Olympic Activities for Kids at the Beach!
If you’re looking for a fun way to get kids enjoying the Olympics outdoors this summer, here’s a fun idea: Host a beach Olympics! You can make this as competitive or fun as you like, with any number of kids (we often played it just with our own kids, but you can invite a whole group along!). And the best part – most of these activities can be done using very minimalistic setup, with things you’ve found at the beach, or with things you’d find in your beach bag.
These activities can be adjusted depending on your children’s ages – from toddlers right up to teens. I’ve started out with the basic activities for the youngest kids, with suggestions to make some of them more appealing to teenagers and older children too.
Of course, adults will find it hard to resist joining in too!
My kids LOVE playing their own Olympic games, and sandy beaches are the perfect setting. Here’s exactly what to do:
Beach Olympic Activities for Toddlers, Preschoolers, Kindergarten and School Children:
Long jump. Clear any rocks and sticks, and draw a thick jumping line in the sand. Let the kids each choose their own rock, stick, shell (or whatever they can find) as their ‘marker’. Then take turns running up, jumping and seeing how far out they land. Put the marker where their feet landed, quickly smooth the sand, and then let them try to beat their personal best.
High jump. We do this with a skipping rope, roller up beach towel or stick. Have two people hold the rope/stick nice and low, and let the kids run and jump over it. Do this in soft sand so the kids land nice and softly! Gradually raise the skipping rope each time.
Discus. Using a frisbee or sun hat, draw a starting line in the sand. Get the kids to either take turns (if using one discus) or stand up together (if they’re all using their own hats). Then throw! Get the kids to put their personal markers where their hat lands, then see if they can beat their PB.
Shotput. Again, get the kids to stand along a line in the sand. This time, use a tennis ball, beach ball or even a shell or towel.
Rhythmic Gymnastics. We draw a big square in the sand, clear away sticks and rocks, and then let the kids take turns doing ‘tricks’ and ‘gymnastics’ in the square. We count to 30 seconds and then it’s the next kid’s go!
Running races. Draw a start and finish line, clear away any sticks and stones in the way, and then get the kids racing! Depending on their ages, you could have them run further distances, in hard or soft sand, up and down sand dunes, or even into the water and back. You could even get them to have a race running through the shallow water and waves.
Swimming races. If the water is safe, get the older kids to swim out around an adult.
Boogie boarding or surfing. If your older kids and teens love to catch waves, then make a timed challenge, see how many waves they can catch in five minutes, with extra points for tricks!
Gymnastics Beam. If there are any logs or drift wood, we get the kids to walk across, pretending they are on a gymnast beam. Teens can do tricks, and toddlers can just try balancing.
Beach sports – soccer, beach volleyball, football or cricket. Draw your field/court outlines in the sand. You’ll need to bring sports equipment for these games.
Walking races. Believe it or not, these can be seriously funny with kids. Draw a track in the sand.
Throwing targets. There are a few ways to play this. You can poke a stick in the sand, standing up, and have the kids throw something to try and hit it. Or you can draw a target in the sand, with different rings having different points, and have them try to throw a rock or roll a ball to land in the target (a bit like archery).
Cycling. Bike racing is fun at the beach! Simply go at low tide and ride where the sand is hard.
Golf. Create your own golf course by smoothing out sand, removing beach debris, building sandcastle hills and obstacles, and digging holes. You can use toy beach golf sets for this event, or simply find some driftwood/sticks and try your luck! If golf is too tricky, you could turn it into more of a bowling event, by simply trying to bowl the ball into the holes. Think bocce or marbles on the beach. This is one the grandparents will excel at, no doubt!
Make up your own games! It’s ok to be creative and have silly events like ‘beach towel throwing’ or ‘flip flop discus’ (aka thongs for Aussies or jandals for NZ).
Olympic Crafts and Activities for a Beach Olympics
There are loads of crafts and activities for kids to do to prepare and enjoy their very own Summer Olympics at the Beach, for example:
Kids can create their own Opening and Closing Ceremonies, with dancing, music, sparklers, glowsticks, and anything they like really!
You could host a bonfire on the beach, with a grown up (or responsible teen) doing an official lighting with the ‘Olympic Torch’.
Kids who love crafts can help create special beach ‘medallions’ or trophies with things they find around the beach.
An adult - or even kids - can be the announcer and commentator. When my kids are about to do an activity, I’ll say in a commentator voice, “Next up, we have Sally Robinson representing Australia!” and then I’ll be the commentator, “what a jump! Oh folks we’ve never seen anything like this before, I wonder what she’ll do next!” etc. (Obviously that’s not her real name.)
Have someone be an ‘official’ photographer, videographer or even interviewer. Let older kids create their own newspaper about the event, or news tv (or Youtube) program.
You could have children representing different countries, not just their own. Get them to learn a few key facts about that country, like where it is on a map/globe, what language they speak, what events they are usually great at in the Olympics, what their culture is like, and what cuisine they eat. If you’re having an ‘Opening Ceremony’, get the kids to dress up or create a flag to wave for ‘their’ country.
Finish up with a celebratory fish and chips for lunch, and ice creams for all participants! Or have the participants cook or buy a food representing their country. This would be a perfect time to host your presentation, with awards and medallions for all participants! Or perhaps the ice creams are the prizes.
I hope you have fun at your very own beach Olympics!
Want to know what other fun activities you can do at the beach with kids?
We live at the beach, and the kids are always out playing year round, in every season - rain or shine! Here are 30 things to do at the beach other than just building sandcastles and swimming. I’ve included our favourite activities for babies, through early childhood and right up to teens!