Under the Rope

Duration:          20 – 30 minutes

Group Size:       Section or Platoon Level

Resources:       2 toggle ropes per section

Overview:    To successfully cross under the rope from one side to another under varying conditions, without touching the rope.

Conduct:

  1. The rope-handlers join 2 toggle-ropes to make a skipping rope. Team members gather on one side of the rope. 
  2. Rope handlers swing the skipping-rope in a constant rhythm, away from the participants as it hits the ground. (Note: the other direction is extremely difficult to cross).
  3. The challenge is to get all the members across by going ‘under’ the rope. If at any point, the rope touches any member, the whole team must return to the starting point and attempt to cross again.
  4. The challenges are:

Task 1:          Each member to pass through the rope 

Task 2:          Each member to pass through the rope consecutively without a break in the swing (at each turn of the rope) 

Task 3:          Group is to pass through the rope as a team in one swing.

Option: For platoon level, two equal sized teams can compete to see which can execute each challenge more quickly. In this case, the rope should be handled by 1 member from each team, for fairness. Best out of three wins.

Debrief Questions:

  1. Which task was the most difficult?
  2. What did the team need to do differently each time? What ingredients are required to enable team effectiveness for each task?
  3. What type of team do we want to be? How should we work as a team?

Notes:

Use a sports metaphor to distinguish between working styles: 

Task 1: individual skill (e.g. singles tennis) VS 

Task 2: a ‘production line’ where each member’s skill or each small unit value-adds to the process (e.g. Relay races) VS

Task 3: a team activity that requires complete co-ordination (e.g. Soccer)