On 3 August 2021, Woodshed held its own mini-Olympics with various competitions that are no longer sports at the official Summer Olympics. Some of these sports are gone forever, while others were modified into a modern form.
Warm up: Side Straddle Hop (20); Imperial Walkers (20); Windmills (15, for stretching); Merkins (15); Warm up jog around the Circus and then back to the Olympic Pitch.
The competition:
1 v. 1 Tug of War – Participating Years 1900, 1904 – Qualifying rounds – Pull your opponent across a center line. While the mano-y-mano competition was going forward, the rest of the group alternated between planks and air chair. Everyone who wins their original round does 1 Burpie, everyone else does 3 Burpies.
60m dash – Participating Years 1900 & 1904 – Modified as lunge walk. Slow job back to starting line.
Standing Long Jump – Participating Years 1900, 1904, 1906, 1908 & 1912 – All at the same time. First place does 3 burpies, everyone else 5 burpies.
16 lb. Shot Put (2 Hands) – Participating year 1912 – Modified to use a 20 lb. kettle bell. Throw bell with one hand then throw with the other hand for the total distance. While each person was competing, everyone else alternatively held plank or air chair and did one merkin per throw of the bell. First place does 3 burpies, everyone else 5 burpies.
Bear Crawl to the winning shot put location (not an actual Olympic event, but it should be). Everyone does 5 burpies.
Slow Jog or Speedwalk back to starting line
Standing Triple Jump – Participating Years 1900 & 1904 – Everyone together. Start in a standing position and jump (both legs) then skip and hop (single legs) for total distance. First place does 3 burpies, everyone else 5 burpies.
Crab walk back to starting line (not an actual Olympic event, but it should be)
1 v. 1 Tug of War – Finals. Amrap sit ups or LBCs while the mano-y-mano competition was going forward. Everyone (except Teddy, who was undefeated) did 5 burpies + 5 burpies at the end.
Slow jog back to the flag.
COT – Everyone wins a silver!! (But Frostbite won the most.) The Devo discussed the true meaning and inspiration behind the Olympics and pointed out the sportsmanship of the High Jumpers Mutaz Essa Barshim (Qatar) and Gianmarco Tamberi (Italy) who shared the Gold Medal and the triumph of Sifan Hassan (Netherlands) who fell during the 1500 Meter qualifier, got back up, and won the race.
The Olympic motto was first expressed by the Dominican priest Henry Didon in the opening ceremony at an 1881 competition. The motto originally stated was: “Citius – Altius -Fortius,” which is translated as “Faster – Higher – Stronger.” On July 20, 2021, the Session of the International Olympic Committee approved a slight change in the motto to recognize the unity and solidarity of sports. The motto now reads: “Citius, Altius, Fortius – Communiter,” which translates as “Faster, Higher, Stronger – Together.” (From the official International Olympic Committee web site, https://olympics.com/ioc/faq/olympic-symbol-and-identity/what-is-the-olympic-motto#:~:text=The%20Olympic%20motto%20is%20made,school%20sports%20event%20in%201881) (last checked Aug. 3, 2021 @ 10:32am)
Bravo