Play keep ball
You’ll need
- Ball (ideally a rugby ball)
Before you begin
- Use the safety checklist to help you plan and risk assess your activity. There's also more guidance to help you carry out your risk assessment, including examples.
- Make sure all young people and adults involved in the activity know how to take part safely.
- Make sure you’ll have enough adult helpers. You may need some parents and carers to help if you’re short on helpers.
Planning and setting up this activity
- Make sure you have enough room for the whole group to be moving around at the same time.
- You should mark out a starting line and end line for each team, such as with chalk, masking tape or cones.
Running this activity
- Gather everyone together and ask if anyone has ever watched or played rugby.
- Explain to the group how they are going to be playing a game called ‘Keep Ball’, which will help them practice some rugby passes. You should have a safety talk and demonstration about how to pass the ball safely. Within this game, people will need to pass a ball like you do in rugby, so backwards and sideways. If anyone hasn’t watched or player rugby before, you may want to find a video or demonstrate the two passes.
- The object of the game is to get the ball from one end of the space to the other end (the try zone) without it touching the ground by passing it between team members. If the ball is dropped, the team needs to go back to the start and try again.
- Depending on the size of the group, you could either have a few teams racing against each or everyone could play together. If you have a big group, we suggest splitting everyone into teams of 6.
- To score a point, everyone in the team will need to have had the ball before it reaches the try zone. An adult or young leader could be assigned to each team to check this happens.
- Team members can move, but make sure it is in a way that works for everyone. That may mean running, but it can also mean walking.
- If playing with several teams, the first team to complete the challenge could get a point and the most points wins after a few rounds.
- If playing with just one group, all working together as a team, you could challenge them to do it under a minute or in the fastest time they can.
Reflection
This game was a really fun way to be physically active. Can anyone name a skill that this game helped people work on? People should take it in turns to share their ideas, they might include aiming, throwing, or working together. Where else might these skills be useful? They’re all useful for plenty of other sports. When people exercise, their heart rate often increases because their body works hard to get more oxygen and blood to their muscles. Being active can make us feel calmer, too.
Safety
All activities must be safely managed. You must complete a thorough risk assessment and take appropriate steps to reduce risk. Use the safety checklist to help you plan and risk assess your activity. Always get approval for the activity, and have suitable supervision and an InTouch process.
- Active games
The game area should be free of hazards. Explain the rules of the game clearly and have a clear way to communicate that the game must stop when needed. Take a look at our guidance on running active games safely.
- Contact games and activities
Make sure everyone understands what contact is acceptable, and monitor contact throughout the activity.
To make this activity harder, try a game of tap rugby.
- If someone does not want to participate in the physical side of this game, make sure to find another way for them to be involved such as being score keeper.
- Ensure the space is designed in a way that works for all young people. This may include paying attention to the type of ball used, or altering how the ball gets passed between players.
All Scout activities should be inclusive and accessible.
If you enjoyed this activity, why not try some other Rugby inspired activities!