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Supported by Royal Navy

Paddlers In the middle

Play piggy in the middle with kayaks on the water.

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You’ll need

  • Kayaks
  • Paddles
  • Any appropriate safety equipment, including helmets and buoyancy aid.
  • Whistle or bell for emergency stop.
  • Medium sized Soft balls (extra for when they fall in the water)
  • Net to collect ball from water

Before you begin 

  • Use the safety checklist to help you plan and risk assess your activity. Take a look at our guidance to help you carry out your risk assessment, including examples.  
  • Make sure all young people and adults involved in the activity know how to take part safely.
  • Make sure you’ll have enough adult helpers. You may need some parents and carers to help. 

Planning and setting up this activity 

  • This activity’s designed for when you’re spending time on the water. 
  • This game’s designed for kayaking. Everyone should learn the basics of kayaking first or have a practice session. Take a look at our guide to Kayaking for more details.
  • It’s important to be able to stop the game or communicate any safety issues as needed. You need to have a clear plan to pause the game and get everyone’s attention quickly and urgently. For example, you could use a bell or a whistle. 

Running this activity 

  1. This activity is part of the Time on the water staged activity badge.
  2. Before the start of the activity explain to everyone the emergency stop, when they hear it, they must stop immediately and wait for instructions.
  3. On the water, everyone should form a large circle while still in their kayaks, with the noses of their boats facing inwards. The boats shouldn’t be touching and should be wide enough apart to fit at least two kayaks in the middle of the circle.
  4. The person leading the game should then choose two players to paddle into the middle of the circle.
  5. The outside players should use their hands to throw a ball back and forth across the circle.
  6. They must pass it as soon as they’ve caught it. They can only pass it across the circle and not to players on either side of them.
  7. If they miss the ball and the ball is in the middle of the circle, the players forming the outside circle can carefully use their paddles to try to retrieve it.
  8. If they miss the ball and the ball is in the middle of the circle, the players forming the outside circle can carefully use their paddles to try to retrieve it. They mustn’t break the circle to get the ball if it’s in the middle. 
  9. Meanwhile, the people in the middle should try to steal the ball. They could lift their paddles to intercept it, or race to get missed balls from the middle before the outside players reach it. 
  10. Possession goes to the player that reaches it first.
  11. Whenever the players in the middle steal the ball, the outside player who touched it last should then join them.
  12. The number of players in the middle now becomes three, with the two original players staying in the middle.
  13. If the ball ends up outside the circle, players can break the circle to retrieve the ball and bring it back.
  14. Keep playing until about half of the group are in the middle. Then, the game can start over, letting other players have a chance to start in the middle. 
  15. Alternatively, you can play this game a bit like ‘piggy in the middle’, so if a player in the middle catches the ball, they swap places with the person on the outside of the circle who touched the ball last. 

Reflection

 Activities like this show how balance, control, and awareness on the water get better with practice and how staying positive and encouraging others makes challenges more fun.  Think about how communication and teamwork helped your group keep the ball moving. What paddling skills improved as you changed direction quickly? How did the person in the middle adapt their strategy to try to intercept the ball?  

Safety

All activities must be safely managed. You must complete a thorough risk assessment and take appropriate steps to reduce risk. Use the safety checklist to help you plan and risk assess your activity. Always get approval for the activity, and have suitable supervision and an InTouch process.

You must run your activities in line with the Safeguarding Code of Conduct for Adults (Yellow Card) and report any concerns to the UK HQ Safeguarding Team.

Water games and activities

Be careful when doing activities with, in, or near water. Check surfaces and reduce the risk of slipping where possible. Make sure you have appropriate supervision for this activity.

Make it accessible

All Scout activities should be inclusive and accessible.

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