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Your Numbers Up

4/19/2018

Recently I was preparing for a conference presentation on processing. I needed to collect a handful of activities that didn't take too long and involved enough interaction so we could practice processing the experiences. I was traveling, so my props needed to be small and light weight - easy to carry around. One of my favorite props is a set of 25 numbered tags. As I was considering some of my old favorites with the tags, I came up with something new for me. I call it, Your Numbers Up. I brought the idea with me to the conference - I didn't try it out before my presentation.

I had 18 participants in my workshop. We were all seated in chairs in a big circle after a fun game of Have You Ever...?. As the energy from the game's processing practice was winding down, I scattered around 12 numbered spots on the floor inside our circle of chairs for all to see. (Numbers were about two feet away from each other so there was room for people to walk through and around them.) After sitting back down in my spot in the circle I presented the challenge like this:

The following task involves touching all 12 numbers once, and only once. If you choose to complete the task you are required to touch the numbers in some sort of logical way - you must be able to prove you touched all 12 numbers once, and only once. After you've touched all the numbers, once, and only once, please sit back down in your chair. The task will start when I say, 'GO', and end when I say, 'The task is over.' I will call the task over when I see that everyone is sitting in their seats. Are there any questions?

Here are the two questions I remember my group asking: 1) "So, do we touch the numbers one through 12 in order?" My response was, "That is one way. As long as you can state some sort of logical way you have touched all the numbers, once and only once, you are good." 2) "Must we touch the numbers with our hand?" My response was, "That is one way to touch the numbers. I'll leave that choice up to you - as long as you make contact with each number, once and only once, you are good."

After I said, "GO", most of the participants stood up and moved through the numbers. Some people chose not to stand up and touch the numbers. The group completed the task in under three minutes. The following are some of the discussion questions I remember from our practice processing session:

Why did you choose to touch the numbers?
Why did you choose not to touch the numbers?
In what "way" did you touch the numbers, once and only once? (There were some really creative ways people moved through the numbers!)
What were the things you had to consider when you were touching the numbers?
What were you thinking about while you watched others touch the numbers?
What "challenges" did you encounter during the task?
Did you challenge yourself in any way during the task?
Did you interact with anyone during the task? In what way(s)?
What made this a "group" task? (I thought this was an insightful processing question - from one of the participants.)
If this task was too easy, how could it be more of a challenge (or more fun)?
What was the "point" of this task?

This last question was one of mine. And it turned out to be an interesting conversation (processing discussion) about how much goes into even simple tasks - there is always something we can reflect upon in order to consider how and why we make the choices we do.

I'm thinking Your Numbers Up might be a nice activity during the beginning of a program in order to model some of the dynamics of team building activities. Especially the expectation of, activity followed be some discussion about possible learnings.

Help me out with this one. Try it. Let me know how it goes.

All the best,

Chris Cavert, Ed.D.

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Grand Prix Racing (a.k.a. Knot Racing) with Video

4/5/2018

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Grand Prix Racing is an activity found in, The Revised & Expanded Book of Raccoon Circles by Jim Cain & Tom Smith (pick up your copy from Training Wheels). If you don't know, a Raccoon Circle (in the Adventure Ed biz) is a length of tubular webbing around 15 feet long (see picture below) that can be used for dozens of community building exercises and discussion activities. I first learned Grand Prix Racing from Jim Cain (and he attributes his knowledge of the game to Tom Heck). I really like this one as a large group energizer. In most cases it's set up as a competitive experience, but each of the rounds are fast and fun so the competition part seems to take a back seat (and it's always something good to talk about).

A NOTE ABOUT WEBBING Tubular Webbing is recommended for Raccoon Circle activities. Flat webbing can be found as well, the kind of webbing used for belts and straps on packs and such. Flat webbing is not as friendly on the hands as tubular webbing. Yes, tubular webbing does cost more per/foot, but for team building activity use, it lasts forever (unless you expose it to toxic chemicals!). You can pick up Raccoon Circle webbing precut from Training Wheels, or at sporting goods stores that sell rock climbing gear - they can cut the webbing off the spool for you. (I'm guessing you can also find tubular webbing online.)

At the most recent National Challenge Course Symposium (NCCPS) in Boulder, Colorado, my good friend Cindy led Grand Prix during a Raccoon Circles activity workshop. With permission from the crowd (and Cindy) I was able to capture the fun.

Needs & Numbers: You'll need a little room for this one. Each small group will need enough space to form a circle around their (15-foot length) tied webbing circle. So, if you have a lot of groups, you'll need a lot of space. (You will notice spacing needs in the video.)

Set Up: Ask 6 to 8 players to stand around one of the webbing circles you've placed on the ground in the activity area (indoors or out). Then, have them pick up their circle holding it with both hands about waste level.

WARNING 1: If your group is new to webbing (or rope) circles, you might have to frontload some safety points before picking up the rope (e.g., please be mindful of others on the webbing/rope - we're not going to be pulling or tugging on the webbing/rope just yet.)

WARNING 2: Make sure your webbing pieces are all the same length - a 12 inch difference can influence race results. (Sorry Yellow team!!)

Process: Cindy does a great job preparing the group for the races - so, refer to the video for more details. I do want to add a couple more option I like to use (not in the video).

The Pit Stop: Races are a sequence of Left, Right, Left, Right patterns (which you will see). After a few races, I add the Pit Stop. For example, Left, Left, Right, Right, Pit Stop, Right, Right, Left, Left - CHEER! When a group gets to their Pit Stop, the webbing circle is set down on the ground, all the players in the group turn in place 360 degrees then pick up the circle again to complete the remainder of the race.

The Figure Eight: (The idea is credited to Tim Borton.) Add one or two races into the mix with the webbing configured into a figure eight. Consider a slow warm-up lap or two to get the dynamics of the webbing.

BE MINDFUL: Don't make the race sequences too long, it's easy to forget the requirements if there is a lot to remember.

For me, five or six races meets my energizing objective. Then, if you know a couple other webbing activities you can transition right to them.

Have FUN out there my friends, Keep me posted.

Chris Cavert, Ed.D.

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Your Numbers Up

Grand Prix Racing (a.k.a. Knot Racing) with Video

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