Mixed Sprint Relay: Four Legs with Forking
A relay in mixed teams of four where every leg has variations (forking) so nobody can just follow the team ahead. It is modeled on the international mixed sprint relay, raced with two women and two men per team.
How to play
- Form mixed teams of four and explain forking: each team gets a different combination of controls on its legs, but by the end everyone has covered the same course (5 min).
- Walk-through of the changeover zone: where to wait, how to tag off with a hand slap, and where to pick up the next leg's map (3 min).
- Relay: mass start for leg 1; each runner covers a 5–7 control leg and tags the next teammate. Two students act as changeover officials (23 min).
- Card check: the officials confirm each team completed its full combination and rank the teams (4 min).
- Discussion: what forking changes compared to a regular race, and why mixed events are a model of gender equity in sport (5 min).
Rules
- Tag-offs happen only inside the coned zone and with a hand touch.
- Each runner takes their own pre-marked map; taking another leg's map is a DQ.
- No following runners from other teams: if you meet, everyone heads to their own control.
- Wait in the changeover zone standing still, out of the finish lane.
Variations
Easier
No forking, 4 controls per leg.
Standard
Forking on two legs, 5–7 controls per leg.
Harder
Forking on all four legs and maps with just the circles, no control descriptions.
Adaptations
- Limited mobility: their leg is set on accessible ground and timed like everyone else's.
- Visual impairment: runs with a guide, and the team picks the leg that suits them best.
- Low confidence: the team sets the order and can give them the shortest leg or the one with the most visible controls.
Learning goals
- Cooperate in a relay with individual responsibility.
- Understand forking as a tool for fair competition.
- Reflect on gender parity in sport formats.
Equipment for a class of 25
- school maps: 40
- control markers: 16
- crayons: 16
- pinnies: 30
- stopwatches: 2
Teacher tip
Pack each team's maps in numbered envelopes and write the leg code on every map; map mix-ups are the most common failure. If the class isn't gender-balanced, make teams as mixed as possible without singling anyone out.
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