This summer, the Olympic Games will be taking place in Paris. Originally starting in ancient Greece, the games today are a global event that aim to bring people together to celebrate a love of sport. Athletes from over 200 countries take part in over 400 different events – so there is something to interest everyone!
Many people will be visiting Paris to see the games live or watching along on TV at home. But that’s not the only way you can take part – why not organise your own mini Olympics inspired event for your friends and family? Follow our instructions (including some tips on the kit you ideally need) and you'll be ready to host your own historic games wherever you like!
Ready, set, let’s go!
To play the games on our list, you will need:
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Standing long jump
First up: time to find out who is super springy!
Mark a spot in the garden and take turns jumping from it – without running up. Try to jump as far as you can, then measure your distance with string, a stick or a tape measure.
Have three goes each and award a point to the longest jumper in each round.
Tennis ball shotput
This game is all about the technique. Get a tennis ball, hold it by your cheek, crouch and then push it up and away from you as you stand up. No throwing or stepping forward allowed! Measure how far away the ball lands from your feet with a tape measure.
Have three goes each and award a point for the person who got the ball furthest away in each round. If you’re not sure about the technique, have a look on online to see how the professionals do it!
Broom croquet
Can you sweep away your competition in this game? Place five targets, such as plastic bottles, a few metres apart on the grass and number them one to five. You could use your nine pin bowling pins for this!
Give each player a ball (such as a football) and a broom. All players start from the same place and take turns swinging the broom to hit their ball into the five targets. Count how many goes it takes you to hit each target and write it down. The person to hit all five targets in the least number of goes gets three points.
Paper plane archery
Time to test your aim!
Tip: you will need to make some paper planes from the sheets of paper before you start this game.
Give each player three planes, then take turns throwing them at a homemade archery target on the grass with an outer ring, a middle ring and a bullseye. You could draw this on a large sheet of paper or use rope to mark it out. Score one point for hitting the outside edge, two points for hitting the middle ring and three points for the bullseye.
Ninepin bowling
Forget ten pin bowling and play like the Georgians with nine!
Follow the instructions on this page to make your pins before you start your games.
Set up your ninepin bowling alley on a flat area, then stand around five metres back from the pins and knock them all down with a ball in as few goes as possible. The winner of each round gets a point.
Everyone’s a winner!
And finally, prepare the podium for your sporting stars!
When you’ve finished all of your games, count up the scores from each round to see who won each game, and who has the most points in total. Then award each other with homemade medals and strike a champion pose! You could do a first, second and third or crown the top scorer from each game.
For help making your own winning sports medals, tap the link below for our easy instructions and downloadable template.
Make some medals
