Team Ringo with Two Rings at Once

A team ringo game with two rings in play at once, a format of the sport created in Poland in the late 1950s. With two rings, players have to split their attention and organize their court defense.

How to play

1. Technique review: the ring flies flat, is caught one-handed and thrown with the same hand from where it was caught, with no steps (4 min).
2. Groups of three on each side of the net with one ring: low, high and crosscourt throws to find the open zones (5 min).
3. Add the second ring: each team serves one at the same time and plays freely without score to learn to track both (5 min).
4. 3 vs 3 games to 15 points with two rings; each team agrees beforehand who covers each zone (12 min).
5. Each team checks its sheet of points lost by zone and proposes a defensive adjustment (4 min).

Rules

• Throw the ring with the same hand that caught it, without moving with it.
• The ring must fly flat; if it flies on edge or wobbles, the other team scores.
• No one holds two rings at once.
• Throw to the other team's court, never straight at someone's body.

Variations

Adaptations

• Wheelchair users defend the front zone and may catch with both hands.
• Students with visual impairments play with a brightly colored ring and a teammate calls out its direction.
• Injury to the dominant hand: throws and catches with the other hand, and their misses don't give the other team a point in the first game.

Learning goals

• Split attention between two objects at once.
• Organize court defense by zones.
• Throw accurately into open space.

Equipment for a class of 25

• ringo rings: 8
• volleyball nets: 2
• cones: 16
• score sheets: 4

Teacher tip

Ringo rings are rubber and cheap; if you don't have them, rubber rings from ring-toss games work. The net goes at volleyball height. Typical mistake: two players go for the same ring and the other one drops untouched.

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