New Olympic Sports!

 Every Olympic year, I present the students with the challenge of inventing a new sport that combines two real sports from either the Summer or Winter Games. The creativity always amazes me, as the students are challenged to come up with visual aids, rules, scoring systems, and even uniforms! Paragraphs are organized by Introduction, Details, and Conclusions, with an emphasis on painting a picture in the readers' mind of what this new sport would look like. My older students were challenged to get creative with hooks and intentional fragments. Enjoy these samples from across the grades!

Hit Soccer, by Eleanor (2nd grade)

        I have created a hard new sport for the next Olympic games. It is called "Hit Soccer." This challenging sport combines golf and soccer, and will make you happy to watch.

        Let me explain how to play. One player kicks the golf ball with his feet. The other player hits the soccer ball with the golf club. Winners are first to get the golf ball in the hole, and the soccer ball in the net.

        The uniforms are t-shirts with the number on the front, and a hat. It's play on the largest field, and there's a referee, people cheering, and points.

        In conclusion, my new sport is the hardest new game!

Volleyskating, by Maya (4th grade)

        I have created a fabulous new sport for the next Olympic games. It is called "Volleyskating." This amazing new sport combines volleyball and figure skating, and will be very exciting to watch.

        The Winter Sport of Volleyskating will have the same aspects of a volleyball game. Teams get one point if they make a serve, and they get three hits on a side. The game is to 25 points, but you get two extra points in a serve if you do a figure skating trick! The players would need all their gear (including butt cushions), of course. However, to look stylish, they would wear a cute customized outfit that the players would choose for themselves. The team colors have to be light blue, white, and light purple.

        With all the stylish outfits and the cool moves, my sport is to be considered awesome!

Ice-Tennis

By Roselyn (4th grade)

You love the speed of ice hockey, but your friend likes the finesse of tennis. You and your friend are going outside to have fun, but you only have time for one sport to do. I have a solution! It is called “Ice-Tennis.”  Now  both of you can have fun.

Let me tell you how to play. Both teams hold a tennis racket while wearing hockey or tennis uniforms. Players try to hit a tennis ball into a hockey net and they can use the racket to block the shots if they are a goalie. The goalie uniforms are just ordinary uniforms, but athletes have to wear a tu-tu on top of their  pants. If a player scores in the hockey net, then it’s two points. if the shot misses the net but players passed it the whole way, that's worth one point.

To choose the outfit that the team would wear during the game, the head coaches would have to arm wrestle, and whoever wins will get to choose either hockey uniforms or tennis uniforms. The winners will get $2,000 and second place will get $100. IF athletes fall then they will get a penalty of 10 minutes where they will have to sit out of the game.

A tennis racket instead of a hockey stick? A tu-tu for the goalie? The best tennis player wearing a hockey uniform? Well…this game is far more interesting then you thought? Wouldn’t you love to see this sport in the next Olympics?

The Amazing Sport of CURCKEY                                   

by Aletheia (5th grade)

Fighting. Stones. Defense. Tutus! Welcome to the world of Curckey, a mix of curling and hockey! 

Here’s how to play. Hockey sticks are used instead of brooms to curl the stone into the goal, however there are little fibers lining the edges of the sticks, and there will be 5 curling stones out on the ice. When the game starts, the winning team of rock-paper-scissors gets to go first. To start, you curl the stones, and aim for the hockey goal. Sounds simple, right? Nope. Instead of being able to curl in peace, as you’re releasing the stone, people from the other team can push you and break your concentration. To stop your opponents from doing that, though, your teammates can defend the other team by either a: actually grabbing onto your opponents and making sure they don’t go anywhere near the person who’s curling the stone, or b: forming a little circle around you and defending your opponents inside out. When you score a goal, you gain 1 point.

The uniforms, unlike the aggressive sport that the players that are wearing them play, are very cutesy and sparkly! It is mandatory to wear both your team’s hockey uniform and your favorite color tutu on top! The game will finish after 45 minutes of gameplay, absolutely no overtime, and if there’s a tie? FIGHT!!! The rules for the fighting are that you take off your tutus and throw them at each other; however, get ready players to do a lot of laundry because before the fight, players line their tutus with their team’s color paint. Now, if you didn’t know, tutus are quite hard to throw at people, so the rules are that the first team to have all of their players stained with paint, loses, as fighting while throwing tutus is quite difficult. (The fight does not count as overtime.)

Paint splatters everywhere! Tackling players! Fun for everyone! Just imagine all the joy Curckey could create!

        Skatesurfing, by Grayson (6th grade)

        Hello, and welcome to Skatesurfing! This sport is a combination of skateboarding and surfing. Now, let's get to the rules.

        

        First, you start off by putting your surfboard right in front of you, then paddling out into the ocean. When you catch a wave, the height of the wave measured in feet is added to your score, but however long it takes you to stand up on the board in seconds is subtracted from your score. Then, when your wave reaches the skate park, you jump off the surfboard and onto the skateboard.

    

        When you get on the skateboard, you start going through the skate park. there are ramps, rails, curbs, and more! Also for each trick you do, you get more points. When you get to the end of the skate park, the amount of time you took, rounded to the nearest minute, is multiplied by three, then subtracted from your final score.

        Also, there are so many tricks! Kick flips, rail grinds, rock-and-roll! Plus you get points for all of them! For example, a kick flip is ten points, a rail grind is five points per second, a rock-and-roll would be 25 points! 

        Would you try my sport? I know I would!

Feel free to comment if you would try any of these sports! I know some are a few too life-threatening for this teacher!! But I sure love the creativity.

New Olympic Sports!

 Since the Olympic Games will be coming up this summer 2024, I decided to do this project that I usually save for my summer sessions.  In order to teach persuasive writing, my students were given the assignment to create a new Olympic sport by combining two real sports into one.  This new sport would of course be a bit crazy, silly, or even dangerous, making it even more difficult to persuade our imaginary "Olympic Board of Commissioners" to adopt it in the next Olympic games.  Our goal was to write a letter that was so persuasive, that anyone could picture it in their minds and of course, say "yes" to our proposal!

Our outline went as follows:

Paragraph 1: A really pleasant and compliment-filled introduction to butter them up (it's much easier to persuade people when you start off being super nice!!)

Paragraph 2: A brief introduction to the new sport

Paragraph 3: Great detail, including rules, scoring, uniforms, etc.

Paragraph 4: All the benefits to adding this new sport.  Think money, opportunities, and a bunch of pathos!

Paragraph 5: A conclusion with a "sell-it" sentence so convincing, the reader would of course say "YES!"

Enjoy theses samples.  Could YOU picture these sports really happening?  Would you give them a try?!

To the Olympic Board of Commissioners:                                        

First of all, I want to mention that you are the best Olympic Board of Commissioners there ever was! Also, congrats on  another successful Olympic games. The 2022 Olympics were awesome! You brought pride, accomplishments, and awesome opportunities to the world!

I am writing to you in the hope that you will consider adding a new sport into the 2024 Winter Olympics. It is called “Figure Soccer.” It will combine Figure Skating and Soccer. Even though  Soccer is a Summer Olympics event, I think it would be a great idea to combine winter and summer sports! 

Let me explain how this sport is played. It would have the same aspects as soccer, only it would be played on an ice rink. This sport is both for women and men, but it’s only allowed for people ages 16 and up to participate. Each team will have eleven people, including the goalie. The athletes try to kick the ball into the goal. However, they have to do a trick while kicking the ball. If the athlete does a very hard trick, (for example a spin with one leg off the ground for 10 seconds) their team gets five points. If they do an easy trick, (for example stand on one leg for 2 seconds, which is easy for figure skaters), their team gets one point.  If an athlete forgets, or doesn't want to do a trick, they either get a penalty, or the referee takes 2  points from that team, because the athlete didn't want to do the trick or forgot to do it. Also, while the athletes are performing a trick before kicking, no one is allowed to steal the ball. The opponent gets a penalty if they do that.

Uniforms will be normal ice skating clothes. For practices, athletes can wear any kind of flexible clothing. For performances or competitions, women have to wear special ice-skating skirts and a t-shirt on top. Under that, women will wear tights and a  white long sleeve shirt. The ice skates will be shaped and will look like cleats. For men, they have to wear shorts and also, a t-shirt on top. They will also wear tights and a white long sleeve shirt. They also have ice skates that are shaped like cleats. However, you might be thinking, “How will we tell the teams apart?”For that, you don’t have to worry. Each team will have a different color t-shirt, skirts, and shorts. The ice skates shaped like cleats will also be a different color.

Imagine the possibilities! Ice skaters on a soccer field covered in ice. The tickets will sell faster than any other event! This could lead to greater money given back to the city, and more jobs resulting from referees needed. Countries around the world would start playing this sport too, and it would become more popular! Jobs, such as Referees, judges, janitors, ticket sellers, food court helpers, will all be filled because this is a very good sport, and lots of people will be willing to help out.

I hope you will consider “Figure Soccer” to become one of the most popular sports. If you accept this idea, thousands of people will be inspired.

Best Regards, 

Acey (4th grade)

WARNING: THIS SPORT CONTAINS VIOLENT ACTIONS AND CAN CAUSE SERIOUS HARM TO FANS WHO ARE OUT IN THE OPEN-ONLY EXPERIENCED PLAYERS ARE ALLOWED TO PLAY

To the Olympic Board of Commissioners:

To kick things off, I just want to facilitate your 2022 Summer Olympics! Your outstanding games really left the fans bursting for you to host another round of competitions. And for the 2024 Olympics, I have a sport that will stun the crowd furthermore than they already are!

First off, my sport is called Cricker. It consists of two popular sports: soccer and cricket. These are the most well-known sports around the globe, having billions of supporters for their teams.  As you can already tell, combining these two will create an eye-popping sport that all people can enjoy.

My description of my sport is precise, but accurate. The first part of the game is like cricket: you hit a baseball-like ball with a stick, then proceed to run to a soccer goal. After hitting the ball, you will anticipate a soccer ball being hurled at you, thrown from the sideline. Defenders will attempt to stop you and your four other teammates that appear. The rules are simple. You correctly hit the cricket ball, and you get three points. A hit leading up to a goal is 5 points. Going onto equipment descriptions, both the cricket bat and ball are VERY hard, and you will suffer a severe injury if hit by it. The soccer ball has a panel (nobody knows which one, as it changes) that ejects a strong wind that pushes it in every direction (including up and down) that the panel is facing. 

The number of players on the field resembles both soccer and cricket quite a bit. There will be one hitter for each team, one goalie, seven players playing outfield and pitcher, and four defenders for the goal, so fourteen players for each team. The team will have to wear a tank-topped shirt and shorts, any color that they choose, and in the winter or when it’s cold, an undershirt will appear under the tank top.  There will also be shin guards and cleats. Of course, stadiums will have to be constructed for this sport.. Cricker is played on a baseball field, except instead of a full diamond, there will be a cut at the top point, as the goal will go there. The field is surrounded by spikes that point inward to the field. For professional athletes, family members will have box seats and will be protected from harm.

Although playing this sport will be beneficial to everyone’s happiness, it also exploits the economy. When fans spend money to go to the host’s city for competitions, fans will improve businesses by going to restaurants and by staying in hotels, ultimately making money to support the economy.  Additionally, importing a new sport will create more economical opportunities for people, some examples being referees, security guards and announcers. And most importantly, it will benefit all the athletes who have dreams of becoming professional sports players, and the kids who desire to play both sports.

In conclusion, this sport, when you put it next to some of the greatest sports in Olympic history, will change the foundation of the Olympic Games, and improve the lives of many people to come!

Sincerely, Cho (6th grade)

Persuasive Writing: Olympic Sports Fun

     Every Olympic year, I always do this assignment with my classes.  Just because the Olympics were canceled this year due to Covid-19, that doesn't mean we have to lose the fun of this project!  The students were to come up with a new Olympic sport by combining two well-known sports.  They then had the task of convincing the Olympic Board of Directors that their crazy new sport just HAD to be included in the next Olympic Games!  This is where the persuasive writing element came in!

     Here is the outline they followed:

I. Brief intro and compliment to the board (everyone likes to be complimented before they are persuaded to do something!)

2. Name the sport, and describe it in a basic way

3. Greater detail on the sport.  The more descriptive language, the more convincing it will be!

4. The benefits to adding the sport.  Think fame, fortune, and opportunities!

5. A fabulous conclusion that leaves the reader with a new perspective that this sport just might work!

     Enjoy these fabulous examples!

    

                                                            Golfski, by AnaRose (6th grade)

Dear Olympics Board of Commissioners,

    Before I start this letter, I would like to thank you for your commitment, accomplishments, great performances, and your hard work to make these Olympics happen. Thank you again.

    I am writing this letter to you in hopes that you will accept this new sport. It is called Golfski. This sport is a mix of golf and freestyle skiing. I believe that combining these two sports and putting them into the Olympics would be outstanding. It could benefit all of us in many ways.

     Let me also explain the rules to playing. There are twelve  different ski slopes that are needed in each game. In the beginning you will hit a golf ball, and then give your clubs to your caddy, who may walk, use a snowmobile, or another form of transportation that can be used in snow. On the way to your ball, you must overcome all of the obstacles. At the bottom of each slope, there will be an ice hole in which you will put the ball. You may also not move your ball or stop your ball from moving. On each hole, you will keep track of your strokes.  This is how the winner will be determined. Whoever has the fewest strokes after all twelve holes, shall be the winner. 

    This game is an individual sport, so each player would comprise his or her own team. The player and caddy will be given the same color, and that color shall represent the participant . This sport can be played in any ski resort, as long as the twelve holes chosen are long enough to have obstacles, a golf ball hit several times, and an ice hole at the end. Also, to be fair, boys’ and girls’ competitions shall be separate, because they have a different amount of strength to hit the ball.

    Think of the many benefits of Golfski. It could be a new fun sport that could be started at almost any age. In fact, this sport could become very well known, which may cause more people to participate. Athletes could achieve great fame playing this challenging sport. The number of players could increase, creating  more business for both ski resorts and golf club companies. Last of all, this sport could inspire all people to stay in shape and avoid becoming couch potatoes, as they try an exciting, challenging new sport.

  

   I hope you shall now consider adding Golfski to the amazing assortment of the next winter Olympic sports. It could be a marvelous success and lead to many new opportunities.

                                            Rugglett on Ice, by James (5th grade)

Dear Olympic Board of Commissioners,

Thank you for being awesome and brilliant people. You have been an amazing part of people's lives.

I want you to consider a new sports I made up. The name of my new sport is called "Ruglett on Ice." It combined rugby and ballet. The players play on a thin sheet of ice. It is basically the rules of rugby and football combined with ballet.

Here are the rules. The players can not walk or run; they have to perform ballet across the ice. The players must also tackle the person on the other team with the ball as fast as they can. Six points are awarded when a touchdown is made.

The uniforms are ballet shoes, a tutu, football pants, a rugby jersey, and a top hat.

The sport is played on thin ice, so the players can fall in at any moment. If the players lose, they get dunked in the water.

The benefits of adding my sport is that it will make people laugh, and it will also bring people together. The players also get 15 million dollars a year. This sport will sell a ton of tickets.

In conclusion, many people will want to play Ruglett, and it will also be a great opportunity for everyone!

                                                              Hoop Skating, by Olivia (6th grade)

                                                 
Dear Olympic Board of Commissions,

      First of all,  congratulations on the past Olympic sports competitions. You all know we love Olympic sports. You have the best Olympics of all times so you should feel proud. I am so sorry to hear about canceling the Olympics due to the Coronavirus, but there's always next time.

    I'm writing to you today because I have an idea about a sport for the next Olympics. The game is called “hoop skating”. Combining two sports would make one outstanding sport!

 I will explain this new sport now. This new game, combining basketball and skateboarding, will be basketball played on skateboards! There will be puppies also playing and riding on skateboards too. Here are the rules: There are 10 team members on each team. Five people and five puppies are on each team. If the puppy scores, the team gets two points, but if a human scores they get one point . Also kids can't guard the grown-ups. All the dogs have to be from the animal shelter and can be adopted. People who work at the animal shelter will bring you five dogs for each team.

 The benefits of adding my sport are: the dog can get adopted so they can have their forever home! Also, kids will play too so the grown-ups will pay and you will get a lot of money. A lot of people will buy tickets, because it's an interesting sport. Who sees dogs play in the Olympics, right? So you will make a lot of money.

 I do hope you will consider adding my sport, because if you love dogs, basketball and skateboarding, you will put this in the next Olympics!

Sincerely,

Olivia

                                                            Volleynastics, by Clara (6th grade)

To the Olympic Board of Commissioners:

      I would like to congratulate you on your many successful Olympics before this. There were many opportunities and great accomplishments in the games before 2020, when coronavirus unfortunately canceled the excitement of the Olympic Games.

      If the next games are not cancelled, then a new game I have created will bring some of that excitement back! It is called “Volleynastics.” This new sport combines beach volleyball and gymnastics, and is sure to be a thrill to watch and play.

      Volleynastics has a few rules. The first rule is that the first team to get to 25 points wins. You are allowed to have only three hits on the side, and this is a girls only game. To add the gymnastics element, players could flip before hitting the ball to earn two extra points. Doing a cartwheel before a serve can earn one extra point. A back handspring any time in a rally will result in five extra points. This game is also played on a sand court. The uniforms are a traditional gymnastics unitard, decorated in the colors of the country the player is representing. Players can also get extra points if they put sparkles on their uniforms.

      There are many benefits to adding my sport. Ticket sales will go up because more people will want to see the new game, and there will be more opportunities for athletes, new or old. There will also be lots of entertainment for everybody, more jobs, and more money.

      I hope you consider “Volleynastics” with an open mind to help make people happy during this time period.

Sincerely,

Clara