Venture Scouts : Programme Ideas

.Fun and games   

 Onion Jousting

Mark off a boundary that?s about 2 metres in diameter. Find two participants. Give each person two spoons (soup spoons or large serving spoons may help younger players) and an onion that will rest comfortably in one of the spoons (no onions so large that they topple out at the slightest movement)-Indicate to players that they must place onion in one spoon then hold that spoon by, the handle only-, they may not touch the onion. They should hold the empty spoon in the other hand. Once the players are ready, let the joust begin. Players attempt to knock their opponents onion to the ground using the empty spoon only while protecting their own onion from falling

Rules

No excessive bodily contact is allowed no pushing, shoving, tackling, tickling or foot stomping. The well-played joust resembles a dance as players twist, bob, weave, bend, gyrate and contort themselves to avoid the thud of their onion falling to the turf. It?s beautiful in an odd way, and quite a bit of fun as well. To up the ante a wee bit, substitute eggs for the onions

Paper drop.

An exercise to improve eye to hand contact and reaction time.

You will need a number of paper or light card strips 15 cm by 6 cms. The game is challenge based using two players. One player holds the strip of paper between his/her thumb and forefinger in a pinching motion. The other positions his/her hand in an open pinch position about a 20mm below the strip of paper as shown. The paper is now dropped by the challenger and his/her opponent tries to catch it as it drops through their fingers (just pinching - no dropping or scooping motions with the hand allowed). Not many individuals have the reaction time to make that kind of rapid psychomotor movement. Before you start the drop and-grab sequence, mark the length of paper (top to bottom) in 2 cm gradations so you can estimate and measure the reaction time of different people. Start with the bottom of the paper just between the fingers. Don?t allow any anticipatory sounds or movements. For example, don?t say, ?...ready, set, GO.? Have lots of measured sheets available so that players can operate in pairs.

Back Stabbers

You will need about 50 clothes pegs. If the pegs come in different colors, that?s a bonus for eventual team designation. You can spray paint the wood pins to achieve the team colors needed.

Hand out 4 pegs of any color to each participant. Indicate that players are to try and get rid of their pegs by clipping them onto the clothing of any other player, who will also be trying to do the same. As soon as a player legally gets rid of all four clips, he jumps up and down, simultaneously shouting that he has accomplished this. and if anyone is listening, that person is eventually recognized as the winner. Emphasis is obviously on the action rather than the outcome. Clipping of pegs is only allowed above the waist. As such, all the clippers begin to look like matadors attempting to place bandarihos in the bull

Rules

Clipping or entangling hair is a no-no. If a clip stays on for 5 seconds, it is considered a legal clip.

If a clip spontaneously falls off before 4.99 seconds have elapsed, it must be picked up by the clipper for another try. Clipees may not rub their clipped body against another person, or the wall, or whatever in order to dislodge a legal clip. Clothing cannot be grabbed to slow down a running player, or to facilitate a clip. Boundaries area needs to be established.

Stepping Stones

One prop per person and two ropes or another suitable method for identifying the Take-Off (Point A) and the Safe Zone (Point B).

Props can be:

Carpet tiles - 12' squares work well or, odd-shaped pieces big enough for 2 - 4 - peoples feet to squish onto 18' lengths of 4?x 4" timber Extras: One suitable object to be carried along by the group

Set-Up

The basic set-up here is the old Point A to Point B without touching the ground in between-routine. People are assembled at Point A. given one prop less than their number; i.e., nine people get eight props and told to arrive safely with the entire group at Point B before time runs out. If this sounds too much like the same old thing, here?s the fun way.

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 Pencil fun

Try and draw the shapes displayed is one action - without taking the pencil from the paper. You can not backtrack over previously drawn lines

People are on Planet Venturos a marvelous world of beauty, peace and intellect. The people there want to spread their lifeform throughout the universe so they are embarking on a space voyage to another world. To leave the planet they will need special life-support vehicles to carry them safely through space and shield their genetic treasure. Their life-support vehicles are the props. Any life-support system can support as many people as can stand on it.

Rules

Anyone touching the ground in space; i.e., between the boundaries, must return to the home planet for decontamination and spiritual healing. Rescuing these fertile travelers is recommended, since all people are expected to arrive safely at the new planet. For a life support vehicle/system to function, someone must be touching it at all times when it is in space to maintain the 98.6' temperature necessary to maintain DNA viability. If a life-support is untouched for even an instant, it ceases to function and it is immediately removed from the activity.

Example: A person tosses the support onto the ground, and then steps onto it Because it left that person?s grasp when it was tossed, it is lost forever. A correct use would be to place it on the ground and step onto it while having constant touch with the prop by hand. Be extremely watchful for untouched life supports. People try to hide the fact that they make a mistake. Don?t let a untouched prop remain in use

Setting boundaries: Generally, it makes sense to set the boundaries far enough apart so that the group will need to recycle some of their props in order to cross the gap

Foot-o-war

A length of lashing rope has a loop tied into, each end using a bowline, being large, enough to slip on (and off) a foot and a rag is tied around the centre. 3 lines are draw on floor or ground as for tug-o-war. Participants are called to the play area, a pair at a time, and must sit each other. They each slip a the rope onto one, of their feet, and the rag is placed over the middle line.

On the word ?Go?, they must attempt to pull their opponent so that the rag passes the line nearest to them. If the loop-slips off a Scout?s foot, he has lost.

Organise a mini-tournament with, possibly, several pairs battling it out at a time.

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