating in outdoor activity throughout the year.

Question prompts:

• When was the optimal time to invade the other group’s territory?
• How did you work as a group to be successful at turning over the discs?
• What strategies did you use to prevent getting tagged?
• How would you adapt this game to make it less challenging?
• How would you adapt this game to make it more challenging?
• How might you adapt this game to play with friends in other outdoor settings for opportunities to engage in physical activity in different settings?

Adaptations

Consider these tips to maximize the challenge and the fun for participants.

• Decrease or increase the number of discs and hoops.
• Assign the roles of taggers (defence) or runner/flipper (offence) to participants.
• Add challenges that participants are required to perform before flipping a disc (e.g., perform a fitness activity, touch two other hoops, run in a circle around a hoop).
• Designate one participant per group to act as a ‘healer’ who can turn the flipped discs back over, removing the points from the other group.
• Allow a disc to be flipped a maximum of three times before it is permanently flipped and no longer in play.

Modifications

Consider these tips to maximize inclusion and fun for all participants.

• For participants with mobility challenges, when in the role of tagger, provide them with an implement to use to tag participants (e.g., pool noodle).
• For participants with mobility issues, allow for a larger no-tag zone or the player must be tagged twice by two separate opposition players.
• To adapt the speed of play, create safe zones for all participants to use while in the other group’s territory.