Heads Down Flags

Heads Down Flags is the surf life saving sprint every Nipper knows, rebuilt as a reaction game: lie face down in the sand, wait for the marshal's whistle, spring up, sprint about twenty metres and dive onto a baton before the field beats you to it.

THE START LINE IS THE GAME
You open straight onto a carnival at sunrise — heels together, heads down, a line of rivals either side of you. "Competitors ready... heads down," the marshal calls, then a pause of unpredictable length, then the whistle. Tap to get up, swipe to turn and face the flags, alternate your left and right thumbs to sprint, swipe down to dive. Move early and you're disqualified on the spot. There is always one baton fewer than competitors, so every round someone goes home.

A LIVING BEACH
The tide line shifts through the morning — firm wet sand near the water is faster than the soft dry sand higher up. An onshore breeze throws sand across the line. Gulls scatter as the whistle blows. Rivals have habits worth learning: Tilly dives early from too far out, Jarrah false-starts when he's ahead on points, and Coach Bev calls your split time from the sideline.

A SEASON ALONG THE COAST
Climb the age groups from Under 8 to Opens through a season that follows the real coastline — Manly, Cronulla, Coolangatta, Noosa, Torquay, Glenelg, Cottesloe — each beach with its own sand, light and crowd, finishing at the State Titles.

YOUR CLUB, YOUR COLOURS
Kit out your competitor in the Club Shed: club colours, a cap with chin ties, a rash vest and a competitor card photo taken with the camera or chosen from your library.

THE RESULTS BOARD
Every heat, reaction time, split and personal best is logged on a timber noticeboard you can scroll back through, plus a season ladder — all stored on your device, nothing uploaded anywhere.

DAWN PATROL
A fresh field and fresh sand every day, with a streak for showing up morning after morning.

RULES, BUILT IN
A full Rules & Help page explains the prone start, the whistle, false starts, dead heats and scoring — no guessing required.

Heads Down Flags runs entirely offline. No accounts, no chat, no in-app purchases, no loot boxes — just the start line, the whistle, and the sand.