RELAYS

THREE HEADED MONSTER RELAY 

Divide players into teams of three.  Each team steps inside one hoop.  Race around cones and back three times, keeping all team members up and together.

HOOPSTER RELAY

Players line up, side by side, hoops in front of them.  Each player rolls his hoop forward with hands or a stick, around a cone, and back.  

SHUTTLE RELAY

Two teams line up side by side.  In each line, the first and second players run together in one hoop, go around a cone and return.  The first players go to end of their lines.  The second players repeat with the third players, and so on.  The first team to have their first and last players  go around the cones a second time wins.

HORSE AND BUGGY RELAY

Players pair up.  One player, the driver,  steps into a hoop at waist level.  The second player, the horse, steps in front of the hoop so that it touches him in the back.  Teams race around cones and back.  The rule is that they have to keep their hoop touching the horse’s back, or else they have to go back to the beginning.  The second leg of the race, players switch roles and repeat. 

CAR AND DRIVER RELAY

This is the same as the horse and buggy, except that the front player is the driver, holding a second hoop as a steering wheel and directing the passenger inside the hoop "car".

HOOP TUNNEL RELAY

Divide players into two teams.  Each time lines up, holding their hoops together to form a tunnel.  The end player runs through the hoops, and taps the first player, who hands over his hoop for that player to hold.  The tapped player then goes to the end of the line and through the tunnel.  The first team to have every player go through twice, wins.

GAMES

THREAD THE NEEDLE

Divide the players into two teams.  Each team forms a circle and joins hands.  A hoop hangs from one member’s arm in each circle.  Players must pass the hoop to a neighbor without letting go of his hands.  If they do let go, the hoop has to go back to the beginning and start again.  The first team to get their hoop all around the circle without breaking their chain wins. 

MUSICAL HOOPS

Put hoops in a cluster, one fewer than the number of players.  When the music starts, players walk, hop, skip, or whatever the caller/music controller says to do, in a clockwise circle around the hoop pile.  When the music stops, each player must hop into a hoop.  The player who doesn't have a hoop is eliminated. Remove one hoop from the pile.  The eliminated player decideds how the other players will move around the circle for that next round.  Repeat until the last player left in the last hoop wins.

MUSICAL HOOPS 2

In this variation, the rules are the same as above except that there are fewer hoops to start and players are allowed to share hoop space.  When the music stops, no player can have any part of their body outside a hoop.  Players can be eliminated several at a time.  The last three players in the last hoop left are the winners.

HEADS UP

Have one student throw a hoop vertically, straight up in the air.  Other players try to catch the hoop before it hits the ground.  If they don’t, the thrower wins the round and gets to throw again.  If they do, the thrower is eliminated and the player who caught it gets to throw next.  Go until a thrower wins three rounds in a row and is declared the champ.

BALLOON HOOP GAME

Divide into two teams. A player from each team holds a hoop at waist level, out in front of him.  A referee tosses a balloon into the air.  Each team tries to hit the balloon into their team’s hoop using anything but their hands (heads, elbows, knees, and feet are okay).  Players can’t hit the balloon twice in a row.  If a balloon hits ground, the referee calls it out and tosses it up from center again.  The first team to score five baskets wins.

HOOP HOP TAG 

During this game, all players have to hop on one foot the entire time.  Place two hoops on opposite ends of the room to be bases.  A player may not stay on base more than 10 seconds at a time. The player chosen as "it" stands inside a hoop, holding it at waist level while hopping and trying to tag other players.   When a player is touched by the hoop, he has to get inside the hoop too and is also "it."  Each person tagged will join the others in the hoop.  The game ends when nobody else will fit inside the "it" hoop. 

HULA RING TAG

The person who is "it" has a hoop.  The other players do not.  “It” tries to ring a player to make them "it."  This is not a ring toss.  Be careful of noses!

HOOP ROLL

Line up players side by side at the end of the room.  Line up a row of cones with small spaces between them on the opposite end.  Have players toss and roll their hoops through the cones while remaining behind a line.  The competition can be for accuracy, distance, or speed.

SINKING SHIP

The players stand together in a cluster, pretending to be on a sinking ship.  One player stands inside a hoop that represents a life boat.  That player calls on one person from the ship to get into his boat.  That person calls on another person, and so on.  The object is to see how many people will fit inside one hoop.  No part of any player's body is allowed to touch the floor outside the hoop.  This can be done in two teams to see who can get the most people in a life boat.

CYCLONE

Each player spins a hoop at waist level.  Without using their hands, but only using their hoops, each player tries to knock the other players' hoops off without losing his own hoop. The last person left hooping is the winner.

HOOP TRAIN

Players line up.  The end player (the caboose) stands with his hoop against his back and another player steps in, facing the same direction, with the hoop against his tummy.  That second player holds his own hoop against his back and invites another player in.  The result is a chain of hoops overlapping so that each person is inside two hoops.  The lead person is the engineer. Go around the room to music, in a conga line train.  Be careful not to sqeeze anyone!  Players should keep their hands on their hoops to help control the distance from other players.