Obstacle Course

UPDATE: download this as a SketchUp model here or step-by-step drawings here.

This was a simple obstacle course we built for a market day our cub pack held. If it looks a bit 'tame', remember that most of the children who used the course were outsiders to the movement.

So, walking through from start to finish (click here for step-by-step drawings):

1.tires- simple run through the tires,not much pioneering required here

2.balance beam-2 4-m tripods with a 4m beam suspended on ropes beneath them. Secure the rope to the beam using a rolling hitch or round turn and two half hitches, never a clove hitch

3.cargo net- two tripods (actually one of them is shared between this obstacle and the previous one) have a beam lashed across between them at about 1.8m off the ground. A cargo net is fastened to this- the object is to climb up and over, down the other side.

4.oil drum slalom- run between the drums. Again, not much pioneering effort involved here

5.tarpaulin- staked to ground around edges, need to crawl through underneath. If you are feeling mean you can water the ground underneath this obstacle...

6.big swing. 6m tripod with a rope suspended from the centre, a bowline tied for a footloop.

7.see-saw- 2 6m poles lashed together and resting on an oil drum. We discover too late that you don't want to do this if you have bigger kids using the obstacle course- the oil drum will dent. Drum is staked in place and poles are loosely lashed on, with poles over towards the starting side so that you are able to walk up onto the seesaw and have it drop back for the next person after you have walked across.

Please remember to secure all tripods by locking them and securely lashing the legs to stakes

Equipment list

5 x 6m (18ft) poles
11 x 4m (12ft) poles
7 oil drums
8 tires
1 cargo net
1 tarpaulin
20 stakes
30 ropes (actually I count 27, but it doesn't hurt to be safe)