Over the Top (with Video)

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My friend Barry and I put out the book, Cup It Up: Teambuilding With Cups in 2017 (paperback and digital versions) - and we're not done coming up with more. My Crew friends helped me work through my thoughts and get some video (below) on this activity, so a BIG THANKS goes out to them!!

FYI: If you haven't seen it yet, there is another cup activity (not found in the Cup It Up book), Flip Flop Tower (with Video) I posted here on the FUNdoing blog back in 2016. 

Over the Top can be played indoors or out - as long as you have a stable surface to place the 9-Grid set of cups. I developed this activity with the mind-set (facilitated objective) of focusing discussions around "roles and responsibilities". Of course, there can be other objectives planned. I also wanted to see what would happen with limited directions (listed below). Also, of course, you can add more directions to make the expectations clearer. (One of my mantras: More directions, less creative freedom.) Okay, let's go!

Needs: For every small group of 5 to 7 players, you need 1 Small Bowl, 9 Ping Pong Balls, 12 Cups and a timing device.

Set Up: Divide your bigger group into smaller groups of 5 to 7 players. Give each small group the needed equipment. 

At this time, these are the only directions I provide (what I consider to be the fewest directions needed). You are (as always) free to add, subtract and change things to meet the needs of your groups.

Directions: 

1. The Objective: Move all nine ping pong balls from the bowl into the 9-grid of cups as quickly as possible. 
2. The bowl with 9 ping pong balls will be the starting point and a 3 by 3 grid of cups will be the finishing point of your activity. [You might want to set up a set of cups so the teams know what it looks like.]
3. During ping pong ball movement, all players must be in-between the starting and finishing points.
4. All players are required to take part in moving each of the nine point pong balls.
5. The other three cups available are to be used to move the ping pong balls from player to player.
6. The first player can pick up and move one ping pong ball at a time.
7. The last player is responsible for getting the ping pong ball into the 9-grid of cups. 
8. Ping pong balls are transferred from player to player overhead - the cup with the ping pong ball goes overhead and the player pours the ball into the cup of the player behind him/her. This process continues until the last player who is responsible for getting one ping pong ball into each cup. 
9. Someone in each group will be required to time each attempt made. Time starts when your facilitator says, "GO" - the first ping-pong ball can then be picked up. Time stops when there is one ping pong ball inside each of the 9-grid cups. 

Notes: I give myself enough time on this activity for groups to make at least three attempts in order to improve their process (i.e., get a better time). I will start each attempt so each group begins at the same time - each group's timer starts their time when I say "GO". Then, they are responsible for stopping their time when there is one ping pong ball in each of the nine cups in the 3 by 3 grid. 

After each attempt, I lead a discussion about the different roles and responsibilities taking place in each group and what's important to know about each of the roles. We also talk more about the responsibilities of each person (in their role) and how they are able to manage their time - what can save time and what they focus on in order to save time. In general, we also talk about what's been working for the group and what they might want to do differently before the next attempt. 

When appropriate, I also will graph the times for each group so that we can collect data from the process. This data could lead to some collaborative sharing of ideas. 

Finally, before each attempt, I will encourage players to change roles if people want to experiment with other responsibilities. 

Things to Consider:

• Add the Rule - If a ping pong ball touches the floor/ground, it must go back into the starting bowl. 
• Have one cup for every participant. 
• Establish the distance between the bowl and the 9-grid so players will need to leap frog to the back of the group to keep the ping pong balls going.

Let me know how it goes out there my friends. How do we make it better?

All the best, 

Chris Cavert, Ed.D.