How to Play Cartwheel Contests

By Jaques of London · Est. 1795 · Updated 2026-08-17

Cartwheel Contests is a simple outdoor competition in which players take turns performing cartwheels and are scored by the group on technique, straightness, and control. It needs no equipment, sets up in seconds, and works on any flat patch of grass or playground surface. Two to ten players can compete at once, making it easy to scale for a small group or a whole class.

People love it because the barrier to entry is low, improvement is visible immediately, and the judging element keeps everyone engaged even when it is not their turn. It rewards practice without being exclusive: a confident beginner and a gymnast in training can compete in the same round with the scoring adjusted by peer consensus.

A little history

The cartwheel itself is one of the oldest documented gymnastic movements, recorded in ancient Greek and Roman physical culture, though its origins as a formalised playground contest are unclear. Cartwheel Contests as a structured peer-judged game is traditionally associated with British school playtimes and summer fetes, passed down through children rather than written rulebooks. No single authoritative origin date or inventor is on record.

Setting up

1. Choose a flat, clear surface free of obstacles. Grass or a smooth playground floor both work well.
2. Mark a starting line with chalk, a cone, or a natural boundary such as a paving edge.
3. Agree on the number of rounds before play begins. One round per player is standard; three rounds with the best two scores counting suits larger groups.
4. Nominate a Head Judge if you have an odd number of players, or agree that all non-performing players score each attempt. With younger children one adult judge keeps things moving.
5. Agree the scoring scale. The standard scale is 1 to 5 per criterion (see How to Play). Write it down or repeat it aloud so every player understands before the first turn.

How to play

1. Decide the order of play. A simple show of hands for who goes first, then proceed clockwise or in a line, works fine.
2. The performing player stands behind the starting line and signals they are ready.
3. The player executes a single cartwheel, landing as controlled as possible on the other side.
4. All non-performing players (or the nominated judge) immediately score the attempt across three criteria: Straightness (did the cartwheel travel in a straight line?), Form (were the legs reasonably straight and arms extended?), and Landing (did the player land on their feet without stumbling?). Each criterion is scored 1 to 5, giving a maximum of 15 points per attempt.
5. Judges announce their scores aloud one at a time. Where multiple judges are used, average their scores for each criterion, rounding to the nearest whole number.
6. Record the total score for that player before the next person takes their turn.
7. If a player falls, touches a knee to the ground, or clearly exits the marked lane (where cones are used), judges may award a maximum of 2 out of 5 for Landing and deduct 1 point from Form. This is a guideline; the group should agree this rule before play starts.
8. Continue until every player has completed all agreed rounds.
9. After all rounds, tally each player's cumulative score. The player with the highest total wins.

Winning and scoring

The player with the highest cumulative score across all rounds wins. With three rounds in play, if two players tie on total score, each performs one additional cartwheel as a tiebreaker, judged on all three criteria. If scores tie again, the group votes on the single best overall performance to determine the winner. There are no draws in a tiebreaker.

The fine points

The most common dispute is over Straightness when a player drifts sideways but lands well. Standard ruling: Straightness and Landing are judged independently, so a drifting cartwheel with a clean landing scores low on Straightness and high on Landing. Do not conflate the two. Judges should call their scores before looking at other judges' cards or hands to avoid anchoring.

A second frequent dispute involves a player who attempts a one-handed or aerial cartwheel. Unless the group has pre-agreed an Advanced Variant (see Variations), these are judged on the same three criteria as a standard cartwheel, with no bonus points. Pre-agreement before play is the cleanest way to handle ambitious performers. Also note: a cartwheel that is clearly a round-off (feet landing together) should be called out before scoring begins and the player given one redo if the group agrees, since round-offs are a different skill entirely.

How to win more often

• Pick your lead hand before you step up to the line. Committing to left-hand-first or right-hand-first and practising it consistently gives cleaner form than switching each round.
• Focus on the landing above all else. Judges notice a stumble more than a slight leg bend, so training a controlled, two-footed landing improves your score faster than perfecting straight legs.
• Use a fixed visual target on the horizon during your cartwheel to help stay on a straight line. Picking a tree or goalpost ahead of you reduces drift significantly.
• When judging, call your scores quickly and independently. Waiting to see what others award leads to score clustering around the middle, which flattens the competition and makes the game less interesting for everyone.
• In multi-round games, note which criterion your rivals score lowest on. If your Straightness is consistently stronger than theirs, keep it consistent rather than gambling on flashy form improvements that might cost you control.

Variations

Relay Cartwheels

Divide players into two equal teams. Mark a start line and a turnaround cone roughly 8 metres away. Players perform a cartwheel to the cone, walk back, and tag the next player. The first team to have every member complete their cartwheel wins. Scoring on technique is dropped in favour of pure speed, making this better suited to larger groups or younger children who find judging abstract.

Cartwheel Chain

Players line up side by side with arms' width between them. On a count of three, everyone performs their cartwheel simultaneously. Any player who collides with a neighbour or crosses into another player's lane is eliminated. The round repeats with the remaining players until one is left. No individual scoring is used; elimination is the sole mechanic.

Advanced Skills Variant

Agreed before play begins, this variant allows players to attempt one-handed cartwheels or aerial cartwheels for a bonus multiplier. A successful one-handed cartwheel multiplies the total score by 1.5 (round down to the nearest whole number). An aerial cartwheel multiplies by 2. A failed attempt at either, defined as any fall or knee touch, scores zero for that round regardless of other criteria. Only recommend this variant for players aged 10 and above with some gymnastics background.

Obstacle Course Cartwheels

Lay out a short course using cones, chalk lines, or hoops on the ground. Players must perform their cartwheel so that their hands land inside marked zones or between cones. Precision rather than pure form is the judging focus, with Straightness replaced by Accuracy (did both hands land in the correct zones?). This variant suits players who are already competent at basic cartwheels and want a more tactical challenge.

Cartwheel Contests: frequently asked questions