Water Relay Races For Kids

I don't know about your kids, but mine absolutely love games involving water and getting wet in the summer time. In this post I share 5 of our favorite water relay races to play with friends. These are perfect for birthday parties, homeschool get togethers, and other group events.

Sponge Relay:

For this relay you will need:

-2 teams of several kids each

-2 large sponges

-4 small buckets or containers of some sort

Divide your participants into 2 teams and have each team line up single file at a predetermined starting place.

Hand out a sponge to the first participant in each line. Set a bucket of water by each team. Set an empty bucket about 20 ft away from each team.

The two empty buckets should be the same size and should have a "fill line" marked half way up.

On a count of 3 (or ready set go) the first participant in each line should dip their sponge in the bucket of water, run to the empty bucket, squeeze the water from their sponge, then run back, hand off the sponge to the next person in line, and get in the back of the line.

The first team to fill their bucket to the fill line wins!

Pass the Water Balloon:

For this relay you will need:

-2 teams with several participants

-Several filled water balloons

Have each team line up single file.

Hand the first person in each line a water balloon. Have them place the water balloon under their chin. Then they have to pass the water balloon to the next person in line using only their chins.

Pass the balloon along to each person in line using only chins.

If a balloon drops and breaks, give the team a new balloon but tbey have to start back over at the begining of the line.

The first team to pass the balloon sucessfully all the way through their line wins!

Pop the Water Balloon:

This one is a great one for kids who really want to get wet. For this relay you will need:

-2 teams with several people

-A water balloon for each participant

-2 lawn chairs

Have each team line up single file at a predetermined starting point and hand each participant a water balloon.

Set a lawn chair about 20 ft away from each team.

On the count of 3 (or ready set go) the first player on each team should run to the chair and sit on their balloon until it pops. Then run back and tag the next person in line.

The team to pop all their balloons first wins!

Cup Relay:

For this relay race you will need:

-2 teams with several people each

-A paper cup for each participant

-4 small buckets or containers (at least 2 of them should be the same size)

Before you start poke a hole in the bottom of each cup with a pencil.

Have each team line up single file at a predetermined starting line and hand each participant a cup.

Place a bucket full of water at the front of each line. Set an empty bucket about 20 ft away from each team. The two buckets at the end should be the same size and have a "fill line" marked about halfway up.

At the count of 3 (or ready set go) have the first person in each line fill their cup and run to the empty bucket to dump the water from their cup. Then they run back and tag the next person in line.

The first team to fill their bucket to the fill line wins!

Fireman Relay:

For this relay race you will need:

-2 teams with several people each

-A paper cup for each participant

-4 small buckets or containers

Before you start, poke a hole in the bottom of each cup with a pencil.

Have each team line up single file.

Set a bucket full of water at the front of each line. Set an empty bucket at the end of each line. The buckets at the ends should be the same size and have a "fill line" marked about halfway up.

The player in the front of each line should fill their cup in the full bucket, then pour it into the next person's cup, then they pour it in the next person's cup, and so on until the end of the line. The person at the end dumps into the empty bucket.

Keep passing water down the line and into the bucket at the end.

The first team to fill their bucket to the fill line wins!

Bucket Relay

For this relay race you will need sand buckets (one for each participant) and a 5 gallon bucket for each team.

Have each team stand in a line. Make sure everyone has a sand bucket. Place an empty 5 gallon bucket at the end of each line.

Fill the buckets belonging to the first person in each line. That person should then pour their bucket of water backwards, over their head into the bucket belonging to the person behind them. Keep this going down the entire line. When the water is given to the last person in line, they should dump their bucket backwards, over their head into the 5 gallon bucket.

Whichever team has the most water make it into their 5 gallon bucket wins!