Special Olympics

Description

The players split into 6 teams, each one with a group leader. 

There are 6 stations with a different challenge. 

The maximum time for completing each is 5 minutes. When the time is over, a bell will ring to signal the end of the challenge. 

Each team starts from one station and they move to the other in rotation after they are done with it. 

 For every challenge they succeed, they get a stamp on a card already made and previously given to each group leader by the facilitator. 

The more stamps you get the more advantage you have for the final challenge.

Challenge 1: “Spoon Game” 

The goal of this challenge is to put a ball inside a cup for 3 times in 5 minutes. 

The participants start the game behind the starting line that is 6-7 m far from the cup and they have to reach it passing the ball spoon by spoon. 

The spoons are hold by the mouth and they cannot be touched in other ways. 

If someone drops the ball, or touch it with any other parts of the body, then it is a foul and they must restart from the beginning. 

The player who has the ball cannot walk (he can only move his body or turn his head) so the other players have to move in order to help him to reach the cup. 

The specific learning goal of this game is to improve the coordination as a team.

Challenge 2: “Handicapped riddle”

The goal of this challenge is that every member of the team knows the answer to a riddle. 

The players cannot speak between them, but they can make noises and gestures with their bodies. 

Players must wear a facemask. 

They cannot write words in the air. 

Players have 5 minutes to guess the answer. When those 5 minutes passes, they will have to write in a paper what they think is the answer. If every answer is correct, they get the point.

Example of a riddle:
"If you say my name i no longer exist. What am I?"
(answer: silence)

Challenge 3: “Water challenge”

Participants have to carry a glass of water in order to fill a bottle. 

Only three participants can carry the glass, each one with one finger. The rest of the participants support them giving advice. 

They are going to carry the glass many times, and every round they can change their roles. 

The group complete the task if they are able to fill the whole bottle before time is out (or the bell rings). 

Challenge 4: “European quiz”

A quiz about interesting facts on European Countries, the EU and Erasmus+. They have to answer correctly 5 out of 8 question.

Challenge 5: “Welcome to letter cooking!” 

In this game you have to place in the correct order mixed up letters in order to create a sentence with a meaning. But wait…first you have to find those letters during a little treasure hunt. This game will challenge your ability to understand the language but also the linguistic competence. Time is ticking…

For this game I used the sentence “throw the boomerang and catch it” but one can use any sentence he prefers. You will need 3 small sheets of paper. On the first one you write the first two words with their letters mixed up, without a gap. 

In the second one you write only the third word mixed up and in the last one, the last three words mixed up, again without a space. It might look like this…WHRHTTOE (2 words) i, AMOGOBERN (1 word) ii, NHAADCCTTII (3 words) iii. 

The i, ii, iii, symbols are to indicate the order. 

Now you hide the sheets and invite the teams to find them. 

When they do, you provide them with papers and pens to help them solve the riddle. You may never give clues, but wait for them to announce you the full sentence.

Challenge 6: “Drawing challenge”

The goal of the game is to work as a team looking for something by drawing. Four of the group have to draw, and one of them have to close his eyes and then guess what the others have drawn. 

There are rules for drawing: they have four different markers (everyone has a different color) and they have to put a single line each on the sheet and create a shape. 

Some examples are chair, ship, basketball etc… 

They can’t close the line and they can’t talk, only draw during one minute.

Final challenge: “1, 2, 3, Stop”

The teams are competing against the others into a 30x40m pitch. 

The more stamps they got from the previous games, the greater the advantage (each stamp is a further step to the finish line). The goal is to reach the final line before the other teams. The teams have to move as a group while holding their hands.

A facilitator/ referee will be standing on the finish line giving his back to the players. Then he will turn around after saying “1, 2, 3, Stop” and he will check if anyone is moving. If so, the whole team has to get back to the starting point. 

The first whole team that crosses the finish line is the winner.

Reflections

Once the game is over, participants gather again in a circle and there you pose some questions to the whole group. They can share their answers if they feels so or keep them for themselves. The questions are the following ones:

- Have you felt part of the team while playing?

- Did you trust your teammates?

- Do you prefer being part of a team or playing by your own?