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 includes a section on the modern Olympics.
• New !  The Ancient Olympic Games Virtual Museum
  ‘Welcome to the Ancient Olympic Games Virtual Museum. Here you will find a plethora of information about the contests that are the forefathers of our modern Olympic Games. In order to use this site, we ask that you register with us and accept our copyright agreement. There is no charge for using this site; however, you have to agree not to redistribute all or part of this site’.
• The Origin of the Olympics
  A text based research article that explains some of the mythology and calendar information related to the games.
• New !  The True Story of the Ancient Olympic Games
  ‘Politics, nationalism, commercialism and athletics are often associated with the Modern Olympic Games, but these themes are as old as the games themselves. Explore the climate and circumstances surrounding the ancient Olympic 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 Paris [2024] Games and also information about the Tokyo [2020/1] and Beijing [2022] 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’.
• Updated !  Paralympics Education Program
  ‘The Australian Paralympic Education Program is providing free curriculum-linked resources for Australian school students along with ideas to support the Australian Paralympic Team at the Summer and Winter Paralympic Games’.
• Sport
  ‘Paralympic Sports; Get Involved; Classification; Para-sport Equipment Fund; Para-sport Coaching; Sports Medicine’.

• List of Australian Paralympic Medallists
  ‘This list includes Summer and Winter Australian Paralympic Medallists’. List only goes till 2014 Games. Wikipedia.

• 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.

• Lists of Paralympic Medallists
  ‘This article includes lists of all Paralympic medallists since 1960 through to 2022, organised by each Paralympic sport or discipline, and also by Paralympiad’. Wikipedia.

Previous Paralympic Games

• New !  Beijing 2022 - Paralympic Winter Games
  Information includes ‘Schedule, Medals, Athletes, Videos and Results’.
• Tokyo 2020 [2021]
  A page for the last Summer Paralympic Games. Games were held from 24 August to 5 September 2021.
• New !  PyeongChang 2018 - Paralympic Winter Games
  ‘Results, News, Highlights, Sports, Countries, Athletes and Venues’.
• New !  Rio 2016 - Paralympic Games
  ‘About Rio 2016, Photos, Videos, News, Results, Mascot and Medals’.
• New !  Sochi 2014 - Paralympic Winter Games
  ‘About Sochi 2014, Photos, Videos, News, Results, Mascot and Medals’.

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.

Previous Winter Olympic Games

• Beijing 2022 [Australian Olympic Committee]
  ‘Overview; Winter Sports; Featured Winter Olympians; News and Posts’.
• PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympics
  ‘Athletes, Medals / Results’.
• Sochi 2014
  ‘Highlights and Replays, Results, Athletes, Stories, Medal Design, Mascot and more’.

Other Winter Olympic Games Information

• Australia at the Winter Olympics
  History; Infrastructure and training; Public Participation and support winter sports; Results; Overview by sport; Australians at the Winter Paralympics; References; Links. Wikipedia
• 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.
• The Origin of the Winter Olympics
  Britannica. Basic coverage with links to further information.
• Winter Olympic Games
  The history of the games and predictions 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.

Winter Olympics - 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’.
• Updated !  Search Winter Olympics Hands-on 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 and Summer Olympics Resources
  ‘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

Education 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’.
• New !  Education
  ‘Olympic Education is imparted through the Olympic Values Education Program, the Olympic Studies Centre, the Olympic World Library, the teaching resources of The Olympic Museum and the YOG Education Program at Youth Sporting Events’.
• Educator Resources
  We have provided ‘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’.
• New !  Let’s learn about the science of the Winter Olympics
  ‘From scientific innovations to climate change, there’s plenty of science among the sport’.
• New !  Years 3 and 4 - Olympic Games
  ‘Take a look through this fantastic collection of Olympics resources for Years 3 - 4 children. There is plenty here to help you in your lessons during the week of the Olympic Games to help entertain and inspire your children during this special sporting event’. There are also resources for New !  Winter Olympics for the same year levels.
• Research Starters for the Olympic Games
  From Scholastic - covering all aspects of both Modern and Ancient Olympics.
• 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.
• New !  Teaching Resources - The Olympic Museum
  ‘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’.
• Thematic Units - The Summer 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 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’.

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.]
• New !  The Olympics [Teaching Times]
  UK. ‘A themed project plan embracing the Olympics from its every angle for use at Key Stages 2 and 3, presenting an ongoing opportunity to celebrate the event with a series of thinking skills activities and resources’.

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. Mascots from 1972 to 2020.
• Updated !  Olympic Mascot Miraitowa
  Tokyo Olympic Games Mascot.
• Updated !  Olympics Part 6 : Meet mascots Miraitowa and Someity
  ‘Tokyo 2021 Olympic Mascot : Miraitowa and Tokyo 2021 Paralympic Mascot : Someity’.
• Updated !  Olympic Mascots
  ‘Olympic mascots are the ambassadors of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. They embody the spirit of the Olympics and play a vital role in welcoming athletes and visitors to the Games’. All mascots snce Grenoble in 1968.

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
  A 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 easy to understand information about these.
• 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 the title and a brief description are provided for individual items in this collection.

• 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. Check items for 1970 and 1998.
• 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 Wikipedia site.
• New !  Olympia and the Olympic Games
  Documentary.‘Learn how games were played in the 8th century BC and what rules the athletes of the time had to follow’. [51min. 26sec.]
• 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’.
• New !  The Ancient Greek Olympics [776 BC-393 AD]
  ‘The Olympic Games began in ancient Greece in July 776 BC at Olympia. However, it is thought the games began many years before. As a festival with athletic events staged to honour the god, Zeus, the Olympics also united individual Greek city-states and colonies in competition’. [8min. 24sec.]
• The Cutting Edge
  It is 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 !
• New !  The Olympics for Kids
  ‘Learn about the Olympics in this video for kids ! You will learn about the modern Olympic Games and will also learn the history of this amazing, worldwide sports event’. [7min. 7sec.]
• 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 in the Sydney Olympics 2000 Collection.