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Sports themed resources

To help keep you inspired and engaged, our Living Well Team created a variety of themed activities and helpful resources.

Photo by Bryan Turner, on unsplash.com

The theme for this set of resources is sport.

You can use the links below to quickly jump to different sections of this resource page.

We would love to hear your feedback and see any art you make. You can send pictures and comments to Mary Jenkins, Creative Therapist. Your pictures will be uploaded to this page’s online gallery. Please let us know if you would like to remain anonymous.

Sports and games

Games you could play at home while sitting or standing

Read our suggestions for modified games and be inspired to get active! Why not have a go at balloon tennis, bowls or skittles from home? Take a look at our ideas.

Read up about adapted sport, Boccia

If you’d like to learn more about adapted sports, follow this link to read our article, which includes information about the Paralympic sport, Boccia.

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Quizzes 

Test your sporting knowledge with these quizzes. Good luck!

See if you can work out the sports-related words in our ‘a sporting chance’ quiz. Download the quiz

For all those of you who have been missing your tennis ‘fix’ here is a Wimbledon-themed quiz for you to try.

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Creative ideas and art 

We can use art to create simple images using a variety of styles. Basic symbols allow us to show which sport is being depicted quickly and clearly. Take a look at our how-to guide for depicting sports using paper craft, or watercolour. Click to see commonly-used icons representing various sports.

Henri Rousseau – The Football Players

(Held at the Guggenheim in New York) 

In his whimsical picture of four footballers, Rousseau engages some interesting imagery.

What are the four men doing? Where are they playing? What is the bird in the sky?

The setting is curious too. What are your thoughts about it?

You can read more about Rousseau, and The Football Players, on the Guggenheim’s website.

In a totally different style, this image of a cyclist captures the movement of the cyclist with a hint through to the world beyond through the front wheel.

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Memories of the London 2012 Olympics

The summer of 2012 saw London host the Olympics and Paralympics, welcoming athletes from across the globe to compete on a world stage.

Thousands flocked to watch the games in London, while many more tuned in from home. Among those lucky enough to get tickets to events was Charlotte Nicholls from our Living Well Team. Read her account of the experience below.

Charlotte, Physiotherapist, said: “Super Saturday was such a phenomenal day in British sports – six Gold medals across the day, and three of them coming in the Olympic Stadium in the space of 26 minutes in the evening session, and that’s where I was, cheering in the stands – I still can’t believe it now!!” Read her article.

Volunteer Monica remembers carrying the Olympic torch

“In 2012 I was given the honour of carrying the Olympic Torch due to my connection with St Richard’s Hospice as a volunteer,” says Monica Martin.

“I had previously run three marathons, two were in London and one in New York, and managed to get sponsorship for various charities including St Richard’s.

“I had a wonderful day running from the Elgar statue in Worcester to the river, supported all the way by family, friends, and spectators.

“The atmosphere on the day was something I will always cherish, along with the torch which I then took to the hospice – where lots of photographs were taken with patients and staff.

“Over the years, I have derived a lot of pleasure by being a volunteer. Thank you for the opportunity.”

‘My time as an Olympic Games Maker’

Read an interesting article by hospice volunteer Patricia Robinson on her experience as a Games Maker at the London 2012 Olympics.

Around 70,000 volunteers, or Games Makers, helped ensure the London Olympics ran smoothly. From directing lost tourists, to first aid – the Games Makers spent 10 days working hard. Watch a video about the Games Makers.

Look back a little further, with these memories from the 1948 Olympic Games

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Books, films and music on a sporting theme

Take a look at our recommendations for books, films and music on a sporting theme. How many have you heard of? Can you add any to the list?

Read this tongue-in-cheek poem by Wendy Cope, recommended by Therapy Support Assistant Helen Miller, on how literature and sport aren’t natural bedfellows. Or, are they?

Sporty People, by Wendy Cope

I took her for my kind of person

And it was something of a shock

When my new friend revealed

That, once upon a time,

She was a Junior County Tennis Champion.

How could that happen?

How could I accidentally

Make friends with a tennis champion?

How could a tennis champion

Make friends with me?

She wasn’t stupid.  She read books.

She had never been mean to me

For being bad at games.

I decided to forgive

Her unfortunate past.

Sporty people can be OK –

Of course they can.

Later on, I met poets

Who played football. It’s still hard

To get my head round that.

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Photo by Yogendra Singh, on unsplash.com

Nature and sport

Nature and sport are almost impossible to separate. The natural environment often provides the backdrop for many sporting activities including Wimbledon and the Olympics, and consequently, sports can have a direct impact on nature. Read this article exploring some of the links between sport and the natural world.

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Explore more on this fortnight’s theme…

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