Skip to main content

Volunteering at Scouts is changing to help us reach more young people

Volunteering is changing to help us reach more young people

Volunteering is changing at Scouts. Read more

Discover what this means

Mini Olympics

Complete individual and group challenges to test your balance, coordination, speed and strength in your very own mini Olympics.
Plan a session with this activity

Back to Activities

You’ll need

  • Calculator or phone
  • Chalk
  • Rope
  • Something to mark lines (for example, chalk, masking tape, or rope)
  • Stopwatch or phone
  • Tape measure
  • Whistles
  • Pens or pencils
  • Spoons
  • Sacks or old pillow cases
  • Hard boiled eggs or bouncy balls
  • Wellies or bean bags
  • Prizes or awards for the winners

Before you begin 

  • Decide whether you’ll split the group into teams to take part in different challenges at the same time, or if you’ll move from challenge to challenge as a whole group. 

Story time

  1. Everyone should sit in a circle.
  2. Someone should read The Woodland Olympics by Jess Connett. 
  3. After reading the story, everyone should take some time to reflect on it as a group. We’ve included some questions to help you reflect in the pink box below.

‘Hello and welcome to the Woodland Summer Olympic Games!’ said the announcer in a loud voice. All the animals cheered. They were in the clearing, but it looked very different from usual.

A long running track ran around it, with lanes marked out using twigs.

In the middle was a square of grass, and a pit full of sand for the long jump event.

Around the outside, all the animals of the woodland were watching. Every last bird, bee and beetle was there! And when the crowd roared, the noise reached the very tops of the trees.

‘Today’s first event is the 100 metre final,’ said the announcer. ‘In lane one we have Sammy the squirrel. In lane two there’s Miguel the mouse. In lane three it’s Roddy the rat. On your marks, get set, go!’

The three racers scampered down the running track. The crowd were shouting for their favourite runner, urging them to go faster and win the Olympic gold medal. Come on!

Roddy started off the fastest, but he soon began to get tired. Sammy was coming up fast and now they were neck and neck. Miguel was half the size of the others, but he put on a final burst of speed and crossed the line a whisker ahead. He had won!

The hedgehog family handed Miguel a golden acorn and the crowd went wild!

In the middle of the track, Tamara the tawny owl and Barbara the barn owl had their final throws of the shotput.

Holding a heavy stone in her claw, Tamara span around and threw it as far as she could. Great throw! But not quite far enough to win. Barbara hugged Tamara and told her she had done really well to get the silver acorn.

At river, the otters lined up for the swimming race. Olivia was determined to beat her brother, Otto. Banji the badger blew the whistle and they both dived in from the bank.

The otters flashed through the water, turned when they got to the big rock, pushed off with their feet, and swam all the way back. They touched the riverbank at exactly the same second. It was a draw!

One of the rabbits in the crowd turned to her friend. ‘Those athletes must be very tired,’ she said. ‘I’m exhausted and all I’ve done today is watch!’

By Jess Connett


The events

  1. Everyone should stay sitting in the circle.
  2. The person leading the activity should explain the four challenges that make up the mini Olympics. There’s an egg and spoon race, a three-legged race, a sack race, and a competition to throw a welly as far as you can. 
  3. Everyone should take part in the challenges. While they’re waiting for their turn, everyone should cheer on the people giving it a go.
  1. Everyone should line up behind the start line, balancing an egg (or a bouncy ball) on their spoon. They should only hold the handle of the spoon – they can’t touch the egg or bouncy ball. 
  2. When the person leading the race says ‘go’, everyone should move as fast as they can towards the finish line without dropping their egg. If they drop their egg, they should stop, pick it up, and balance it on their spoon before they move again.
  3. The first person to cross the finish line is the winner.
  1. Everyone should get into pairs. 
  2. Everyone should stand behind the start line with their partner. Someone could tie each pair’s legs together with a scarf, or they could just hold hands. 
  3. When the person leading the race says ‘go’, the pairs should move as fast as they can towards the finish line. They’ll have to work together and move in time to avoid getting mixed up. 
  4. The first pair to cross the finish line together is the winner. 

If you have more than one race, the winners of each one could compete against each other at the end, or you could time each race to find out who was the fastest winner.

  1. The person leading the race should give everyone a sack or pillowcase.
  2. Everyone should climb into their pillowcase and stand behind the start line. 
  3. When the person leading the race says ‘go’, everyone should move as fast as they can towards the finish line without getting out of their sacks. It’s up to them how they move – they could jump or shuffle. 
  4. The first person to cross the finish line is the winner. 

If you have more than one race, the winners of each one could compete against each other at the end, or you could time each race to find out who was the fastest winner.

  1. Everyone should line up behind the start line. 
  2. Everyone should take it in turns to throw a welly as far as they can. 
  3. The person leading the challenge should measure how far each welly went and note it down. 
  4. Once the person leading the challenge has finished measuring, everyone should go and collect their wellies. Make sure no one throws a welly while people are collecting their wellies. 
  5. Once everyone’s had a turn (or two), the person who threw their welly the furthest is the winner. 

The awards ceremony

  1. Everyone should sit in a circle.
  2. The person leading the activity should read out the winners for each event. The winners could stand up, if they want to. 
  1. Every time they hear a name called out, everyone should clap and cheer to celebrate that person’s achievement.

Reflection

This activity introduced everyone to healthy competition through challenges that developed their teamwork and motivational skills. The tasks encouraged everyone to win and lose graciously, to celebrate others for their successes, and to build their own self esteem and confidence.

You can ask these reflection questions below throughout the session or at the end.

The Woodland Olympics

  • Can you remember how many events the woodland animals do?
  • Has anyone seen the Olympics on the TV? Do they know what any of the events are called?

The events

  • Did people prefer the individual or the group challenges?
  • What did they enjoy the most? Why?

The awards ceremony

  • Did people feel good about themselves when they were competing? Why do they think this happened?
  • How did people feel when they celebrated someone else winning?

Safety

All activities must be safely managed. You must complete a thorough risk assessment and take appropriate steps to reduce risk. Use the safety checklist to help you plan and risk assess your activity. Always get approval for the activity, and have suitable supervision and an InTouch process.

Outdoor activities

You must have permission to use the location. Always check the weather forecast, and inform parents and carers of any change in venue.

Poles and long objects

Be careful when moving poles or long items. Take care if the ends are sharp. Have appropriate supervision for this activity.

Heavy and awkward objects

Never lift or move heavy or awkward items alone. Ask for help or, if possible, break them down into smaller parts.

Adventure

This activity has specific rules and systems to make sure it’s managed safely. Take a look at adventure activities for more guidance. 

Active games

The game area should be free of hazards. Explain the rules of the game clearly and have a clear way to communicate that the game must stop when needed. Take a look at our guidance on running active games safely.

Contact games and activities

Make sure everyone understands what contact is acceptable, and monitor contact throughout the activity.

  • If some people find the challenges too difficult, encourage them to work in pairs and try their best.
  • You can add more challenging events if you want to (and it’d work for your group), such as long jump, relay races, shotput, tug of war, or balance beams. You could also turn the egg and spoon race or sack race into a relay race. 
  • You don’t just have to give out certificates for the fastest and strongest people. Why not award the best cheerer, the most enthusiastic runner, or the kindest competitor too? 

Choose challenges that will be competitive while allowing everyone the chance to take part and have fun. You might need to change the challenges we’ve suggested if they wouldn’t work for everyone – you should replace them with things that everyone can take part in.  

All Scout activities should be inclusive and accessible.

Squirrels Be Active Activity Badge

Why not have a go at competing in challenges with other groups or people at home? You could divide everyone into teams of various ages to compete in one huge Olympic competition.

Everyone can be involved in leading this activity – young people could time races and measure distances.