Safe Tumbling Zone: Students Design and Check the Stations

In teams, students plan on a floor plan how to set up the gym's tumbling stations, then build them and inspect them with a safety checklist. It builds ownership of the practice space.

How to play

1. Common hazards: mats that slide apart, overlapping landing zones, hard equipment nearby, lines in the path (4 min).
2. Six teams draw their station on the plan (direction of travel and landing, waiting area, distance from walls) (6 min).
3. Set up the stations according to the plan (6 min).
4. Cross-check: each team inspects another team's station with the checklist and suggests one change (6 min).
5. Fixes and final teacher sign-off before anyone uses the stations (3 min).

Rules

• Mats are carried by four people, never dragged.
• Landing zones can't cross waiting lines or other stations.
• No hard equipment within two meters of a landing zone.
• No one uses a station until the teacher signs off.

Variations

Adaptations

• Limited mobility: lead the setup from the plan and inspect with the checklist.
• Blind or low-vision students: get a tactile or verbally described plan and check distances by pacing with a partner.
• Back injury: skip carrying and handle the inspection.

Learning goals

• Spot hazards in a tumbling area.
• Plan and set up a safe practice space.
• Share responsibility for safety.

Equipment for a class of 25

• mats: 12
• crash mats: 2
• gym benches: 4
• gym floor plans: 6

Teacher tip

Keep a photocopied gym plan with rough measurements; you'll reuse it all year. The usual mistake is mats that don't overlap: always check the seams.

More main activities for High School