Get Your Move On

Game Category: Zone Games

Type of Activity: Partner Play

What’s It All About?

Sports such as soccer, goalball, and wheelchair ultimate can be categorized as zone games. In these sports, participants work to control the various zones within the playing area and maintain possession of an object to score points. In this activity, participants are working on playing specific roles such as “taggers” and “movers” while travelling within the playing boundary.

Did You Know?

• In 2010, Special Olympics held its first Unity Cup, which paired soccer professionals with Special Olympics players on teams that competed against one another.¹
• In Goalball, eye shades are worn by all players to ensure a level playing field of total sightlessness. There are tactile markings on the floor that help participants determine where they are on the court.²
• In Wheelchair Ultimate Frisbee, there are no referees, and mutual respect is a necessary element for the game to work. Many participants find that upside-down throws are most successful from a wheelchair.³

Equipment

• 1 hoop per pair
• 1 implement for tagging per pair (e.g., pool noodle, scarf)
• Objects to balance (e.g., beanbag, foam ball, rubber chicken, deck ring)
• Optional equipment: scooters, hockey sticks, paddles
• Pylons or tape to create the playing area

Safety

For participant safety, please review the Disability-Centred Movement Activities safety page and the activity instructions prior to the activity.

Set-up

• Divide participants into pairs.
• Designate a playing area for each pair to set up their pylons.
• Place pylons in a circle formation about 6 feet in diameter to mark the boundaries of the playing area.

Learn to Play

• The objective of this activity is for the tagger to tag the mover, while the mover tries to avoid being tagged.
• Pairs determine who the tagger is and who the mover is.
• Participants determine what a successful tag is (e.g., using a pool noodle to tap the other participant’s leg, a tap on the back).
• Participants are only allowed to move around the outside of their 6-foot circle playing area.
• On the signal to begin, the tagger attempts to tag the mover. When the tag is made, participants switch roles.

Action to Play

• Invite participants to explore how to play the activity while moving in various ways using different objects and implements. For example:
  • Adjust the playing area by increasing or decreasing the boundaries (e.g., make the circle larger).
  • When moving, participants can speed walk, crawl, jump, or hop on one leg.
  • The tagger can only hold the implement with their non-dominant hand.
  • Participants use an implement to control an object, while protecting it from their partner (e.g., using their feet to control a ball, using a stick to control a deck ring).
• Invite participants to explore different ways to play the activity from Learn to Play.

Power All To Play

• Invite participants to explore the Action to Play co-created list of different ways to travel when playing the game.

• The objective of this activity is for the mover to travel back to their safe zone without being tagged.
• Using pylons or tape, create a large playing area for each pair (e.g., large rectangle).
• Place a pylon in the middle of each playing area with an object balanced on it. Position a tagging implement beside the pylon on the ground. Place a hoop at opposite ends of the playing area to designate a safe zone for each participant.
• Participants in each pair stand at opposite sides of the playing area in their designated safe zone, their hoop.
• On the signal to begin, participants move toward the pylon with the object balanced on it.
• The participant who grabs the object first becomes the mover. The other participant becomes the tagger. The mover attempts to return to their safe zone before being tagged.

Play & Ponder

Use the following question prompts throughout the activity to encourage participants to think about and apply the skills, concepts, and strategies used in the activity.

• As a tagger, describe what strategies you apply to tag the mover. What is successful? What is challenging?
• As a mover, describe how you make it challenging for the tagger to tag you. What is successful? What is challenging?
• How can you adjust the activity to make it easier or more challenging for you and your partner (e.g., change the boundaries of the game, add an implement with an object, explore different ways to move)?
• Describe other sports, games, and activities that use the same skills, concepts, and strategies like this zone game.