As the world comes together for the upcoming Paris Olympics, your children can witness the pinnacle of sportsmanship and excellence from the 26th of July to the 11th of August 2024. Olympic athletes can be extraordinary role models for your children, demonstrating values and skills that extend far beyond the sports arena.
As you keep an eye out for all your favourite athletes competing across the 32 summer sports, it’s important to remember that there’s more to these events than just inspiring athletic performances. The Olympics is a great conversation starter as your family can learn about different countries, their flags, traditions and geography. You’ll also see some iconic locations featured at the games with beach volleyball being played at courts directly in front of the Eiffel Tower.
Here are a few other valuable lessons your student-athletes can learn from the upcoming games.
Dedication & Discipline
Olympic athletes epitomise dedication and discipline by setting clear and measurable goals, and then creating detailed plans to achieve them. The Olympics is an ideal visual for kids to see what can happen when you set goals, pursue your passion, work hard and have perseverance.
Whether your child hopes to ace an upcoming test or master a musical instrument, work with them to write out their academic and personal goals and create a roadmap for success by breaking these goals down into manageable tasks.
If you want to encourage your child to have a growth mindset, read our latest blog on Goal Setting For Young Athletes.
Resilience In The Face Of Adversity
Olympians face numerous challenges and setbacks throughout their careers whether it’s injuries or defeats. Learning how to bounce back and stay resilient in the face of adversity is a crucial life skill so it’s important to discuss this with your children and help them embrace a determined mindset when dealing with academic challenges, setbacks or personal struggles.
Start by talking about how the Olympics is full of inspiring stories of people who beat the odds just to get where they are, how some athletes are winners without ever stepping foot on a podium, and that not every athlete who competes in the Olympics will go home with a gold medal.
Teamwork & Collaboration
While some Olympic events are individual sports, many do involve teamwork and the ability to work towards a common goal. The Olympics is an excellent example of sportsmanship, communication, collaboration and respect for competitors, coaches and the sport itself.
These lessons transcend sports and can be applied to group projects, extracurricular activities and other social interactions. You can encourage these qualities in your children by teaching them how to play fair, show respect for others, and gracefully accept victories and defeats.
Making Healthy Choices
Olympic athletes prioritise their physical and mental wellbeing through proper nutrition, adequate sleep and mindfulness activities. They also know that juggling intense training schedules, competitions and their personal lives requires impeccable time management skills.
Olympians can teach your children the importance of making healthy choices to fuel their bodies, managing time efficiently and finding a balance between work and play both in and out of the classroom. These lessons are all invaluable for students as they navigate their academic responsibilities and social lives.
If you want to learn more about how Olympians prepare for their upcoming events, check out this video with surfing legend Jack Robinson on Olympics Unleashed TV.
Which Australian Athletes Will Compete At The Paris Olympics?
With 10,500 athletes competing at the Paris Olympics, Australia is expected to send a team of between 460 to 480 athletes. We’ll keep you posted with our TAS Alumni as we hear more details! Here are some other Aussies you can look out for:
Keep an eye out for Jessica Fox who will be competing in the Canoe Slalom after winning gold at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Her impressive achievements include 22 World Championship medals so this is one Australian you won’t want to miss!
Tune in to see Breiana Whitehead who made history in November 2023 as the first-ever kite foil sailor to be selected for an Australian Olympic Team. This sport is making its debut on the sailing program at the Paris Olympics so make sure you catch this exciting event. You’ll also see Sunshine Coast marathon swimmer Chelsea Gubecka take to Paris’s famous Seine River in the 10km open water event. Chelsea was the first athlete selected to represent Australia for the 2024 Paris Olympics after previously representing Australia at the 2016 Rio Olympics as a 17-year-old.
The Paris 2024 Olympic Games will be broadcast in Australia on the Nine Network so make sure you catch all the action together at home. Don’t miss the unique Opening Ceremony where athletes will travel down the Seine River on boats with 600,000 spectators expected to line the riverbanks and cheer on athletes.