The Mini-Olympics

"When I was granted leave to attend the [Rio] Olympics as a volunteer, I agreed to bring back the experience to Inuujaq School.  As a member of the School Events Committee [SEC], I decided to offer my expertise to organize a special day to celebrate the Olympics and my return to Arctic Bay."

            

The SEC decided to hold a Mini-Olympics for Grades 1-8 and a special presentation for Grades 9-12.  The day was set for Friday, September 9.  Each grade was assigned a country to represent at the Mini-Olympics.  They were tasked with making flags of that country.  The assignments were:

Grade 1 - Canada

Grade 2 - Brazil

Grade 3 - United States of America

Grade 4 - Bangladesh

Grade 5 - Japan

Grade 6 - Trinidad & Tobago

Grade 7 - Ukraine

Grade 8 - Zambia       

"We were trying to be as inclusive as possible and incorporated the countries of origin for four of our staff: Bangladesh for Principal Salam, Trinidad and Tobago for Natalie, Zambia for John, and Ukraine for Adrian."

            

I let Eunice, the Grade 7 teacher, borrow an activity book I had on Ukraine so that her class could learn a little bit about my country and not have any trouble recreating the flag on bristol board.  I thanked JF for including Ukraine by downloading the national anthems of the eight chosen countries that he would play during the opening ceremony.

            

The Mini-Olympics began after morning recess in the gym.  Each class, or should I say country, walked into the gym to the sound of their anthem playing over loudspeakers.  They walked around the gym once, displaying their flags and waving to the spectators.  The teams then sat underneath their respective title cards that were posted around the gym.  JF made & posted the title cards of each country before the opening ceremony.  I really should have packed my Ukrainian flag when I was flying back to Arctic Bay in August.  The principal was excited to see his country being represented.

            

Student Support Assistant Lena, leads
Rebecca around the gym carrying the
Olympic torch.

The gym lights were turned off once all the teams were inside.  JF ran out with the Olympic torch . . . in the form of a flashlight wrapped with red, orange, & yellow construction paper.  He passed the torch to Rebecca, a grade 11 student with special needs.    

            

"This was to commemorate the Paralympics going on at the same time in Rio."

            

Rebecca did a lap around the gym and then placed the torch at the front.  The opening ceremony was completed.

            

The Mini-Olympics continued with a selection of games that the SEC prepared for the event.  They were: sitting volleyball, relay races with eggs, straight relay races, and musk ox push.  (Sitting volleyball is an official sport of the Paralympics).  Badminton nets & balloons were used for sitting volleyball.  The relay races were fast-paced.  JF and a high school student demonstrated the musk ox push, a traditional Inuit game, on newly purchased gym mats.  Then the teams gave the musk ox push a try.  Unfortunately, I was unable to attend the Mini-Olympics in the gym because I had to teach my Grade 11 Social Studies class.  From what I gathered, Ukraine didn't come in first place, but also didn't come in last place.  "Ukraine is not weak!"

            

Musk ox push.

Before the students were dismissed for lunch, JF held a raffle.  He drew names from each country and gave them various paraphernalia he brought back from Brazil.  Some of these items included: official plastic drinking cups, small special flavoured pops (sodas), Brazilian coins, and small flags of Brazil.   

            

The special presentation was held during the last period of the day.  JF prepared a slideshow of his time in Rio and was excited to share the pictures he took and the stories he experienced.  He would conclude his presentation with a raffle, similar to the one he held in the gym.

            

Everyone packed into JF's classroom.  Three large flags of Brazil, Nunavut, and the Olympics hung on the walls.  The Rio Olympics logo was displayed on the StarBoard in front of the class.  JF was still wearing his bright yellow, orange, & green Rio t-shirt and matching cap.  When everyone was seated, he began the presentation.

            

He began by speaking about the application process, the interviews, and the lessons he had to take to get ready for the trip of a lifetime.  His official title was Service Desk Team Member.  He was tasked with assisting in supervising the Service Desk team's computer information systems for Women's basketball, field hockey, and modern Pentathlon.  The systems are used for scoring & ranking of competitors.  He had to take lessons on how to use the computer software and, naturally, how to communicate in Portuguese.

            

All volunteers had to pay their own way to get to Rio and were responsible for finding their own accommodations.  JF travelled to Rio on July 28, beginning in Canada, and transferring twice, in the United States, and Peru.  When he landed in Rio, he had been flying for 24 hours.  He would fly back the same way at the conclusion of the Games.  He stayed in a hostel for the duration of the Olympics.  All volunteers were given a transportation pass that enabled them to ride the public transportation system for free.  This was very welcome for JF because his hostel wasn't near the venue where he would be working.

            

When JF wasn't working, he watched the slalom canoe & kayak competition, the beach volleyball matches, handball games, and track & field games.  He also did plenty of sightseeing, and got people to take pictures of him holding the Nunavut flag.  Quite a few people asked him what country's flag he was holding, but he had to explain that it was the flag of a Canadian territory.

            

JF showed many pictures and several videos while he spoke.  The students asked plenty of questions.  I personally thought the presentation was very informative. 

            

"I ended the presentation with a draw for prizes, including special flavour pop from Brazil, official plastic drinking cups, Brazilian chocolate, official volunteer items, including a Swatch watch, a small carry-all bag, and an official volunteer shirt.

            

"These two activities generated a lot of enthusiasm and interest from both our elementary and high school students!"

*Note: All italicized texts are quotes from JF.  Thank you JF for helping me write this post.

Thank you to Ryan for providing the pictures of the Mini-Olympics.