AUSSIE EDUCATOR

Ancient Olympics

This section has information about the original Olympics, on which the modern format has been based.

• Ancient Olympic Events
  ‘You can compare ancient and modern Olympic sports, tour the site of Olympia as it looks today, learn about the context of the Games and the Olympic spirit, or read about the Olympic athletes who were famous in ancient times’.
• Ancient Olympic Games
  Covers origins, legends, history, events, famous athletes and a range of references and links. Wikipedia.
• How did The Olympic Games Begin ?
  From the BBC. Find information, answer selected questions and follow links to related material.
• Olympics Through Time
  ‘The spirit of the Olympic Games. Learn their long history, explore their unknown aspects and discover the society that created them, through a variety of activities’ Also a section on the modern Olympics.
• The Origin of the Olympics
  A text based research article that equates some of the mythology and calendar information related to the games.
• The Real Story of …
  [The Ancient Olympic Games]
  ‘It’s easy to assume that the ancient Olympic Games were different, that ancient Greek athletes were pure in mind and body, that they trained and competed for no other reason than the love of physical exercise, fair competition and to honour their gods. But is this really true ? Well, no. In fact, politics, nationalism, commercialism and athletics were intimately related in the ancient Olympic Games’.

Paralympics & Paralympians

The Olympics for those with disabilities. For scandals, see the previous page. Some paralympians are included in the list of Athletes on the previous page.

• A Brief History of the Paralympic Games
  ‘From post-WWII rehabilitation to mega sport event’.
• Australian Centre for Paralympic Studies Oral History Project
  National Library of Australia. ‘In 2010 the APC, signed an agreement with the National Library of Australia to record the oral histories of a number of the people who were responsible for the growth and success of Paralympic sport in Australia. This oral history project will underpin a broader Australian Centre for Paralympic Studies project to capture and preserve the history of Paralympic sport’.
• Australian Paralympic Committee
  Information about the games, Australian Paralympic athletes, sports, news, programs, supporting their efforts and more.

• Anti-Doping Policy
  The Paralympic Anti-Doping stance. Covers WADA and Sport Integrity Australia Anti-Doping Codes and their own policy.
• Community
  Sections covering News, Programs and AUS Adapts.
• Events
  Listing of future events. Information about the Tokyo [2020], Beijing [2022] and Paris [2024] Games.
• Latest News
  News items about multiple aspects from organisational matters to individual athletes.
• Meet our Athletes
  ‘Extraordinary stories from inspiring individuals. Everyone has a story to tell. This is your chance to meet your paralympians and find out what drives them to keep on achieving their dreams’.
• Paralympics Education Program
  ‘The Australian Paralympic Education Program, in partnership with Australian Beef, is providing free curriculum-linked resources for Australian school students along with ideas to support the Australian Paralympic Team ahead of the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games’.
• Sport
  ‘Paralympic Sports; Get Involved; Classification; Para-sport Equipment Fund; Para-sport Coaching; Sports Medicine’.
• Tokyo 2020 [2021]
  An updated page for the next Paralympic Games. Paralympics Australia. Games to be held from 24 August to 5 September 2021.

• International Paralympic Committee
  Information on the games, sports, athletes, rules, classification, education, development, Hall of Fame and more.

• Blogs
  Read blogs from paralympians from around the world. Includes some videos.
• Classification
  How athletes are classified and information about their groupings.
• Hall of Fame
  ‘The Paralympic Hall of Fame will ensure that a permanent record and institutional memory is kept of top Paralympic athletes and coaches of all time’.
• Paralympic Games
  Information on Beijing, Vancouver, London and Sochi Games, past games, applicant cities for 2016 and principles behind the games.
• Paralympic Games Education Programs
• Paralympic School Day
  PG Education, other programs and resources.
• Sports
  Covers sports, organisers, rules, regulations, rankings, records, results and competitions.

• List of Australian Paralympic Medallists
  ‘This list includes Summer and Winter Australian Paralympic Medallists’. Wikipedia.
• Lists of Paralympic Medallists
  ‘This article includes lists of all Paralympic medallists since 1960, organised by each Paralympic sport or discipline, and also by Paralympiad’. Wikipedia.

Winter Olympics

The Winter Olympics started about 30 years after the summer Olympics and were originally held in the same year. In 1994 they moved to the midpoint between summer Olympic Games.

• Australia at the Winter Olympics
  History; Infrastructure and training; Public Participation and support winter sports; Results; Overview by sport; Australian at the Winter Paralympics; References; Links. Wikipedia
• Beijing 2022 [Australian Olympic Committee]
  ‘Overview; Winter Sports; Featured Winter Olympians; News and Posts; More on Beijing 2022’.
• Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games
  Read all the details about the next Winter Games.
• Olympic Winter Institute of Australia
  ‘The Australian Olympic Committee formed the Australian Institute of Winter Sports after the Nagano Winter Olympics in 1998, to enable the development of elite performances in winter sports by Australian athletes, through the provision of adequate funding, world-class sports programming and technical coaching’. It took the current name in 2001.
• PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympics
  ‘Athletes, Medals / Results’.
• Sochi 2014
  The official site of the 2014 Winter Olympic Games and the XI Paralympic Winter Games.
• The Origin of the Winter Olympics
  Britannica. Basic coverage with links to further information.
• Vancouver 2010
  [Spread the Games Spirit]
  Home page for the 2010 Winter Olympic Games. Covers Organising Committee, Culture & Education, Participation, The Winter Games and organisational information about their preparation.
• Winter Olympic Games
  The history of the games and predicts into the future, looks at various sports, including discontinued sports, lists all Winter Games, links to further information. Wikipedia.
• Winter Olympic Sports
  ‘List of Winter Olympic Sports and Events’.
• Winter Olympics Through The Years
  Information on sports, medal winners, standings as well as general information on summer Olympics, all-time medal winners in various groupings and all-time Medal Standings.

Educational Material

• Olympics - Winter Lessons, Worksheets and Activities
  ‘Teacher Planet offers lesson plans that discuss various aspects of the Winter Olympics. They also provide worksheets, hands on activities and classroom resources like clip art’.
• The Olympic Museum - Teaching Resources
  ‘A wide range of teaching tools are available from The Museum according to theme. These materials were created with the help of teachers and education experts in the fields and are available to any teacher who wishes to address these Olympic themes’. Includes material for all types of Olympic Games.
• Winter Olympics Activities [Education.com]
  ‘Winter Olympics activities, such as creating a flags of the world banner, can get your child interested in watching and learning from the winter Olympic Games’.
• Winter Olympics Resources [Education.com]
  ‘37 filtered results’.
• Winter 2006 Olympics Theme Unit
  ‘Activities, Worksheets, Printables and Lesson Plans’.
• Winter Olympics Colouring Pages
  Colouring pages that cover the major Winter Olympics disciplines. Links to other resources.

Other Information

Educational Materials

• 60+ Key Stats About the Olympic and Paralympic Games
  ‘From History to Human Rights – Major Olympics and Paralympics statistics we think you should know’.
• About the Toolkit
  ‘The OVEP Toolkit is a set of free resources designed to enrich any educational curriculum with Olympic-themed activities, teaching strategies and inspirational materials. It can be put into action by teachers and instructors, coaches and sports clubs, governments and educational authorities, members of the Olympic Family, and even parents at home. The Toolkit contains four key resources’.
• Educator Resources
  ‘We are providing a suite of educator resources designed for the Lower Primary, Upper Primary and Secondary Schools in Australia. To start your planning, review the relevant Educator Guide for Lower Primary, Upper Primary and Secondary. These Guides provide an overview of the lessons, time allocation, student learning and the resources required’.
• FTfs -Lessons and activity sheets - Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games
  ‘Curriculum-linked lesson ideas and accompanying activity sheets (see right-hand column), written for primary and middle years students, on the topic of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games’.
• Research Starters for the Olympic Games
  From Scholastic and covering all aspects of both Modern and Ancient Olympics.
• Science of the Olympic Winter Games
  ‘These videos, created by NBC in partnership with the National Science Foundation, feature interviews with athletes and coaches who explain the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics behind the 2014 Olympic Winter Games. The transcripts are viewable by clicking on the tab on the left side of the video viewer’.
• Summer Olympics Games Science
  ‘During the summer Olympics, people all over the world become enthralled by the feats of strength, stamina and skill of the athletes competing in the games. Try these simple experiments to understand a little more of the science behind the sports’. Do so with supervision by a responsible person.
• Thematic Units - The Olympics
  ‘Find various Web Sites on the top portion of this page. Find Lesson Plans further down. At the bottom, you will find books you can order’.
• The Olympic Games
  ‘A short history of the Olympic Games and resources to help you teach about their origins, politics and more’.
• The Olympics, Education Links
  Annotated links to sites useful in the education area for the Olympics.
• The Science of the Winter Olympics [Science Friday]
  ‘Exploring the science and tech behind the world’s greatest winter sports competition’.
• Welcome to the Olympic Channel !
  A huge number of videos available on the YouTube Channel. From specific events to what the rings mean, even some light-hearted presentations.

General Sites

• 10 Of The Greatest Olympic Moments Ever
  ‘Enjoy our compilation of 10 of the greatest Olympic Moments ever !’ [5.7min.]
• International Olympic Truce Centre
  ‘The International Olympic Truce Centre’s mission is to promote the Olympic Ideals, to serve peace and friendship, and to cultivate international understanding. The Centre’s wider and long-term objective is the creation and continuous promotion of the adoption of a Culture of Peace, which respects human rights’.
• Interesting Olympic Facts
  Covers information from symbols to diplomats, women’s involvement, counting Olympiads and more. Newsfeed, videos, articles, more.
• Marcolympics
  One man’s collection, not only of information about each modern games, but also a significant range of images of tickets, programs, posters and other materials. Includes the Youth Olympics and Paralympics.
• Olympic Channel
  ‘Olympic Channel TV is giving you access to the greatest movement in sport up close, 24/7 non-stop. From every angle. Through all in, all out coverage, original programming, unseen footage and interviews that get you closer than ever before’.
• Olympic Games
  Information on both Ancient and Modern games, their revival, problems, ceremonies, champions, host cities, medals, symbols, amateurism/professionalism and more. Wikipedia.
• Olympic Games Museum
  ‘On more than 350 pages featuring about 1 400 pictures, you can have a look at memorable moments of the Olympic Summer Games. The museums’s web page is not fully completed yet and is continually being worked on and extended’.
• Olympic History Quizzes
  Try these fun quizzes. They may be harder than you think. They cover Summer and Winter Games and Olympic History.
• Olympic Opening Ceremonies - A journey through time
  ‘We take a look back at some of the greatest moments from previous Olympic Games Opening Ceremonies’.
• Olympics Timeline
  [From ancient Greece to 1948]
  Brief notes, with links to further information.
• The Olympic Games - HISTORY.com
  ‘The Olympics in Ancient Greece; Decline and Revival of the Olympic Tradition; The Olympics Through the Years’.
• The Olympic Games story for Kids
  ‘Want to know the origins of the Olympic Games? Where it all started? Check out our quick and colourful guide for kids and let our movie tell you how it all began’. [7.5min.]

Mascots & Olympic Symbols

Symbols include the Olympic Rings and other logos, the Oath, the Torch Relay, the Flag and various ceremonies. Mascots have only existed since the Winter Olympics in 1968 and the Summer Olympics of 1972.

Mascots

• Fatso the Fat-Arsed Wombat
  ‘An “unofficial” mascot of the Sydney 2000 Summer Olympics. A truly Australian version of a mascot. Links to other mascot collections, including Olympic mascots, Australian Mascots and Australian sporting mascots. Wikipedia.
• List of Paralympic Mascots
  Covers both summer and winter Paralympics from 2008 to 2022. Wikipedia.
• Olympic Mascot
  Images and text about the Olympics mascots among a range of other Olympic trivia.
• Olympic Mascot Miraitowa
  Tokyo Olympic Games Mascot.
• Olympics 2021 Mascots : Meet Miraitowa and Someity
  ‘Tokyo 2021 Olympic Mascot : Miraitowa and Tokyo 2021 Paralympic Mascot : Someity’.
• Olympic Mascots
  ‘Olympic mascots have been a key part of the Games since 1968. They’re tasked with giving concrete form to the Olympic spirit, spreading the values highlighted at each edition of the Games; promoting the history and culture of the host city; and giving the event a festive atmosphere’.

Other Symbols

• A look back at the emblems of the Olympic Games
  ‘To mark the unveiling of the Paris 2024 Games emblem, olympics.com takes a look back at some of the most well-known emblems from Olympic Games editions in the modern era, stretching back over a century’.
• Olympic Oath
  What it is, history and a listing of those who have taken it on behalf of both athletes and judges. Wikipedia.
• Olympic Summer Games Emblems
  Lists all since their inception in 1932, with a graphic and information and goes on to London 2012. There is a link to the Olympic Winter Games Emblems, from 1932 to 2010.
• Olympic Symbols
  ‘The Olympic symbols are icons, flags and symbols used by the International Olympic Committee to elevate the Olympic Games’. Motto and Creed; Rings; Different types of flags; Flame and torch relay; Medals and diplomas; Anthems; Kotinos; Olympic salute; Mascots, Intellectual property; links. Wikipedia.
• The Olympic Rings
  Page from the Olympic Organisation which covers specific information on the rings, the motto and the flame, as well as their role in the culture of The Olympics.
• What do the Olympic Rings represent ?
  Brief, clear description with links to related material.
• What is the story behind the Olympic rings ?
  Article providing clear information about them.
• Why Were the Five Colours of the Olympic Rings Chosen ?
  Reference.com. Several pieces of information plus links to further detail.

Media

A surprising number of movies and television programs have been made about the Olympics. Only title and brief descriptors are provided for individual items.

• Internet Movie Database
  Enter “The Games” in the search box to find a list of possibilities, some irrelevant, others on specific games of different Olympiads. Some are television series.
• Olympic Television Archive Bureau
  ‘Delivering unique clips and defining moments from the Summer and Winter games and the most emotive visual content available. All from one exceptional library.’. Fee-based.
• Chariots of Fire
  ‘Chariots of Fire is a 1981 British historical drama film. It tells the fact-based story of two athletes in the 1924 Olympics’. Links to sources of the film. Wikipedia.
• Cool Runnings
  ‘Inspired by the true story of the first Jamaican Olympic Bobsled Team’.
• Downhill Racer
  A skier at the Winter Olympics. Trailer available.
• Fists of Freedom
  ‘Documentary leading up to, during and after the 1968 Summer Olympic Games in Mexico City’.
• Miracle on Ice
  ‘How the U.S. Olympic hockey team beat the Soviets at the 1980 Lake Placid Games’. Made for television.
• Munich
  Traces the follow up to the Munich Olympic Games massacre.
• Olympia 1 Teil - Fest der Völker
  ‘The document of the 1936 Olympics at Berlin, orchestrated as Nazi propaganda’. Leni Riefenstahl. Also check this site. Wikipedia.
• Olympics
  ‘Welcome to the Olympics YouTube channel, where the Games never end ! From the best musical moments at the Olympic Games in our Music Monday series to weekly compilation videos with highlights from the Olympics on Fridays, plus exclusive documentaries about the stories behind the glory, this is where you can find everything about the biggest sporting event in the world’.
• The Cutting Edge
  Suggested the Taming of the Shrew on ice could be another name. Skating movie.
• The Games
  ‘Four marathon runners [one from England, one from the U.S., a Czech and an Australian Aborigine] prepare to run in the Olympic games’.
• The Games [ABC]
  ‘This is a mischievous Australian, deadpan comedy, which takes a satirical look at the bureaucrats as they orchestrate the extravaganza that will be the 2000 Olympic Games’. Trailer available. Made for television by the ABC.
  Highly Recommended !
• The Sydney 2000 Olympics - The Complete Film
  ‘Enjoy the full length cut of our retrospective of the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games in this in-depth documentary film’. [1hr. 56min. 40sec.] Other short media pieces on a wide range of events and activities at the Sydney Olympics can be found here.