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Skating with skittles

Share your boarding skills and skate your way to a strike

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You’ll need

  • Access to water
  • Water bottles
  • Masking tape
  • 1-4 skateboards
  • Helmets
  • Kneepads
  • Elbow pads

Before you begin

  • Find out if there are any keen skateboarders in your group who can do some demonstrations, bring in equipment and share their knowledge.
  • Try and find safety equipment for everyone taking part. The more sets of pads and guards you have, the less time spent swapping over equipment. Check out national associations such as Skateboard England (also covers skateboarding in Wales), The Skateboard NI Facebook page and Skateboard Scotland for help to source equipment.
  • Make sure all equipment is fit for purpose and fits each skater comfortably.
  • If the person who would lead this activity isn’t suitable, find someone with knowledge and experience of street sports to lead this activity. This could be another member or an external instructor. This person will need to be briefed on the requirements for this activity and should be encouraged to bring their own equipment to show how they use it and take care of it.
  • Before beginning the session, set out a space for a large bowling alley, preferably on carpet or grass. Mark a starting line. Fill your plastic bottles with water and seal them tightly. Place the filled bottles in triangle shapes on the course to be skittles, but make sure they’re not near any walls or other obstacles. Leave some space between the skittle triangles.

Run the activity

  1. The person leading the activity should demonstrate how to stand correctly on a skateboard. Everyone should take turns to copy this and practise balancing to find a comfortable stance. Either foot can be in front, though some may find one to be preferable. Both feet should be shoulder-width apart and centred over the ‘trucks,’ which attach the wheels to the board.

Beginners should take a look at this video from SkateXS to help them with their stance. Everyone should wear all of the safety equipment whenever they’re on the skateboard.

  1. When someone feels ready, they should try moving. Put the board on a flat surface, place the front foot over the front trucks facing forward, bend the knees and place weight on the balls of the feet. Then, push off lightly with the back foot. Once moving, the back foot should be placed sideways over the back trucks and the front foot rotated 90 degrees, while still over the front trucks.
  2. When everyone has had a chance to push off, move about and master their stance, with the help of your experts, it’s time to start bowling. Split your skaters into two teams of mixed ability.

Large groups could divide off and take on different bowling alleys in teams.

  1. Each team should take turns to line up at the starting point with a board. The person leading the activity should do a quick check of their safety equipment before they set off in their own time. They should skate down the alley and try to knock over as many skittles as they can. The person leading the activity should keep score and note down how many skittles fall. Someone should replace all the skittles and then the other team should go.
  2. Continue until everyone’s had a turn from each team. Add up the scores to see who’s won.

Reflection

Split into small groups and create a skateboard scale. Do this by writing out ‘rated it’ and ‘hated it’ on two sticky notes and place these on either end of a skateboard. Next, write down the things you enjoyed (rated it) and found challenging (hated it) in this activity on sticky notes, and place in the relevant section of the board. Chat in your groups about why you made these decisions. Looking of everyone’s rate it’s and hate it’s, what new skills did you gain in this session and what would you like to learn next?

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.

Outdoor activities

You must have permission to use the location. Always check the weather forecast, and inform parents and carers of any change in venue.

Cycle and wheeled activities

Use appropriate protective equipment. You must wear helmets. Wear elbow and knee pads as defined by your risk assessment.

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.

Experienced skaters could be challenged further on their alley runs by placing some small obstacles (like cones) for them to slalom around. Positioning of the skittles can also make this activity easier or harder.

Get in touch with your local skate club or leisure centre for advice on accessibility in skating.

All Scout activities should be inclusive and accessible.

Scouts Street Sports Activity Badge

If you enjoyed this activity and want to spend more time making the most of your skateboards why not try Human Hungry Hippos? You’ll need to have at least three skateboards or trolley boards and some more equipment including plenty of balls and washing baskets.

Alternatively, explore some other street sports like roller blading, parkour or scootering. You can earn an Activity Plus by meeting the requirements of this badge for another street sport.

The standard rules are one person at a time and no outstretched arms. To give young people the opportunity to make the game their own they can discuss how to incorporate new rules and challenges.