Ages: Adults and Kids 6 and Up
Duration: Over One Hour

RELAYS TO PLAY

Field day relays are a great way to gather a large group of children together for a fun and active afternoon. Each team should have at least 4 members.

"Fill the Bucket" Relay

The players will probably put more water on each other than will be put into the bucket, so encourage appropriate clothing such as shorts or swimsuits.

WHAT YOU NEED


• 1 sponge and 2 buckets for each team
  
  
• Water
  
  

HOW TO PLAY


• Line up each team.
  
  
• Give each team 1 sponge and 2 buckets; 1 bucket filled with water and 1 bucket empty.
  
  
• Place the water-filled bucket at the front of the line and the empty bucket at the end of the line.
  
  
• Give the sponge to the first team member in line.
  
  
• The first team member dunks the sponge into the filled bucket and quickly passes it over his or her head to the next person in line and so on until the sponge reaches the last person in line.
  
  
• The last person squeezes the water from the sponge into the empty bucket and runs to the head of the line. That person dunks the sponge into the filled bucket and passes it along to the end of the line to be squeezed into that bucket.
  
  
• Set a time limit (for example 5 minutes). The team with the most water in the bucket that was empty at the beginning of the race wins.
  
  

"Egg in the Nest" Relay

WHAT YOU NEED


• 1 tennis ball for each team member (use larger balls for younger players)
  
  
• 1 box for each team
  
  

HOW TO PLAY


• Line up each team and give each team member a tennis ball.
  
  
• The first person in each line puts the ball between his or her knees and waddles to the box that has been set some distance away.
  
  
• The players must position themselves over the box so that when they release their knees, the ball falls into the box. This puts the "egg" into the "nest."
  
  
• Each player then runs back to their team, tags the next person in line who then waddles off with the next ball between his legs to drop his egg into the nest.
  
  
• The first team to drop all of the eggs into the nest wins.
  
  

"Burst the Balloon" Relay

WHAT YOU NEED


• 1 inflated balloon per team member
  
  
• 1 chair for each team (beach chairs are fine)
  
  

HOW TO PLAY


• Give each team member an inflated balloon.
  
  
• Set a chair some distance in front of each team.
  
  
• To start the race, the first member of each team places the balloon on the seat of the chair and sits on the balloon until it pops.
  
  
• The team member then runs back to his or her team and tags the next person in line who then carries a balloon to the chair and pops that balloon.
  
  
• The first team to pop all of the balloons wins.
  
  

TIPS


• Participating in races makes for a thirsty bunch! Set out coolers filled with cold drinks such as NESTLÉ® JUICY JUICE® and NESTLÉ NESQUIK® Ready-to-Drink for after-race treats.
  
  
• Assign teams ahead of time and ask each team to dress in the same color T-shirts.
  
  
• Assign jobs to those who are not racing. For example: Position Referees with whistles at each relay race to announce the rules and officially start each race, and Drink Captains to hand out the after-race refreshments.
  
  

FOLLOW-UP FUN


• Take your kids to a local high school or college track and field meet. They will be able to see traditional relay and timed races, as well as the high jump!
  
  
• If your neighborhood park has a running track, take a little jog with your kids. Make jogging a regular part of your family’s exercise program by adding it to your Family Fitness Chart.