Team Catch: Catching Game Tournament for Physical Education

Team Catch is a tag game tournament in which teams compete against each other against the clock in physical education class. In each game, each team takes turns being the taggers while the others run away – the team that catches everyone the fastest earns the most points. Children and young people can hunt individually and pass off teammates on the mats, catch as a chain holding hands, or tag in pairs between obstacles. Before the game, each team develops a strategy.

What is included in the material

• Handout with tournament setup, procedure, scoring, and practical experience
• Game descriptions for speed tag, chain tag, and pair obstacle tag, including duration, required equipment, and setup plan
• Tie-breaker game team obstacle tag with game description and setup plan
• Score sheet for all rounds, including times, points, and overall standings
• Discussion prompts on fairness for the beginning, middle, and end of the tournament
• Reflection sheet on fairness, strategy, and individual performance
• Certificates for placements and for particularly fair play

Tips for using the material

• Balanced teams: Teams can be formed with approximately the same number of players, who are as evenly matched as possible in speed and endurance; a colored bib or band serves as a team identifier.
• Game management: The start signal and timing can also be assigned to others, for example to students who have forgotten their sports kit.
• Time exceeded: If a round takes longer than planned, the score sheet can record how many players have not yet been caught.
• Plan breaks: Since the games are quite intense, team discussions and drinking breaks are recommended at the beginning and between games.
• Make fairness a central theme: Anyone who wants to focus on fairness can use the discussion prompts and reflection sheet during the tournament.
• In the event of a tie: If all teams have the same number of points, a tie-breaker game can follow, in which the entire tagger team hunts at the same time.
• Awards ceremony: An awards ceremony can be held at the end, with certificates depending on the learning group.

The following skills are promoted

• Speed and endurance in short, intense rounds of tag
• Tactical thinking when teams plan their approach and, for example, cleverly form pairs
• Teamwork when catching as a chain without letting go
• Fair play when students talk about fair behavior and assess their own behavior

Organizational notes

• Equipment: Gymnastics mats, gymnastics benches, and a stopwatch; for pair obstacle tag and the tie-breaker game, cones and, if needed, boxes as obstacles.
• Playing area: The tournament fits in a single-court sports hall, and the area can be enlarged or reduced depending on the size of the learning group. On the sports field, it can be marked with ropes, while carpet remnants or marking discs are suitable instead of mats.
• Time frame: The entire tournament can be carried out in a double period.

Additionally, there are more tag games for physical education class, material on the topic of fairness in physical education class, and more certificates for tournaments.