TEACHING VALUES AN OLYMPIC EDUCATION TOOLKIT TEACHING VALUES57 SECTION 3 SHARING THE VALUES THROUGH SPORT AND THE OLYMPIC GAMES ACTIVITYSHEET Pretend that your community wants to host a special event. Decide on your event. Make a list of the activities that will take place during your event. Write a letter to a government official explaining why you think your community should be able to host this event. How will it help the community? CHECKLIST ACTIVITY 1 ACTIVITY 2 ACTIVITY 3 12 Make a plan for the event that you want to host in your school or community. Your plan should include: purpose, proposed activities, facilities needed, equipment needed, people needed, money needed, benefit to the community. 3

BEFORE YOU READ – QUESTIONS TO ASK What needs do people have who live in a village? What special needs do athletes have? READING Play Together, Live Together: The Olympic Village5 It is true that Olympic athletes need stadiums in which to compete. But they also need places to sleep and eat and relax. That's what the Olympic Village is for. In the Olympic Village, each country has its own living space, but there are common eating and recreation areas where people from all countries sit side by side. In addition to food and places to sleep, the Olympic Village also provides a marketplace where athletes can shop for things they need, and entertainment for the times when they are not competing. Imagine it! There are no borders between countries, no barriers separating people, except for language. People from different countries that may even be at war live, eat and play together. FOR DISCUSSION If you were an Olympic athlete living in the Olympic Village during the Games, what kinds of things would be important to you in order for you to feel comfortable and safe? How would you make friends with people from other countries? Would it be easy to make friends? Why or why not? What would you want to eat? The International Olympic Committee says that having an Olympic Village helps to build a better and more peaceful world. What are some reasons why they would say this? BelowSydney 2000: Flags of the Olympic nations fly over the Athletes' Village in Sydney. Over 10,000 athletes and 5,000 officials from 200 nations were accommodated at the village during the Games. TAKINGCAREOFYOUR GUESTS: THEOLYMPIC VILLAGE AN IMPORTANT PART OF EVERY OLYMPIC GAMES IS THE OLYMPIC VILLAGE. IT PROVIDES ATHLETES WITH A PLACE TO EAT, SLEEP AND RELAX AND BRINGS ALL THE COMPETING NATIONS TOGETHER. 5 Canadian Olympic Association. 1996. The Olympic Truce: Days of Peace for Children. Ottawa: COC, p. 36. 58TEACHING VALUES SECTION 3 SHARING THE VALUES THROUGH SPORT AND THE OLYMPIC GAMES