25 Group Activity: A New Olympic Sport

Eric Dodson; Luciana Diniz; and Nanci Leiton

Great news! You have been hired (for free!) by the International Olympic Committee to help choose a new sport to add to the Olympic Games.

Instructions:

  • You will work together and focus on four key questions about the activity.
  • You will start by reviewing 3 example sports.
  • After that, you can brainstorm and choose any sport that you want to suggest.
  • Finally, you will talk about your #1 choice and share it with the rest of the class.

The 4 key questions

  1. Is the activity challenging?
  2. Is the activity entertaining to watch?
  3. Is the activity open to everyone?
  4. Can people with disabilities participate?

For each question, you can discuss more questions:

  1. Is the activity challenging?
    • Does it require a physical skill?
    • Does it require mental skill?
    • How long does it take to become excellent?
  2. Is the activity entertaining to watch?
    • Is it a popular sport around the world?
    •  Is it fun to watch in person and on TV?
    • Is it fast, exciting, or intense?
  3. Is the activity open to everyone?
    • Can people around the world play it?
    • Does it require expensive equipment?
    • Can children play it?
    • Can older people play it?
  4. Can people with disabilities participate?
    • Can they participate with able-bodied people?
    • What changes could you make to the sport to include people with disabilities?

Three examples

Discuss these sports with the 4 key questions. They are sports that have been suggested in the past:

  1. Taekwondo.
  1. Bowling.
  1. Firefighting.
    • This really was a demonstration sport at the 1900 World Olympics.
    • The teams were required to extinguish a fire and perform a rescue.
    • The instructions:
      • The fire started on the 3rd floor of a house six floors; 4th floors and stairs the upper parts are impassable. People are saving the 5th and 6th floors. Operate rescue and extinction.”

 

 

Brainstorm

  • What sport or activity would you like to see in the Olympics?
  • Take a few minutes to suggest ideas. Try to get one idea from each person.
  • Discuss the strengths and weaknesses.
  • Can you agree on one sport?
    • o You can take a vote
    • o You can try to compromise
    • o You can invent a new sport that combines your favorite parts

 

Share

Be ready to share with the rest of the class.

  • Who will explain about the sport?
  • Do you have an answer about each of the 4 key questions?
  • Do you have pictures or examples of the sport that you can show everyone?

License

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Group Activity: A New Olympic Sport Copyright © by Eric Dodson; Luciana Diniz; and Nanci Leiton is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

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