An Old-Fashioned Fourth

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Relay Races

BALLOON BRIGADE

This fast-paced race lets winners go out with a real bang. Before the start, each team assembles in single file with the first player in each line holding a balloon. When the whistle blows, each lead player passes the balloon between her legs to the next person in line. Each recipient, in turn, passes the balloon overhead to the teammate directly behind her. The balloon is passed alternately between players' legs and over players' heads all the way down the line. When the last person receives the balloon, he or she races to the front of the line and the balloon pass resumes. The relay continues in this fashion until one of the original players regains position at the front of her line and pops the team balloon.

EGG AND WOODEN SPOON RACE

A few raw eggs (either plain or decorated with paints), four wooden spoons and two team flags are needed for this relay.

Each team stands in single file behind the starting line and opposite their respective flags, set in the ground about 5 yards away. At the whistle, the first player in each line, balancing an egg on a spoon, races around his team's flag, then back to transfer the egg onto a spoon held by the next teammate. The recipient races to the flag, and the first runner hands his spoon to the third person. The race continues until one team finishes the course. Anyone who drops an egg must run to the starting line for another before resuming.

POPCORN RELAY

Fancy footwork is the ticket to success in this event. And everyone's got a unique shuffle, waddle or twist, making this relay, adapted from THE BIG BOOK OF KIDS' GAMES (check with your local library), as much fun to watch as it is to run.

Beforehand, prepare a pair of plastic or paper cups for each runner. Use a tack or a small nail to poke a hole in the center of each cup bottom. Push one end of a thick rubber band through the hole and into the cup. Then, slip a paper clip on the end of the band inside the cup, and gently pull the other end until the clip rests on the bottom of the cup. The rubber band, worn around the ball of the foot, holds the cup in place atop a player's shoe.

Just prior to the race, a member from each team is issued a big bag of popcorn and charged with filling teammates' cups from the moment the starting whistle blows until the relay ends. These individuals stand alongside their teams, behind the starting line. Two large, shallow boxes are set 5 yards beyond the starting line, opposite the teams.

When the whistle blows, the first person in each team's line sprints to the appropriate box and empties his cups into it, trying to lose as little popcorn as possible along the way. He then runs back to tag the next person in line. The new runner heads to the team box, and the first runner goes to the end of the line. The relay continues for 2 minutes or until one of the bags is emptied. Then, the popcorn in each box is measured with a ruler (or by cupfuls) and the team with the most is declared the winner.

THREE-LEGGED RACE

No field day is complete without this classic race. But don't let the simple rules fool you; sharing a leg is no mean feat. Each team breaks into pairs (matching an adult with a child keeps things fair and interesting). Using a bandanna, each pair ties one partner's right ankle to the other's left ankle. When the whistle blows, all of the pairs, assembled side by side at the starting line, race to the finish line. The first team whose pairs all cross the finish line wins.

Photography By Brian Leatart