Secret Shortcut: A Doping Decision Relay

Team relays around a circuit with a forbidden shortcut: before each round, the team secretly decides whether to take it, knowing there may be a random test. The game mirrors the doping dilemma and opens a discussion about pressure, risk and health.

How to play

1. Mark a 40-meter circuit with an inner cone gate that cuts 10 meters off; explain that going through the gate is the 'shortcut,' which gives an advantage but is against the rules (3 min).
2. Six relay rounds in teams of five; before each one, the team secretly decides with a face-down card whether to take the shortcut (12 min).
3. After each round, roll a die: on a 5 or 6 there is a test, and any team that used the shortcut loses that round's points and draws a card with a real health effect of doping (2 min).
4. Tally and discussion: why teams did or did not use the shortcut, who pushed for it, what happens if nobody is watching and what health effects piled up (6 min).
5. Connect to real cases and to the work of the World Anti-Doping Agency and the Spanish agency (CELAD) (2 min).

Rules

• Each team's decision is secret and respected: no one reveals another team's choice.
• Run on the outside of the cones on turns to avoid collisions.
• The penalty is never extra running: teams only lose points and draw a card.
• Tag off by touching hands, never pushing.

Variations

Adaptations

• Limited mobility: uses a shorter adapted route that counts the same and decides with the team.
• Hearing impairment: the die result and the start signal are shown with a raised hand.
• Low fitness level: the team can split laps so no one runs more than one per round.

Learning goals

• Reflect on the ethical dilemmas that lead to doping.
• Learn about the health risks of doping and the role of testing.
• Keep playing fair even when cheating offers a short-term advantage.

Equipment for a class of 25

• cones: 30
• cards: 30
• dice: 1

Teacher tip

Prepare about 12 cards with documented effects, such as heart rhythm problems, tendon ruptures, hormonal disorders or anxiety. Do not single out any team in the discussion: analyze decisions, not people.

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