Children's Relay Games

Swimming Relay

• A swimming relay combines two things that most kids love—games and the pool. Place small toys at the far end of the pool, preferably ones that float. Put them in piles, and have each group race to pick up all the toys from its own pile. Players from each team take turns racing for one toy, with the next player starting when the last player comes back.

Sprinkler Relay

• If you don’t have a pool, get out the sprinkler to add excitement to your summer fun. Place it in the middle of the area children will race across, so they must run through the spraying water. Or simply hold a hose and spray them all as they race.

Egg Relay

• Set up an obstacle course. Disney's Family Fun website suggests gathering lots of plastic Easter eggs for this game. A player from each team carries an armful of eggs while running through the obstacle course. Then, she tries to pass the eggs to the next player without dropping any. If a player drops an egg, the next player must pick them up while holding the rest.

Bucket Relay

• At the far end of the field, place piles of items that kids could carry in a small bucket, such as small stuffed animals, balls or even weeds. Have players carry the bucket to the far end of the field. They should gather as much as they can from their pile and then race back to the other side, dump the items out and hand the bucket to the next player. Whatever they bring back must fit in the bucket; if it falls out, they must go back and fill it again.

Obstacle Relay

• Send kids on a relay through an obstacle course, having them do silly things at different points, like spin around or hop on one foot as they circle a cone. The more they laugh, the harder it will be.

Guess What?

• In this game, from the University of Illinois Extension, kids run across the room, take a food item from a paper bag without looking at it, then eat it. Make sure they don't have allergies to the foods beforehand.

All-Together Relay

• In this non-traditional relay, post kids from each team at regular intervals along the relay course. For example, players from a team might be posted 20 feet apart from each other in a straight line running the length of the field. When you say “Go!” the first players rush to the second, and when they tag them, they both rush to the third together, and so on. They must run as a group, and when they tag the last player, they all rush back to the starting line.