Fly Birdies, Fly!

Skill: Run, Strike
Time Required: 15
Activity Type: Physical
Group Size: Large Group, Medium Group, Small Group
Age Group: 9 - 12yrs, 13+ yrs
Play area: Gymnasium (large indoor space)
Safety Considerations: Remove any safety hazards and obstacles from the play area.
Ensure participants in line stand a fair distance behind the participant hitting/serving.
Make sure participants wait until the last participant to hit has collected their birdie and is on the other side before they hit.
Remind participants to be aware of their surroundings and to keep their head up.
Equipment: 1 badminton racquet per participant (or 1 per team if there are not enough).
1 birdie per participant
1 hoop per team
2 pylons for each group
Goggles/glasses if required when playing badminton
Objective:
For teams to get their birdies to fly through the hoops.
Other Skills:
Coordination
Set up:
Divide the participants into groups of 5-6.
Use an outside line of the gym as the starting point and put a pylon along that line for each group. Make sure they are spaced out and not too close to each other.
Place a pylon at the centre of the gym and parallel with the starting pylon.
Place a hoop between the the two pylons.
Step by Step:
1. Make sure the participants have practiced hitting a badminton birdie before doing this activity.
2. All except one participant from each group, will be lined up behind their starting pylon holding a badminton racquet and birdie.
3. The one other participant for each group will stand in between the two pylons holding the hoop.
4. When the leader says "Fly birdies, fly!", the activity begins.
5. The first participant in each line will self serve and hit their birdie to the participant with the hoop.
6. They have to get their birdie to fly through the hoop.
7. The participant holding the hoop can run and angle the hoop however they wish in order to get the birdie to go through it.
8. If it does goes through the hoop, then the participant who hit it will run, pick it up and run to their team's pylon at the centre of the gym.
9. The participant holding the hoop will run back to the centre of their area, and the next participant will now self serve and hit their birdie to fly through the hoop.
10. If the birdie doesn't go through the hoop, then the participant gets their birdie, goes back to the pylon and tries again.
11. If they miss three times in a row, then the bird has learned how to fly, and they automatically go to the other pylon and the next participant goes.
12. When all participants are on the other side, another participant will take the role of holding the hoop, and the participant that was holding the hoop will go in the line with the badminton racquet and birdie.
13. First team to have all their participants back on the other side, wins!
Variations:
Only do this activity from one side to the other, don't have them go back.
Have a participant toss the birdie to the participant hitting it.
Place hoops between the two pylons, and participants have to try and get their birdie to land in the hoops. and in the hoops.

Adaptations (General):
For those participants with a disability who may lack comparable dexterity, consider allowing them to be situated closer to the person holding the hoop.

Adaptations (Blindness/Visual Impairment): Have the person holding the hoop make noise so that participants who are blind or visually impaired know where to aim.
Sources: Developed for the Leisure Information Network.