Rep Auction: Bet on Your Technique

Teams bid on how many technically sound reps of a pattern they will complete in 40 seconds; a technique referee counts only the valid ones. Meeting the bid wins those points and missing it loses them, so students need to know their real capacity and not trade technique for quantity.

How to play

1. Form five teams of five or six and explain the auction patterns: medicine ball squat, push-up, alternating lunge, stick hinge and plank shoulder taps (3 min).
2. 20-second trial round for each pattern with no points so each team can estimate its capacity (5 min).
3. Auction: before each pattern, each team writes its bid on the card; two members perform and someone from another team acts as technique referee (12 min).
4. Scoring: a met bid earns the points bid; a missed bid loses half (2 min).
5. Reflection: which team bid most accurately? Which pattern was most overestimated? (3 min).

Rules

• The referee counts aloud only the reps that meet the standards on the card.
• Rotate performers for each pattern so everyone takes part.
• If technique breaks down, the performer can stop with no extra penalty.
• Work areas are 6 feet apart, and the medicine ball is set down, never dropped from above.

Variations

Adaptations

• Wheelchair users: adapted patterns such as band presses or seated throws, with the same bidding system.
• Hearing impairment: the referee counts on their fingers instead of aloud.
• Low fitness level: may choose the regression of the pattern and bid on it.

Learning goals

• Accurately estimate your own work capacity with good technique.
• Judge others' technique with objective standards as a referee.
• Make team decisions based on data from the trial round.

Equipment for a class of 25

• cards: 10
• stopwatch: 5
• medicine ball: 5
• sticks: 5
• cones: 20

Teacher tip

The trial round is key so bids are reasoned and not random. Make sure referees are equally strict with every team.

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