Four Pointer

Choose this exercise

Purpose: Coordinate group movement across a measured space while staying within a strict limit on floor contact points.

Use it when: Use during in-person team workshops when a group wants an active physical problem-solving task to examine planning, safety agreements, and iterative testing.

Skip it when: Skip when participants have mobility limitations, joint vulnerabilities, discomfort with close physical contact, or when working in a cramped space.

Group arrangement: Parallel teams of 4 to 7 participants

Timing: UWT suggested duration based on a 15-minute challenge course block

Materials and tools

• 1 roll of painter tape or 4 floor cones to mark start and finish lines
• 1 tape measure or pre-measured open floor space of 10 to 15 meters

Before participants arrive

1. Clear an open, level floor space at least 15 meters long.
2. Mark two boundary lines using painter tape or cones roughly 10 to 15 meters apart: a start line and a finish line.

Say this to open

In this challenge, your whole team must move from behind the start line to past the finish line. The rule is strict: at any single moment, your entire team together can have no more than four anatomical contact points touching the floor. If a fifth point touches, the team pauses and resets to the start line. You will have time to plan and test before making a live attempt.

How to run it

1. Introduce rules and assign roles 3 minutes

   Read the opening script. State clearly that close physical contact is entirely voluntary. Form teams of 4 to 7 people. For example, a team can use four feet total on the floor while members support each other, or carry members across in stages. Each team designates one member as the point-counter and safety spotter. This person monitors floor touches, calls out reset if a fifth point touches the ground, and walks alongside to guard against falls. Anyone who prefers not to be lifted or touched takes this role directly.

2. Plan and test stances 4 minutes

   Teams stay behind the start line to test poses and short movements. Members confirm who is willing to carry, be supported, hop, or act as spotter. Remind participants that if anyone feels unstable or uncomfortable, they may immediately place both feet on the floor to reset safely.

3. Execute traversals 5 minutes

   Teams attempt to traverse the open distance to the finish line. The point-counter walks alongside to track simultaneous floor touches. If more than four points of contact occur at once, the point-counter calls reset and the team returns to the start line to adjust tactics. The attempt succeeds when every team member crosses fully into the finish zone.

4. Debrief 3 minutes

   Gather everyone in a circle. Ask two debrief questions. Take responses from up to three participants to fit the allotted time.

Debrief questions

• What assumptions did your team make during planning that changed once movement started?
• When an attempt triggered a reset, how did the group adjust the plan without blaming individuals?

Finished output: Every team tests or completes a verified movement strategy across the measured distance.

Remote

This activity requires physical co-presence and tactile coordination. It cannot be run online.

Hybrid

This activity requires physical co-presence and cannot be run in a hybrid format without excluding remote participants from the physical challenge. Do not attempt a hybrid version.

Access and participation choices

• Participants may decline carrying, being lifted, or direct physical contact by taking the role of point-counter and safety spotter.
• Teams may agree to increase the allowed contact points from four to six or eight to match mobility requirements without personal disclosure.

If the session gets stuck

Participants attempt awkward or high lifts that threaten balance.

Stop the attempt immediately. Remind teams that safety takes priority over completing the distance, and direct them to low-to-the-ground support strategies.

A team becomes frustrated after repeated resets near the finish line.

Pause the round. Give the group a 45-second huddle to break the traverse into shorter, controlled forward shifts.

Terms used here

• Anatomical contact point: Any single body part touching the ground, such as one foot, one hand, or one knee.
• Point-counter and safety spotter: A team member who walks alongside the group to track active ground contacts, call out resets when five or more points touch, and spot for stability.