Bringing a little friendly competition into a family holiday is a great way to spend time together and engage with the kids, especially as they get older. It’s also a great way to explore lots of activities on holiday, playing to everyone’s strengths whilst also encouraging everybody to try something new. And what better way to do this than with your own version of the Olympics! It’s something you can do on all your family holidays, not just every four years and a great way to make lasting memories to talk about in years to come.
Creating your own family version of the Olympics is a great way to get everybody active and together, with a little healthy competition thrown in for good measure. For the best results and happy families all round, choose events and sports that play to a variety of interests, strengths and abilities. Remember if you don’t come out on top this time, you don’t have to wait four years to do it again. Don’t make things too complicated, it’s meant to be fun, here are some easy basics to get you started on your Olympic journey.
Step one: Divide the family into teams, pairs or play as individuals. How you decide to play really depends on how many people are in your family or extended family. Next give each team or individual a name or assign them a country to represent, this all adds to the fun and Olympic spirit.
Step two: Each team or individual then picks an activity they want to feature in your family Olympics. Ask each team to choose an activity(s) until there’s at least five sports. That way there’s a good spread of sports and everybody is competing in multiple activities.
Step three: Decide how each activity will be scored, so that at the end of each event it’s clear who came first (gold), second (silver) and third (bronze). After each round assign and record points as follows: Gold – 3 points; Silver – 2 points; Bronze – 1 point. Remember to keep score so you know who the overall winner and Olympic champion in each event is.
The beauty of this particular Olympics is that you get to choose the events to compete in. As a family pick activities to create a tournament that’s as individual as you are, with sports that play to the strength and weaknesses of each team member. Here's a few ideas to get you started:
Tennis: A proper tennis championship, complete with semi-finals, finals and play-offs could be perfect for families who love the sport. Just book yourself a court, grab some rackets and balls and you’re ready to go. For those of you with younger children, lots of teams in your family group, or if you just want a quicker round, it’s easy to alter the rules, e.g. within each game, the first person or team to get five/ten points wins.
Swimming: If everybody in your family swims, this is a great Olympic event to try. Some beachclubs (Messini and Portomyrina Palace) even have pools that are approx. 50m long so you’ll experience the type of pool the Olympians use. Be creative with your swimming event; it could be a straight fastest person wins race in simple freestyle, or it could be a medley (combination of four different swimming styles – breaststroke, backstroke, butterfly and freestyle) relay.
Cycling: Again, you can be imaginative with how a cycling competition works – from doing the quickest time over a set distance, through to completing certain mountain bike trails. Stay safe and find a challenge that works for your family.
Here's a few more activities that you can try on a beachclub holiday, both of which are actual Olympic sports.
Kayaking: Whilst you won’t be able to do white water or sprint kayak events, the calm, clear waters at each beachclub os perfect for sprint events. Set up a series of time trials or straight races against each other between set points in single or double kayaks. There’s always a good supply of kayaks sitting on the beach, so you can hold this event whenever the beachfront is open.
Dinghy Sailing: Take on a tuition challenge, and learn a new watersport on holiday as part of your family Olympic tournament. The winner(s) can be decided by who takes best to dinghy sailing, or who’s best at individual elements such as sailing a triangular course. Depending on how well you progress and previous experience the whole family may be able to compete in the end of week regatta. That way you really will be able to let the families competitive streak run free and declare a champion!
Family holidays are of course always brilliant but why not go one step further and learn something new together this year?
Activity holidays are a great option for families with a shared sense of adventure.
The excitement and anticipation of a holiday with the whole family can be just as exciting and almost as much fun as the holiday itself.
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