Trainer's guide: Skyrun

What this course is

A practical guide for anyone who will run SKYRUN sessions — the non-contact, movement-based game system developed within the Sport4Prisons project and adapted to the custodial environment.

By the end you will be able to set up a field, explain the rules to a new group, referee a session, decide when to increase the difficulty, handle the situations that typically arise, and plan a training day for other trainers.

What makes it different from the rulebook

The rulebook tells you what the rules are. This course also tells you **what happens when you apply them with real players**.

Throughout the rule chapters you will find two kinds of boxes:

- From the pilot — what actually happened during the pilot sessions at Heinsberg Prison in June and July 2026
- Facilitation tip — practical recommendations from the project team on making a rule work in practice

Most of them exist because something did not work the first time.

The nine modules

1 – The game and the method | What SKYRUN is, the developmental approach behind it, and who can take part

2 – The playing field| Surfaces, markings, the parts of the field, and the recommended field sizes

3 – Core rules | Objective, teams, direction of play, what counts as running, the non-contact rule

4 – Scoring | Using the channel, the three conditions for a point, blocking

5 – Fouls, penalties and refereeing| The full foul list, both penalty systems, and where to stand as referee

6 – Communication, score and roles| Who may talk to whom, introducing scorekeeping gradually, team roles

7 – Running a session | Game variations, gradual progression, handling strong emotions, the debrief

8 – What the game develops | Physical, cognitive, social and behavioural effects — your material for explaining the programme

9 – Training other trainers | Planning and delivering your own Train the Trainers day

Each module ends with a short check of understanding, and with a summary page showing your progress and the key points to take away.

What is included

- A video showing the game in play
- The field diagram from the rulebook
- 34 questions across the nine modules, each with an explanation
- All four source documents as downloads: the rulebook, the implementation recommendations, the pilot findings from Heinsberg, and the Hungarian Train the Trainers report

Time commitment

Around two to two and a half hours. You do not need to complete it in one session.

Prerequisites

None. No prior knowledge of the game is assumed.