This youth group game is great, if for no other reason than the weird name of the game – the Welly Wang!
In the UK, a welly is a Wellington Boot – otherwise known elsewhere as a rain boot, galosh or gumboot. A Welly Wang is therefore a boot throwing competition.
To set up this youth group game, you’ll need a big enough outdoor space for youth to throw the welly. Take a roll of duct tape and mark off the field layout shown in the image on the right. It’s a little like a javelin or shotput field, along with horizontal lines.
The Welly Wang can either be played in teams or have the young people play solo. Teams tend to work better though, as it means youth that don’t have a strong throw can still contribute to their team’s overall score, rather than not having a chance from the beginning.
To play, the youth stand behind the line marked “Throw from here”. They take a welly and throw it as far as they can, making sure it stays in bounds to the left and right. If the welly lands outside of the left or right lines, their throw doesn’t count.
If the welly lands within the left and right lines, they earn points depending on how far it’s gone. In the event that some of your youth can throw beyond the far line, have them score a flat 10 points.
Other options for scoring:
- If the welly lands on a line, it’s up to you how it’s scored – you could have them earn the higher score provided it’s at least touching the line to the higher score, or you could have the rule that it has to be fully across a line in order to earn the higher points.
- Decide in advance whether the points will be awarded based on where the welly first hits the ground, or where it ends up in case it bounces further
There are a number of different techniques the young people can use in this youth group game:
- The one-hander – For this, the youth swing the welly to their side with just the one hand
- The two-hander – With the two-hander, youth hold the welly with both hands and swing back and forth between their legs, a little like how you swing a kettlebell
- The backwards lob – Similar to the two-hander, youth swing the welly with both hands between their legs. The difference being that their back is to the field and they swing the welly back over their heads.
- The Everyone-Clear-Out-Of-The Way-This-Could-Go-Anywhere – This technique is similar to the Hammer event in athletics. Youth spin round to gain momentum before launching the welly at (hopefully) the right time
If you like this idea (or even if you don’t!), check out our other youth group games.
Question: Are there any additional rules you use when playing The Welly Wang? Let us know in the comments below.