Game Down!
Category: Games & Activities · 2-page printable PDF · Ages 5-6, 7-8, 9-10 · Free for ConnectedPE members
Game Down! is a sideline first-aid challenge for ages 10–16 that turns TOTAPS and RICER into twelve missions across four phases — Assess (Talk, Observe & Compare, Touch Gently), Test Movement (Active, Passive, Skills Test), Manage (Rest & Reassure, Ice it Right — 20 minutes with a cloth barrier, Compress & Elevate) and Escalate (Spot the Red Flags, Refer On, Call 000). Students work in pairs, one playing injured player, one sports trainer, then swap.
The logbook makes the decisions real: a rolled-ankle scenario runs all six TOTAPS steps to a recorded play-on-or-off-the-field call, a Red-Flag Radar poses three manage-or-call-000 judgements, and the first-48-hours No HARM rule (no heat, alcohol, running, massage) gets its own drill — with a clear footer that real injuries always need a trained first-aider.
Two pages, pencil only, with bandages and a pretend cold pack for richer role-play. Pairs with Ref Ready! — The Officiating Challenge Card for off-field sport roles, and Game Face for the psychological side of sport.
What students learn
Apply sports first-aid protocols — assess an injury using TOTAPS, manage a soft-tissue injury using RICER, recognise red-flag signs, and make appropriate decisions about referral and calling emergency services.
Topics: first aid, sports injury, TOTAPS, RICER, safety, health, sports science, injury management
Related PE resources
- Drop the Beat — Ages 5-6, 7-8, 9-10
- Water Warriors — Ages F-2, 3-4
- Sun Safe Heroes — Ages F-2, 3-4
- Number Movers — Ages F-2, 3-4
- Over & Under! — Ages F-2, 3-4