No-Snow Winter Games Stations
Five winter sports adapted for the gym: skating on sliding discs, team skis, biathlon, beanbag curling and a pole slalom. Students work on balance and coordination and get to know sports they rarely try.
How to play
- Show pictures of each winter sport in 3 minutes and make 5 groups of 5.
- Skating: with a sliding disc under each foot, glide around a cone oval. Team skis: groups of three on one pair of skis move forward stepping together.
- Biathlon: run a 40-yard lap and toss 3 beanbags into hoops from 3 m; every miss adds a short 10-yard penalty loop.
- Curling: slide beanbags along the floor to stop as close as possible to the center hoop; play two against two, and the closest scores. Slalom: lateral two-foot hops through pole gates.
- Each station lasts 4 minutes, and groups rotate on the whistle (20 min).
- Wrap-up (2 min): each group votes for its favorite sport and discusses which needed the most balance.
Rules
- At the skating station everyone goes the same direction and nobody grabs others.
- On team skis, call the step out loud: "Right, left!"
- Curling beanbags slide on the floor and are never thrown through the air.
- Slalom poles stay on the floor or on low cones.
Variations
Easier
Skate with one disc and step through the slalom instead of hopping.
Standard
Five 4-minute stations with one winter sport each.
Harder
Biathlon with two laps and curling with blocking shots against opponents.
Adaptations
- Limited mobility: curling and biathlon from a wheelchair, and skating replaced by a scooter board pushed with the hands.
- Hearing impairment: visual signals for rotations and a demonstration before each station.
- Lower fitness: walk the biathlon penalty loop.
Learning goals
- Improve balance on sliding surfaces and in a group.
- Coordinate movement with teammates.
- Learn about winter sports and their basic rules.
Equipment for a class of 25
- sliding discs: 10
- team skis: 2
- poles: 10
- scooter boards: 2
- beanbags: 12
- hoops: 4
- cones: 15
Teacher tip
Sliding discs only work well on a clean gym floor, so test them first. Keep the skating station away from walls with room to stop.
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