Since 1896 the world has come together for the modern Olympic Games. We all wish we could be there; cheering on the athletes and enjoying the atmosphere and excitement that comes with the
games. Unfortunately, with travel restrictions, we’ll be cheering from afar from the comfort of our loungerooms – but this doesn’t mean we can’t create the spirit of the Olympics in our own homes.
Olympism
“Olympism’ refers to the spirit or philosophy of the Olympic games, as outlined in the Olympic Charter. The founder of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and ‘father’ of the modern Olympics, Pierre de Coubertin conceived ‘Olympism’ and described it as ‘a destroyer of dividing walls. It calls for air and light for all.”
“Olympism is a philosophy of life, exalting and combining in a balanced whole the qualities of body, will and mind. Blending sport with culture and education, Olympism seeks to create a way of life based on the joy found in effort, the educational value of good example and respect for universal fundamental ethical principles.” – www.olympics.com
The Heart of the Olympic Spirit is Friendship, Solidarity and Fair Play.
Here’s some fun activities to combine sport, culture and education and bring the Olympic Spirit into your home:
Host a mini-Olympics styled activity day with family and friends. You can participate in a variety of novelty sports and summer sports. As part of the lead up, teams can design their own uniforms and flags. You can also make your own Olympic torch, medals, podium and even plan an opening / closing ceremony if you like.
Novelty ‘Mini-Olympics’ Ideas:
• Hug-a-Balloon Relay – where pairs have to keep a balloon off the ground by squishing it between them.
• Balloon between the Knees Race
• Tug of War
• Egg and Spoon Race
• Balloon Volleyball
• Discus Throwing (with paper plates)
• Javelin Toss (with pool noodles or paper aeroplanes)
• Balloon Tennis (with fly swatters)
• Nerf gun ‘shooting’ with a bullseye for a target.
• Ping Pong Basketball – place a bucket in the middle of the room, each competitor has 10 table tennis balls to try and bounce into the bucket.
Learn more about the Olympics and Olympism. E.g. What is the symbolism of the Olympic Rings, the torch and torch relay? There are great resources at The Olympic Museum’s website olympics.com/museum .
Learn about the Tokyo Games:
• Discuss the design of the new stadium – built to be eco-friendly, with the motto ‘bring back nature into the cities.’
• Explore the significance and meaning behind their emblem design and mascots.
• Try drawing the mascots and even try to create your own mascot.
There is a great download
able Educational Kit from The Olympic Museum available at www.olympics.com/museum with loads of information and activities to participate in.
Explore and Embrace Japanese Culture:
• Learn about Japan’s national sports including Judo and Sumo Wrestling.
• Try making some origami pieces.
• Make some sushi rolls for dinner, and try eating with chopsticks.
• You may even want to learn some Japanese words and sayings, or even how to write in kanji or hiragana characters.
• You could also learn about J-POP – Japanese Pop Culture; Manga, animated films, Kawaii fashion etc. Why not try drawing yourself as a Manga character?
Fun Tokyo Olympics’ STEAM Fact
“What if your old mobile phone could become an Olympic medal? Wanting to engage more residents in the Games and be respectful of the environment, the organisers had an original idea that captured the spirit of the times: reduce the environmental impact of the Games by making use of recycled materials. Athletes’ clothing has been made from used clothes, the podiums from plastic
waste, and the medals from recycled metals collected from old cameras, phones and computers. The Japanese got on board with this initiative, depositing many of their used devices in collection containers. In total, 5,000 medals, featuring the famous chequered design, have been produced.” – Eva Bensard, Experiencing & Discovering the Olympic Games : Special Tokyo 2020, TOM SCHOOLS Education kit. www.olympics.com/museum
Over six million smartphones have been recycled to create the Olympic medals for Tokyo – How cool is that?
Support the Australian Olympic Team on Facebook and follow the latest news and results on www.olympics.com.au and Twitter.
You can also get official TOKYO 2020 TEAM GEAR from the AOC Shop! And don’t forget to enter to WIN an Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) Official Olympic Merchandise Pack with an AOC Iconic Football and this cuddly Boxing Kangaroo with PakMag before the 19th July 2021.
