Obstacle course facts for kids
An obstacle course is a series of obstacles a person, vehicle or team must navigate. This is usually while being timed. Obstacle courses can include running, climbing, jumping, crawling, swimming, and balanceing with the aim of testing speed and endurance. Sometimes a course involves mental tests. In an off-road obstacle course, the driver is presented with a variety of different terrain to get over, around or through.
Types of courses
Military
The military/Army obstacle course is used (mostly in recruit training). The purpose is to familiarize recruits with the kind of military tactics they will use in combat. It is also for physical fitness, building teamwork, and evaluating problem solving skills. Typical courses involve obstacles the participants must climb over, crawl under, balance, hang, jump, etc. Puddles of muddy water, ropes, nets, and "no touch" restrictions are often used to make the course more difficult.
Off-road
Off-road obstacle courses may be set up with a variety of different challenging situations. More common obstacles are hills, rockcrawling gates, log crawls, and mud pits. Some include underground tunnels, balance beams and water slides. Others are for the purposes of teaching high-speed driving on unimproved roads. Features include different kinds of turns, changes in elevation, navigating high speed straightaways and maneuvering vehicles through tight S-turns (so called because from above they resemble a letter "s").
Images for kids
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Military pentathlon in Germany
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At the Combat Training Center at Arta Beach
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Leaders Reaction Course September 25, at Fort Hood, Texas.
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Obstacle-course training at the Royal Military College of Canada c. 1917
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The annual obstacle course race at Royal Military College of Canada is memorialized by a sculpture by John Boxtel, To Overcome, which was a gift from the 1991 graduating class
See also
In Spanish: Recorrido de obstáculos para niños
