# Spider Web

Teams pass each participant from one side of a web of strung cords to the other through separate openings without touching the cords.

**Time:** 35 minutes. UWT suggested timing based on physical setup, planning, deliberate movement, and debrief; the source provides no explicit minute breakdown.
**People:** 6 to 14. Single team of 6 to 14 participants per web structure.

## Choose this exercise

**Purpose:** Coordinate collective planning, spotting, and physical problem-solving to move everyone across an obstacle under strict constraints.
**Use it when:** Outdoor or large-hall team sessions where participants want a physical cooperative initiative requiring careful planning and physical spotting.
**Skip it when:** Do not use when participants have mobility limitations, injuries, reluctance around close physical contact or lifting, or when secure anchor points and adequate safety spotters are unavailable.

## Materials and tools

- 2 sturdy trees, structural posts, or portable uprights set roughly 3 meters apart
- 50 meters of strong rope or twine
- 1 pair of scissors
- Gym mats or grass turf under the entire web area
- 1 clipboard and pencil for the designated observer or spotter captain

## Before participants arrive

1. Tie two horizontal boundary ropes between the supports, one at roughly 0.3 meters from the ground and one at roughly 2 meters high.
2. Weave twine between the top and bottom lines to create distinct enclosed openings (cells) of varied heights and sizes.
3. Ensure there are at least as many distinct cells as participants in the group, including several large openings near the ground.
4. Check that anchor posts and ropes withstand tension and support forces before participants arrive.

## Say this to open

Your goal is to move every team member from this side of the web to the opposite side. Each web opening may be used only once. No one may climb over the top rope or crawl under the bottom rope. If anyone touches the web, that person must return, and the team decides whether to reset that turn or restart according to our chosen rules. Physical contact and lifting require explicit consent every time, and anyone may choose a designated spotter or planner role instead of being lifted.

## How to run it

### 1. Introduce safety rules and inspect openings (5 minutes)

Explain the rules: one person per opening, no going over or under the frame, no touching the ropes. Outline safety spotting rules. Ensure every lift has at least two active spotters supporting the person's head, shoulders, and hips. Confirm who consents to be passed or lifted, and assign participants who decline physical lifting to full-time spotter, strategist, or web-touch judge roles.

### 2. Plan sequence and assign openings (5 minutes)

The team inspects the web and decides which person will pass through which opening and in what order. Remind the team to consider who must be passed first while spotters are only on the starting side, and who will be left on the starting side to pass the final participants through.

### 3. Execute passage through the web (20 minutes)

Participants execute their plan. Team members on the starting side lift or guide each person through their assigned opening, while team members already on the far side assist in receiving and lowering them safely to the ground. If a participant touches a string, the facilitator or designated student judge signals the touch; that participant returns to the start side to try an alternate approach. The round ends when all active participants reach the opposite side or time expires.

### 4. Debrief the coordination process (5 minutes)

Gather the group around the web. Ask two or three participants to answer the first debrief question, then open the second question to two other contributors.


## Debrief questions

- How did you decide the sequence of who passed through the web first, middle, and last?
- What specific communication kept the person being passed feeling safe and supported?
- Where did your initial plan break down, and how did the group adjust?

**Finished output:** All participating team members safely relocated to the opposite side of the web, or a completed review of the team's coordination and spotting performance.

## Remote

This physical obstacle course activity cannot be run online without becoming an entirely different game. For an online communication challenge with constrained resources, use a digital escape puzzle or drawing coordination task instead.

## Hybrid

This exercise requires in-person presence at the physical installation. It cannot be run in a hybrid format where remote participants perform the core task.

## Access and participation choices

- Participants may freely choose non-lifting roles such as Chief Safety Spotter, Web Monitor (tracking rope contacts), or Lead Strategist.
- Any participant may pass through low, ground-level openings by crawling independently without being lifted.
- Physical contact may be declined at any moment without penalty or explanation.

## If the session gets stuck

**Participants attempt dangerous lifts above shoulder height.**

Pause the action immediately. Remind the group that heads must remain higher than feet at all times and require at least two dedicated spotters per lifted person.

**Touches occur frequently, leading to frustration and disengagement.**

Modify the touch penalty: instead of resetting the whole team, have only the person who touched return to the start side, leaving successful crossings intact.


## Terms used here

- Spotter: A team member stationed beside a moving or lifted participant whose sole task is protecting their head, neck, and body from falling.
- Cell: An individual enclosed opening formed by the crisscrossed ropes in the web structure.

## Sources and adaptation

Observed in Teampedia under the title 'Spider web' as a low-ropes outdoor initiative.

Retained the traditional low-ropes Spider Web mechanics documented in Teampedia (web between trees/posts, one person per hole, no touching strings, team passage). Added explicit UWT safety guardrails, non-lifting roles, consent requirements, step breakdown, and structured debrief.

[Teampedia](https://www.teampedia.net/wiki/Spider_web)

Current run sheet: https://unitedwetransform.com/exercises/spider-web/